ICY THEORY – „The Snow Queen„ vs “Frozen”
Whether it’s obvious or not, “Frozen” might be inspired by the fairy tale “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen. For that matter, we’ll be comparing and contrasting it with the Disney film based on it, Frozen.
The original fairytale story is much longer, spanning over several years and featuring all seasons. In the Hans Christian Andersen version, the Snow Queen is the villain who abducts a young boy named Kai and takes him to her ice castle. His best friend Gerda leaves home to find him and save him from the Snow Queen. Despite facing various distractions and side plots, she eventually reaches the castle after several months. Their strong bond eventually breaks the spell cast over Kai, freeing him from the Snow Queen’s grasp.
However, the Disney film adaptation differs significantly from the original tale. Disney portrays the Snow Queen, named Elsa, as a protagonist rather than an antagonist. Elsa has the power of ice magic, which she must conceal from everyone, including her parents, who encourage her to do so. This is because Elsa accidentally injures her sister during a playful activity. In the film, Anna takes the place of Gerda, and she sets out to save her sister from herself as Elsa has isolated herself in an Ice Castle to escape from society.
Disney takes a chance to satirize the “love at first sight” trope that they heavily promoted in their earlier princess films by having Anna become engaged to Hans after spending only a few hours in his company and singing one song about their compatibility. Elsa warns Anna that marrying a man she just met is unwise. This event also triggers the revelation of Elsa’s ice powers to everyone. Hans turns out to be the real villain of the story, and Anna decides not to marry him. Instead, she develops a bond with Kristoff. In a way, Kristoff takes on the role of Kai, as Anna and him share a special bond that becomes romantic, similar to how the characters of Gerda and Kai’s relationship is implied in the original story. At the end of the film, we witness Anna and Elsa making sacrifices for each other. Their true love for each other saves Anna’s life and thaws her frozen heart. This is like Gerda’s love for Kai, which melted the ice within his heart in the original tale.
Disney has done an excellent job of updating classic fairy tales for modern audiences. Interestingly, the movie “Frozen” contains a subtle nod to Hans Christian Andersen, the original story’s author.
If you say the names of the four main characters quickly – Hans, Kristoff, Anna, and Sven – you’ll notice the reference to the author’s name.
