Recommendations posted at 3 AM when I may or may not be in my right mind and God I hope this doesn't become a series also what was I talking about again? Oh, right: Frozen · 7:55am Jan 31st, 2014
So I got curious after stumbling onto Let It Go through a number of channels, so I decided to check out the full movie using completely legal channels you wouldn't download a car how dare you question my integrity?
Totally recommended, even for grown-ups. Especially if you have a sister.
Like, I seriously doubt kids could fully appreciate this movie. Or maybe that's just me showing my age. Either way, it's a total subversion of the entire 'prince and princess' paradigm. If nothing else, I give Disney major props for releasing a film like this thing. It's like the first 30 minutes of it are devoted to setting up your expectations, and then it spends an hour gleefully ripping them to shreds. Loved every minute of it.
If nothing else, at least try out the soundtrack.
The song is called "Let It Go."
Eakin, go to bed; you're tired.
Oh man, I TOTALLY agree with you about the setting up and the tearing apart, it was great!
Dunno about the soundtrack though, I didn't actually enjoy the songs that much, I found them kind of distracting.
1777972
What? That's totally what it says now and what it always said. Yeah, I should really go to bed.
1777980
Sleep is good. Well, actually, just keep on watching Frozen. It is definitely the movie of the year.
So would you say it's a n-ice movie?
Yeah, I mean, it's pretty good. Classic, icky, feely, cliche Disney movie.
1777990 Obs, you should snow better than to use such a bad pun!
Frozen was the only movie from 2013 I was able to give a 10/10 to on IMDb. Really hoping it gets Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.
Disney's been doing really well lately at making animated movies that appeal to adults as well. First Tangled, then Brave, now Frozen...
They are genuinely excellent, but a cynical part of me wonders if it's just because we've been so starved of strong female leads in mainstream media animation. It's certainly a trend going down a treat, in any case.
Thanks for the recommendation - I've been thinking about seeing it, but after your recommendation and that link, I'm convinced.
1778007
If for no other reason, go for the gorgeous visuals and the fantastic music.
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After seeing that song, yes, that's definitely part of the reason.
1778007
Honestly? I couldn't care less if we're getting a ton of movies with strong female characters only because we were deprived of them in the past.
Because the important bit is that we're getting a ton of movies with strong female characters! I, for one, am happy to forgive (though not forget) an unhappy past in that regard if it creates a more equitable future.
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Oh, completely. It's awesome!
All I mean is, I wondered if part of why we enjoy them so much is because we've been deprived. For instance, I don't think a gender-flipped version of this, even if it had been thematically appropriate, would have been half as amazing. I'm not really pointing towards anything - I don't think it's a bad thing - I just sort of observed it. And then mused.
Is that a thing that happens? Like, you wake up and find you've sleep-typed half a dozen epilogues?
1778030
Possibly. I think that the sister-sister dynamic has a ton of different material to explore than the brother-brother dynamic, both of which are different from the brother-sister dynamic.
1778031 .
Spoken as someone who hasn't ever known somepony with Unnecessary Epilogue Disorder
1778059 i give this parody a 4/5 stars.
So despite its appearing to be a Disney movie about royalty in a Scandinavian kingdom full of white people, I should break down and actually
purchase a ticket to"obtain" this film?1778101
Yes, because it's still a step in the right direction.
If you don't reward people/institutions for doing the right thing (yes, even if it's not AS right as it could be_the important thing is that it's a START), then how the fuck do you expect to change them for the better?
If you treat everything like shit, then it's going to KEEP being shit.
1778152
Well it's just that I don't like Disney movies, mostly. It's not really a moral cause, is it?
1778101 for once the fact that they are all white doesn't bother me at all, considering this movie takes place in the northern latitudes with not so much sun and before migration to other parts of the world was very easy. Of course they are all white. Did you expect Mulan to have black people too?
1778164
....if you don't like Disney movies, then why are you even commenting?
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It doesn't bother me so much that it's somehow "racist" (it isn't), but rather that every single fantasy kingdom seems to be based on a mixture of Sweden and England, with a few occasional exceptions for China or the Ottoman Empire, or maybe Medieval Japan if you're watching anime.
I kinda just want to see them do something genuinely new and different more often.
Also, I hate wintertime.
Yep, fantastic movie.
"Oh, look. I've been impaled. Hee."
Cinema I watched it at a couple weeks ago was fairly empty... one dad and his kid, some teenagers, and me. Poor girl in the teenager group pretty much lost it anytime Olaf said/did anything, it was hilarious :D
Watched it six times in a row already.
I have a problem.
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Cuz I did like some of them. 50%, we might say.
The part I liked best was that the "curse" of super-awesome cryokinesis was ultimately recognized to be pretty super-awesome. At least when not running wildly out of control, of course. I hate movies that assume that everyone wants everything to "go back to normal" in the end.
On the downside, there was one character whose face-heel turn seemed to come out of nowhere (and not in a good way, past behaviour didn't make sense in light of it). But no movie's perfect, I'll let that one slide. :)
Oh yeah. Totally awesome movie.
Definitely my favorite of last year.
It's super-fun to overanalyze, too.
1778339 I really liked Olaf, and the trailers had me expecting to hate him. I think it was his cheerful, cluelessly suicidal fascination with summer that brought me around.
I lost it a couple of times during the song "In Summer."
"Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle, but put me in summer and I'll be a…
happy snowman! 
"
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I just loved a later part.
1778173
More diversity is always good in fiction but I can at least see why things are the way they are.
First, most people who speak English as a first language aren't bilingual, which limits inflow from other cultures since they still represent the majority of the decision-making portions of the industry.
Second, commercially-published fiction still relies heavily on the stuff that fell into the public domain before our insane 95-year (corporate) and Life+90 (individual) copyright terms came around. (Basically, ever since Disney started lobbying for copyright extensions every time Mickey Mouse was about to fall into the public domain.)
Given that we generally don't think "fairy tale atmosphere" when we think of former British colonies, that means primarily the British Isles and the germanic cultures that authors like Hans Christian Andersen and collectors like the brothers Grimm focused on.
Well, I have to thank you, Eakin. Frozen has definitely taken the crown as my favorite Disney movie. I don't know that I ever would have watched it if I didn't see this blog and go, 'Might as well.' I saw someone(Too lazy to scroll up and see who) mention that Brave and Tangled were good as well. Would you suggest them?
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In no way would gender-swapping it would make it more thematically appropriate, considering the source inspiration.
1779869
Brave was okay, not Pixar's best but I didn't hate it. Tangled I've never seen, perhaps I'll need to fix that later this weekend...
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I have a feeling I know what I'm going to be doing tonight.. But, seriously, thanks for making this blog. I loved Frozen.
1779869
Brave was reasonable. Better than average. Quite funny, but almost certainly the lowest out of the three.
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1779890
Tangled is great - perhaps seeing it directly after Frozen, or even just being able to compare the two might lessen it, but it is very well done. From what I can see, they seem to be quite similar in positive ways.
It also has an extremely illuminating TV Tropes page (especially the Fridge section) which I thoroughly recommend reading afterward. It's probably the most 'literary' of Disney's works, in terms of underlying imagery and themes.
It's worth noting that Brave is actually also Disney's (I had to look it up), so having these three almost consecutively is nice to see.
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Not sure if deliberately misinterpreting or missing the point, but either way - I was talking about that specific clip, devoid of all other surrounding information, since I have not yet seen the movie.
1780027
Well I'm watching Brave at the moment. So I'll get on to Tangled once I'm through with this. Thank you for you input, and I'll be sure to hit up TvTropes. Even if I end up there all night.
Frozen really was wonderful. I absolutely adore the soundtrack, too. And all the jokes they fit in there.
"Shoe size doesn't matter!"
coughcoughdarnevilsteprelativescoughcough
Putting John Lasseter in charge of their animation studio was the best decision Disney has made in a long time.
Tangled has a horse in it who emotes more articulately than 90% of the human actors I've seen. Definitely don't miss that movie.
One of the best movies from Disney I've seen recently, along with Tangled - my girlfriend does not stop gushing about them.
1780027 I'm not sure what clip you're talking about. I haven't seen the movie either, though.
1779890
It's great that you ended up seeing Frozen, it's definitely my favorite movie of 2013 and in my top Disney movies. I love how they fuck with convention so thoroughly that you don't see any of it coming. Also, I have to say, that poor, poor sleigh.
My only real problem with Tangled was the limp villain and subsequent villain song, the rest was good.
Brave did so well at the start, and then shenanigans happened just to weaken the story.
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Glad to be of assistance!
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The one Eakin linked. My initial comment that you responded to was referring to it when I said 'this'. Not to worry - it wasn't very clearly marked.
1782096
Agreed on the villain issues. Black and white villainy is getting a bit old. That's really the next revolution we need in Disney storytelling.
1782153
Black and white isn't the problem, Scar, Ursala, and Fucilier are badasses. The problem is that the villain just sucks at being a villain, I was never threatened at all.
1782179
Well, personally, I still have a problem with two-dimensional villains. Everybody thinks they're right. While villains often have reasons for their actions, they often grossly over-react, and that is often implied to be their true flaw. In reality, and in good fiction, there can be conflict without over-reaction, and it is often of a far superior quality. There is an element of tragedy, of sympathy, of empathy.
I could certainly expect the second-class calibre of villain from Disney, as they are more child-friendly. However, as the western world changes emphasis to more realistic and less idealistic patterns for children, I have hope that we may start to see a whole new class of Disney villain.
I thought there were certainly moments in Tangled when Gothel was a dangerous villain in one way or another. She seemed largely competent, but not to the extent she thought. I suppose her lack of physical strength diminishes her immediate threat in certain scenes. Manipulation more often inspires hate than fear.
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She didn't use her powers at all really, just paid Ron Perlman to kill Eugene and anyone could do that. She was all manipulation but that's only scary when the villain is competent. Hell, her entire reasoning for starting all this was it's better to get pissed that someone took your shit without knowing it was yours. She could have gotten a nanny job at the castle and still kept herself powered up.