Last week, Frozen II hit the cinemas and yesterday, I finally got the chance to see the second instalment to the film that became something of a phenomenon when it was released in 2013. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing Let It Go or seeing some Frozen franchise somewhere and now with the sequel, the Ice Queen is once again on shelves everywhere.
I’ve always been a fan of Frozen so I have been anticipating the release since it was announced and couldn’t wait to go and see it for myself. I avoided all of the spoilers and interviews in order to go into the film with a fresh pair of eyes. The only topic of conversation that did sneak in, however, was Elsa’s sexuality. There has been much speculation on whether the Princess turned Queen is actually gay or whether she just didn’t need a love interest at all. The theory was brought back into the public eye when the trailer revealed a new female character who many believed could be Elsa’s new love interest.
However, after seeing the film, I can confirm that this isn’t the case. But I was really surprised to see that people were angry about the fact that Elsa hasn’t had a love interest in either film – male or female. Disney has constantly been bombarded with the accusations of unrealistic expectations that they set their young audiences such as finding true love at the age of sixteen or having a Prince come along and change everything in your life.
But now, we have a young independent woman who isn’t defined by her romantic relationships or by who she is interested in and people are still unhappy. While I understand that it’s only a matter of time until we have proper LGBTQ+ representation in Disney films (no, Disney, that small moment where LeFou danced with another guy in Beauty and the Beast doesn’t count), I don’t personally think that Elsa is the person to do this.
Frozen was all about the familial relationship between Elsa and her sister, Anna. Even though there was the romantic interests for Anna of both Hans and Kristoff, they were used to only further emphasise how important her relationship with her sister was. How? Well, for Hans, Elsa was the one that warned her sister that marrying a man who she had just met and knew nothing about was a less-than-bright idea. She knew that this wasn’t going to go down well but she still did it because Anna is her little sister and she loved her. She didn’t care if she was angry with her so long as she was safe. And in the end, even though Anna knew that she had feelings for Kristoff, she pushed them to one side to save Elsa. The love interests were not the focal parts of the film but the sister to sister relationship between Anna and Elsa.
Frozen II isn’t about familial relationships or about romantic relationships, even though these both play a factor in the plot. This film is about Elsa and her finding her identity. The Captain of the Guard, Mattias, summed up the film in one line – Be prepared. Just when you think you found your way, life will throw you onto a new path. At the end of Frozen, Elsa thought that she had found her way in life when she was coronated and had made amends with her sister. She had discovered how to control her powers and everything is all happy endings and rainbows. But this wasn’t the case.
Even though she is the Queen and everyone is used to her powers, she still doesn’t feel like she belongs there as is shown in Into the Unknown where she sings about how she feels like she should be settled because she loves everyone there but there is still something calling her to bigger things. Throughout the rest of the film, she is constantly searching for the part of her that she believes will make her whole again or the voice that keeps calling out to her.
But when she reaches Ahtohallan, it is revealed to her by the memory of her mother that the spirit that she had been looking for was herself. You are the one you’ve been waiting for. This was such a poignant and emotional moment where Elsa realises who she truly is and that she can finally embrace it. Following the action sequence that leads up to the end, Elsa relinquishes her throne to Anna and joins the Northuldra where she can express herself freely using her powers.
This is why I think that adding a love interest into all of this would have added nothing to the plot, or would have rather taken something away from it. Romantic relationships can add something to who you are but (as Kristoff discovered), it can sometimes become all you are and that’s when you begin to lose who you are. Kristoff wanted to discover who he was without Anna when he realised that she could easily live her life without him whereas Elsa wanted to discover who she was and she didn’t have anyone holding her back.
If there is to be a third instalment to the franchise, I’m sure that they will introduce the idea of Elsa with someone but I don’t know whether it would be the right thing for Disney to do. It’s quite refreshing to watch a Disney film and see someone who doesn’t need a relationship – not everyone wants to be in a relationship and that is a simple fact of life. The original Frozen taught its audience to place importance in the relationships such as families and friends whereas Frozen II teaches the importance of having a strong relationship with yourself.
For me, I personally believe that the Frozen storyline is completed now and that there’s nothing more that they can really add to the story. But it is Disney and Frozen is extremely lucrative so I’m sure another one will be one the way! What do you guys think? Would you like to see Elsa with someone? Let us know in the comments.
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