Like most of America I watched Frozen and loved it. It’s a fun, adventurous, cliche Disney princess movie with all the elements that have made Disney so endearing. However, There is one glaringly obvious problem with the fandom of Frozen, the obsession with Elsa. For some reason Elsa has been placed on the highest pedestal of princess role models. People love Elsa. But why? What is there to really, truly love about Elsa over her sister Anna?
Elsa is portrayed as a fierce independent woman. She has magical powers, dresses like a true queen and decides to embrace her magic powers instead of hide them. Her hair is white blond and her dress sparkles. Anna on the other hand is quirky, clumsy, blinded by a crush on a prince, girly, and has nothing sparkly or glamorous about her. Also at one point in the movie Elsa tells Anna you can’t fall in love with someone you just met thus making Anna seem juvenile and Elsa more serious. What Disney is doing is giving us a model for what society thinks a woman should be, and that is Elsa.
But let’s look at the problems with this model. What a lot of people don’t readily see about Elsa is that she is fearful, self destructive, violent, resentful, selfish and weak. She doesn’t embrace her power until she is driven to shame and embarrassment in front of all her subjects. Her response to those emotions is to lash out in anger, seclude herself and punish her only family and friend. Elsa is to weak to see that she is loved and cared for by Anna. She is too selfish to know that what she is doing is causing harm to her sister and people. It’s not until the very end does she finally realize that she is loved and doesn’t have to hate herself. Because Elsa hates who she is. She is ashamed of her gift and views herself as a monster. Not only does she cause harm to others but she also is harming herself. How is this in anyway a good role model for girls and young women? Why is society forcing us to embrace this?
Anna is the complete opposite of Elsa. She is warm, caring, loyal, dedicated, a fighter, determined, and forgiving. Yes she is clumsy and goofy but that should be preferred over a false sense of perfection and superficial beauty. Anna does harbor silly crush for the prince but chooses her sister over him several times through out the movie. Ana doesn’t hate her oddness. She is aware that she is awkward but it doesn’t bother her. Instead she goes with it and uses it to her advantage. When Elsa goes on her self destructive adventure Anna doesn’t hesitate to go after her and she doesn’t stop until she has saved her sister. Even when Elsa rejects her sister’s help Anna persists. In the end Elsa heals and takes her throne. Not once does Anna hold resentment for her sister. Instead she forgives her andcontinues to love her despite what happened.
Another point that I believe makes people prefer Elsa over Anna is the fact that she is single and reprimands Anna for falling in love to easily. These days that kind of “single and ok” and “you don’t need a man” mentality is celebrated. However, Anna proves herself to be more her own woman than Elsa does. She eventually sees the truth to the prince and ends up with a man who loves and respects her for all the right reasons. Anna doesn’t allow her feelings for the prince cloud her love for her sister and she chooses her sister over being with someone she truly cares about. Kristoff is exactly the kind of man all girls should hope to meet. He’s loving, hardworking, honest, and loves Anna for all her odd quirks and awkwardness. Elsa is not mentally or emotionally ready to be in any kind of relationship. She can’t even love herself. That’s why she is so judge mental of Anna’s choices. Being a strong, independent woman does not mean rejecting a good man who wants to help you and love you the right way.
As you can see Anna is the superior princess. She is the underdog and unsung hero. Society is poisoning our minds. We are embracing the wrong woman. Yes Elsa is broken. She is a woman many of us can relate to. I do commend Elsa for allowing herself to be helped and changed in the end. She is willing to forget her anger and except the love her sister Anna is extending. Elsa grows into her role as queen and learns to lover herself. In the real world Elsa’s change wouldn’t happen overnight. She would still struggle with self loathing and resentment. But the hope lies in the love of her sister and the support she gets from her.
Ana and Elsa’s relationship is really a beautiful story. The sisterly love and dedication is something all of us to aspire to build in our own lives. Yes Elsa is a mess and completely out of her mind but she is redeemed in the end. Anna’s love and forgiveness save Elsa from herself. Anna is obviously my hero. There is so much to love about her character. My hope is that one day our society stops glamorizing and praising the Elsa’s of the world. Instead we should love them and help them learn to love themselves. If you want to be a fierce, independent woman then follow Anna’s lead. Do what she does and you will be the true princess.
A Road Less Traveled 
I think that this article is really unfair about Elsa. Clearly the person writing this hasn’t had much experience with parents and children. Its Elsas parents that make her hide and feel ashamed to show her powers when she’s a child. She and Anna are playing as children and she accidentally hurts Anna as a child which is why her parents isolate Elsa. Anna received more love than Elsa in this situation. It’s that first born. Your the older child so you have to be more responsible than your younger sibling(s) as the case may be. Elsa was taught to protect her sister instead of being loved and taught to protect her own heart. Elsa was robbed of her child hood and relationship with her sister. It’s not what she wanted but she didn’t have a choice as a kid. Then their parents die and Elsas insecurity and own identity struggle become a bigger issue. Her “powers” that are “cold” are symbolic of a defense mechanism. She is “cold” to her sister because that’s how she keeps from hurting Anna again physically. But hurting Anna is also symbolic. When you love someone you risk hurting. It true in any kind of relationship. Don’t be so quick to judge the character of Elsa. She is deserving of admiration just as much as Anna for different reasons. I consider myself an “Elsa.” I was once “cold” but love “warmed” me. I didn’t get the kind of love from my parents I should have but I was saved by the love of family and friends. No one is perfect. Not even Anna. And I don’t feel Disney was brain washing anyone. Quite the opposite. For the first time in the history of Disney movies a woman did not find her security and love in a man. It was foud in the unbreakable bond of sisterhood. I could not have hoped for a better storyline than that. Thank you Disney for showing our girls they don’t have to have “Prince Charming” to have worth or be loved. They should be loved anyway regardless.
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Very well said and straight to the point. It was a sound case that was stated very clearly. Thank you for sharing your opinion. It was insightful.
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haven’t seen this movie….it’s disney and you know how I think and feel about disney….my fear is to agree with you simply because you are presenting an opposing view to the disney perspective on reality and truth….and so this comment is basically a no comment.
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I have not seen the movie but I agree that we need to be alert to the profiling of roles in the media, movies etc. that influence behaviour patterns in the young. Plenty food for thought in your post and in the comments by SB too. Such an Important topic to ponder on – thanks for starting the thread.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I’ve had, like many people I think, a long time vendetta against a few of the Disney Princesses. There are definitely some good ones out there for sure but they are never as well liked as the other ones.
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