Disney Princess Article: Frozen Character Analysis (Anna)

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posted by disneyislifeok

Ok! So here is my review of Frozen's characters! I've already reviewed the muziek of the film, which u can read here (just copy and paste the link: link

INTRODUCTION
I'm just going to say right now....Frozen has some of the best characters of any Disney film. Why? One word: DEVELOPMENT. The characters are all so well developed, and they all have such great and complex personalities (yes, even u Hans). I found that as I watched the film, I realized every character symbolized something. Olaf represented the bond between Elsa and Anna...and Hans, the villain, represented the breaking of their bond. BUT I WILL GET INTO THAT LATER!

ANNA
Anna is the main protagonist of Frozen. She would also be one of my favoriete Disney princesses. Anna is quirky, awkward, and a little clumsy. Most importantly: she's flawed. "FINALLY!" I can hear the feminists cry. A Disney princess who isn't perfect! Of course, there have been others. But Anna's flaws are emphasized...I mean, they toon her snoring and drooling out of her mouth for God's sake. I think girls in particular will relate to Anna very well. I thought Anna could be a little rude and obnoxious at times...I think we see the sweeter side of her towards the film's end (when her primary concern is the safety of her loved ones). Anna also becomes less self centered as the film progresses. This is explained in reprise of the cut song "Life's Too Short." Anna was so desperate to be loved, that she only focused on her own feelings. During the scene on the fjord, Anna finally matures. She does NOT go to Kristoff to save herself. She goes to Elsa. Although, I was confused about one thing....after Hans reveals himself to Anna, Anna doesn't go to save Elsa. She doesn't even mention Elsa's life being in danger. She only thinks about Kristoff. But then I realized, this is still the immature Anna. She was only thinking about saving her own life at that point. When she sees Elsa in danger, this is when the switch flips. She sacrifices HERSELF in order to save her sister's life. I thought this was a great climax, probably one of Disney's best. And it goes along with the film's theme: love is putting someone else's needs before your own! One part of this scene in particular broke my heart: when Hans is standing over Elsa with his sword drawn. Anna looks hurt and confused, because her sister, who was usually cold and withdrawn, looked VULNERABLE. It probably broke Anna's hart-, hart as well, seeing her sister defeated like that. Moments before that, she zei very boldly to Hans that he was "no match for Elsa." But now she saw her beautiful, powerful sister about to be slayed door his sword! Overall, Anna's character goes along with Disney's traditional coming of age films. Yes, almost every Disney princess movie is about COMING OF AGE. Notice how almost all of the princesses are teenagers. During all of their films, they go through the things most people go through when becoming adults: they become less selfish and naive, and they slowly begin to understand how the world works. Most importantly: they find TRUE LOVE! And Anna's character shows that it doesn't have to be romantic love, it can also be repairing a broken bond with a family member.

Renegade1765, Funny_chan and 3 others like this

coolsinger198 you write so well!

disneyislifeok Thank you :) not to brag, but this isn't even my best :)

Silverrose1991 I think it was very well-written. I don't know if I would call Anna self-centered: she just wants the company of her sister, who shut her down all of sudden. Imagine how hard it was for her. I actually prefer Anna over Elsa, because I think she is more developed as a character. About the climax, I don't like it very much: I think it should have happened at Elsa's Ice Palace and not in the middle of a blizzard, Besides, Anna (who was freezing to death) got too quickly to Elsa. That's impossible, and a plothole.

disneyislifeok Well, Anna was constantly thinking about herself because she wanted to be loved by someone, ANYONE. This is what got her tangled up in Hans' scheme. Hence her being immature, naive, and wreckless. At least at first. As for the setting of the climax...why would you prefer it to be at her palace? And as for the PLOT HOLE...Hans was taking his time with his sword, this was his "shining" moment. According to the screenplay, he wanted to relish it. This gave Anna more than enough time to save Elsa. Plus, wouldn't you acquire super human speed in order to save YOUR loved one? People can do amazing things when someone else's life is in danger

Silverrose1991 ^It's not about Hans with the sword or anything: she did get here very quick, and Kristoff was battling with the blizzard to reach her one second before. And no, I don't think acquiring superhuman speed is the answer to that plothole. About Anna only thinking about herself, so did Elsa. Elsa only thought about her problems, and not about Anna, who probably felt alone and sad and all that. Sure, she did that to protect her sister, but she didn't really think about her after that.

disneyislifeok Read the screenplay: Hans was taking his time. This allowed Anna to slip around him and block the sword from hitting Elsa. She didn't have to be very fast, Hans was RELISHING this moment. He had secured the throne of Arendelle, and now he was slaying the "beast" threatening the kingdom. He probably wanted this glorious moment to last forever Ok, so you're basically agreeing with me! xD they were both self centered, but that's why this is a coming of age movie. They both stop thinking about themselves so much, and start worrying about each other.

Silverrose1991 ^Oh, ok. I didn't know about the screenplay? Can you give me a link? About Anna and Elsa being self-centered, I think that is to show how a siblings' relationship is: they think about themselves and fight, but they also care about each other.

SNBarine Hi! Good comments. However, I will make one point about your discussion of Anna: Anna does not go to help Elsa because she doesn't know that Elsa is even in the castle! Remember, Hans does not tell her this. He indicates that he intends to kill Elsa but the last time Anna saw Elsa, Elsa was in the mountains. Anna has no reason to think that Elsa is not still there and even when the castle starts to freeze, Anna has no real reason to think that Elsa is back in the castle - after all, the whole city has been freezing the whole time that Elsa was far, far away. I think that if Anna had been aware that Elsa was a prisoner in the castle she would have done what she could to help her - though it's not clear she could have done anything, given her condition. It's also worth knowing that Elsa doesn't know that Anna is in the city either and, in fact, doesn't even know that she hurt Anna again.

WinterSpirit809 Good article! Although I have to agree with Silverrose1991 and SNBarnie about Anna not being self centered. You made it seem like she always put herself in front of Elsa, until the end which is not true. When she saw Elsa didn't go to the funeral, instead of being mad at her sister, she went to Elsa and told her that she was right there for her. I think her wanting love was more natural than anything. You can't expect someone who had been shoved away her whole life. Let's skip to the part to where Elsa's powers are revealed, shall we? A self centered person would try to kill Elsa (*cough*Hans). But did Anna? No. She stood up for Elsa, claiming she wasn't a monster. How is that selfless, you may ask? She could have been accused of being a witch herself, like the Duke did. She then immediately searched for Elsa to let her know she was there for her again, and to save a whole kingdom in nothing but a tank top. While she did self centered things, like everyone else this does not make her a self centered person. Everyone does stupid things but there are smart people in the world.

AudreyFreak Yeah, people are always weirdly harsh on Anna just for being lonely but pity Elsa for the same thing (even though Elsa likely got most of their parents' attention). Having basic emotional needs is not remotely selfish. It's like nobody wants to see it from her POV. I mean... I don't know about you guys, but if someone I loved suddenly ignored me for years, rejected my desperate attempt to connect after years of no talking, told me to leave if emotional neglect was too much for me anymore, sent a snow monster after me, and hit me with ice in the heart (remember, Anna didn't see Elsa's frightened face), I would be a lot angrier and slower to forgive and forget than Anna was. I'm not hating on Elsa, I'm just saying, Anna had a LOT of good reasons to resent Elsa and only did at the party when she was pushed to an emotional point of breaking. Anna was also the only one to vouch for her, to try to fix Elsa's mistake, to love her unconditionally when as far as she knew Elsa did not like her. I really don't understand the selfish accusations she gets. Even before I was a big Anna fan, I recognized and admired her selflessness enormously. Not bashing your article or anything- I'm always really appreciative the few times Anna gets any love- but I just don't see how she isn't sweet for most of the movie. I think the movie tried to make Elsa the more sympathetic one with Anna as the "wrong" one at times, and fans fall into that POV trap.