Blog # 1 - Andrea Jumper

In Disney’s latest animated movie, Frozen, The two main characters Elsa and Anna. Elsa has a magical power and can produce snow and ice. As children, Elsa and Anna were playing with Elsa’s powers and Anna nearly got seriously injured in the process. In order to save Anna from further harm, her memory was erased and Elsa was told to conceal, don’t feel and don’t let her powers show. As they grow older into teenagers Elsa has stayed completely distant from Anna and all the while Elsa’s powers are growing and scaring her more and more. When Elsa finally looses control of her temper and consequently her power, she flees to the mountains where she can be alone and see the extent of her power. Anna, worried about her sister, goes off in the snowstorm to find her. These women are extremely strong and independent, yet still so dependent on each other.

Elsa and Anna are very real characters that are easily relatable. In one scene, Anna is woken up for her sister’s coronation and instead of waking up looking flawless like every other Disney princess, she wakes up with her hair in a mess, drooling, and completely disgruntled like a typical teenager. Anna is also extremely awkward and clumsy instead of exhibiting the stereotypical grace. Elsa, although more graceful than her sister, is shown to be extremely relatable through her fear of the unknown. She is extremely unsure of exactly what her powers will do and how to control them much like humans are about the future. At the first sign of danger she runs off and hides away, running away from her troubles and responsibilities. Throughout the film, the majority of their conversation between the two leading ladies are about Anna’s need for her sister’s attention, controlling her powers, and taking back her control of Arendel as Queen. They talk and argue about the real issues that are going on instead of “some boy” they are chasing after. With all of these things considered, Frozen does pass the bechdel test. It has two very strong women characters, they hold conversations with each other, and their conversations are about issues much larger than a man.