Stumbled onto the new era of Disney musicals

 

Stumbled? Not stumbled, more like run out of ideas and decided to diss Frozen and express my love for Moana and Coco. I am sure most people liked all three, which I understand. I am sure a good portion preferred Frozen out of the three. That’s what I don’t get. I personally did not like Frozen; it surely did not help that I was already fed up of ‘Let it Go’ by the time I actually watched the movie. Or that I wasn’t yet a fan of Jonathan Groff, having only seen him play the bastard he did in Glee. But I have attempted to limit this particular bias and still end up disliking Frozen. And loving Moana and crying during Coco every fucking time.

So here is my theory. Frozen was a relatively safe revival of the animated musical genre. I am not entirely sure that this is how the genre is called but I am sticking with it. I have already made a mistake; one that pisses me off when it is other people that make it. That is Frozen did not revive the animate musical genre; Tangled did. Frozen just followed course. It was Tangled that was very successful in 2011 which led the way for another Disney movie with this already successful format from Disney’s best years in animation. But I am not one to hold a grudge for a movie not being the first of its kind. I am not old enough, nor have seen enough old movies for that; I would have fewer opportunities to do so. I think the problem is Frozen was another Andersen fairy tale, with western themes and imagery. I know ‘Let it Go’ won an Oscar and is universally loved and the cast is famous and lovely all around and all that is nice and true. It doesn’t feel like a passion project, though. Not to me and my opinion continues to be of universal importance. It is, however, very possible (certain, some would say) that this ‘passion project’ criticism is just me trying to justify why I never went crazy for Frozen. I like the shift in focus from a romantic endeavour between a prince and a princess to two sisters, two leading female characters, but it seems they couldn’t risk not having a romantic prospect at all. Enter Kristoff (I hope that’s the name of the guy and not the moose. If it is the moose, I assure you I am not suggesting Frozen promotes bestiality). And the other guy, Hans. And a merchandisable snowman. There is still quite a bit of a formula in Frozen and that is what makes me think that executives played a bigger part than creators did. Or a significant enough part to make it feel a bit flat. And I’ll say it, even though no one else is. The rest of the songs are…meh. At best. And the comedy is meh, at best. Except that one joke in ‘Love is an Open Door’; the one with the sandwiches. Look it up, I refuse to plagiarise.

On the other hand, I feel both Moana and Coco were passion projects. Now, I have limited proof for this. If any. Okay, I have no proof for this. Not to say that executives are non-existent in these films. Hei-Hei was a blunt merchandise opportunity if I ever saw one. But the stories are so much sweeter and original. At least for western audiences. The family theme is much more prominent in these films, which is also a lot more prominent in Latin cultures and (I suppose) Polynesian culture. And it provokes a much stronger emotional response, at least it did for me. It is not just immediate family; it’s grandparents and the notion of family, including ancestry etc, it’s finding that balance between loving your family but making your own path through life. If I had to render a guess, this is also a more appropriate and relatable theme for kids. Kids and menstruating 26 year olds in lockdown. Talking about a friend of mine. I also very much enjoyed the colours, the imagery, the influences from a culture I am not frequently subject to. It was much more exciting to get glimpses out of this mythology, these traditions, this art that I would otherwise not look up online because I am a basic bitch. So as someone living in Western culture (not geographically, you know what I mean), it was much more exciting to hear these stories instead of another rendition of Snow Queen. And as I understand it, people from non-Western cultures are equally excited to see their stories, that are so seldom included in mainstream culture, animated and Hollywood-ified. Or they might hate on the inaccuracies, as we Greeks do about Hercules. By the way, awesome, hilarious movie, worth the re-watch at any age.

There is no need for comparison between Frozen, and Moana and Coco, other than getting a bit of friction for the blog. But I will now continue as if I had never admitted to this about how much I loved both Moana and Coco. They were both visually stunning and the music was brilliant. No surprise as far as Moana is concerned; Miranda can do no wrong. But that’s the thing, Moana has more than one incredible song! And each of them is special in a different way. Coco too; ‘Un Poco Loco’ can lift me up any time and ‘Remember Me’ can bring me to tears just as quickly. Quicker even. Also, Moana was originally pitched by Taika Waititi, which is generally enough reason for me to love anything.

It was interesting to see how far I’ll go to just to hate on Frozen. I think I just couldn’t let it go until I had written it all out. The unevenness in reception between this classic snow tale and the two more ethnic and heartfelt features drives me un poquititito loco. If anyone else feels the same way let me say you’re welcome. If this conversation comes into play, remember me.