Why Does Everybody Hate Frozen?

phillysports Let's get this out of the way first. I am a Frozen fan. I truly love the film, its characters, its music, its messages, and the principles it stands for.

But it wasn't always that way with me. I am currently an 18 year old guy in his senior year of high school, so when the movie came out I was 14/15. At the time, I believed I was just too old to watch a Disney musical about two princesses, and the idea just seemed kind of too girly for me. I much rather would have wanted to watch something out of Pixar or DreamWorks because those two companies seemed geared towards everyone, not just the "little girls" Disney was pandering to with this movie. So for the first few months of the movie's release, I didn't care about seeing it because I felt that it wasn't made for me. I was completely indifferent towards it.

That later changed one day in spring of 2014. My teacher decided to randomly show the "Let it Go" sequence in about 30 different languages in the middle of our class period. The reason why she did this is beyond me, but that really got me thinking. Why was this movie so popular? It certainly didn't look any special, and I was definitely beyond animated musicals at that point in my life. So I wondered if Frozen was a really popular movie now or something. UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY. Sure enough, throughout summer the movie was just flat out everywhere. Commercials, merchandise, people talking about it, little kids singing the songs, GROWN ADULTS singing the songs. The movie was just a monster that needed to be stopped. I noticed online how many people, like myself, were just fed up with this movie. And I was right with them. I knew that I was not going to see it because of how "girly" it was, so I thought it was fair to rip on it due to the simple fact that it was popular. "Screw Frozen", I said to myself whenever I saw the TV commercials. "This movie is overrated trash," I muttered whenever I heard a little girl sing Do You Wanna Build a Snowman. I built myself a wall of bitterness and refused to let the movie to persuade me to like it on the outside. But on the inside, there was a deep longing to be like everyone else, and just go and see the movie to achieve some kind of closure. But then I thought why I was getting so upset over a little kid's movie anyway. So, I decided to move on for awhile and just let the movie exist. If people like it, I don't care. If people hate it, I don't care. Anyway, it's just a stupid movie.

Earlier in 2016, after a good year of feeling nothing towards the film, I noticed that it was not nearly as popular as it once was. I then started thinking: If the movie was so popular, it must of have been at least decent. When it came to movie-watching, I had matured a lot and started to expand my horizons. So I thought, why not just go and see Frozen with an open mind? I only got around to seeing it in July of 2016, and I had a huge epiphany moment:

Holy crap. They were right.

This movie deserved to be as popular as it was, because it turned out to be an actual GREAT movie. I fell in love with everything. The music, the characters, the story, everything. This is not like any other typical Disney princess movie. It mocks many of the selling points that the studio relies on. Characters constantly rag on Anna's decision to get engaged to Hans when she had only met him that day. They might as well have been talking to every Disney princess in existence, so I was relieved to finally see one of their movies address that critical problem. Not only that, but they mock how many Disney animals talk in the way that Kristoff talks for Sven. Hans was pretty much the Prince Charming stereotype, until his true plans are revealed. And it also gives the advice not to be too trusting around people you've just met, and Anna learned this lesson and gave him a good punch in the face to boot.

But most importantly, this movie flips the idea of "true love" in one of the most creative, brilliant, and heartwarming ways ever. Like in many Disney productions, the main problem must be solved with "an act of true love". So naturally, the characters think that this means true love's kiss, so Anna must go and find her true love in order to save her life. It turns out that her true love this entire time was her sister. With an ultimate act of bravery and sacrifice, she saves her sister from total destruction, and breaks her curse in the process. Name one other Disney princess movie, ONE, where the act of true love isn't just making out with some dude you barely know, but is about saving the life of a member of your own flesh and blood. Your sibling, your FAMILY. That was the moment that really sold the movie for me, and I currently see it as one of my favorite films ever. Talk about a 180 degree turn.

I have no beef with anyone's opinion, if they actually WATCHED the movie. If you saw Frozen and didn't like it, by all means don't like it. You're not obligated to enjoy every movie in existence. It's called having an opinion. That's why film is as popular as it is. We all have different opinions. There's probably a couple of people who call Citizen Kane the worst movie ever. While the public will probably disagree with that viewpoint, it still is an opinion, and people are entitled to it. No movie in existence is unanimously loved. There's no clear consensus on what the greatest film of all time is. HOWEVER, people judging a movie that they haven't even seen I have an issue with. How can you possibly say that a movie sucks without actually watching it? I was in the same frame of mind two years ago before I actually sat down to watch the thing, and my opinion completely changed. You all know the old phrase: "Don't judge a book by its cover." That can be defined here. Don't judge a movie based on its popularity or the size of its fan base. When it truly comes down to it, what does the popularity of a movie have to do with its story, plot, characters, script, soundtrack, score, acting, and just its overall quality? Nothing. Zero. Zip. Some fantastic films have not been nearly as popular as they should have been. Heck, The Shawshank Redemption was a box office BOMB at the time of its release, and now it's commonly referred to as one of the greatest movies ever made. Popularity means precisely crap when determining how good something actually is, and saying you hate something that you haven't seen because of its enormous popularity is one of the laziest excuses anyone can ever have. And again, If you actually have SEEN Frozen and hate it, then hate it. Good for you. No one will have the same opinion on everything, and it can be interesting to not like something that many people really enjoy. My motto is: don't knock it until you try it, and Frozen opened my mind in so many different ways.

To close, I am not telling you guys that you NEED to see this movie. If you don't want to see it, then don't see it. I'm not forcing you to do anything. What I am saying is that the next time you hear "Let it Go" or see Elsa, Anna, or Olaf on some random object, don't judge the actual film because of it. It wasn't the directors' fault that the movie got as popular as it did. They even acknowledged that they never could have foreseen its impact and popularity being as massive as it was. I advise you to see the film with a more open mind. Just see the movie for what it is: a movie. Block out all of the popularity out of your brain and just see it for what it is. Who knows? Maybe you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Comments

Exactly, Good Post! - VideoGamefan5

Great post. To be perfectly honest, I mostly hated Frozen mainly since I was jumping onto the hate bandwagon. I haven't watched the movie yet, so I think I'll give it a chance and enjoy it for what it is. Maybe sometime in the winter or so. - visitor

I DID watched Frozen. In my opinion, it's the worst movie ever. The blandness, plot holes, the characters were annoying, etc - visitor

I respect your opinion. - phillysports

Wait til you see Foodfight - visitor

Don't worry, @phillysports. I respect your opinion as well. After all, your passion for movies is admirable, and I respect that. Keep on loving what you love. And I hope to see great posts from you in the future. - visitor

Thanks, man. That really means a lot. - phillysports

You're welcome. - visitor

By the way, let me know what you think of the movie when you get around to watching it. - phillysports

Here is my honest opinion about Frozen: I kinda hate it because of how overrated and annoying it is. But it is nowhere near the worst animated movie ever, it has great animation and the story is not that bad. But the songs annoy me and it is too overrated. Where Th Dead Go To Die is the worst animated movie ever, not Frozen. - visitor

overrated - purpleyoshi98

Never seen it, not gonna. it might be the greatest movie of all time but I really don't want to watch it - purpleyoshi98

That's cool. Watch whatever you want to watch. - phillysports

That's pretty cool of you to be that way. a lot of people are like "watch it please or I will slice u! " - purpleyoshi98

Frozen is good movie - visitor

Its meh for me - iliekpiez

I think it was disappointing, I probably got caught into the praise of the movie, I wanted more out of it. I had issues, but it is not a awful movie. Walt Disney movies like Pocahontas and Sword in the Stone are worse for me. Black Cauldron also is worse, and has a worse hero (Taran). - iliekpiez

It is actually a good film.
I do have issues though
The characters other than Elsa and Anna
Music
Honestly, this was a very good film. - iliekpiez

I used to not be a fan of the movie, but I started liking it more, seriously Frozen number 9? Their are worst animated movies out their but at least its below Foodfight!. - visitor