Disney's Frozen

[ShyViolet]

I think the gay interpretation is quite interesting, and I don't see anything wrong with speculating about things like that. It's certainly not the first time that people have theorized about gay themes in Disney movies and cartoons: read Douglas Brode's Multiculturalism and the Mouse about how Walt was actually a proponent of diversity, not an en enemy of it. Disney criticism has ALWAYS been an ink-blot test for many people: There are many interpretations of Disney movies, from queer theory to political to feminist to race and gender. IMO there's nothing wrong with looking at different things different ways.

http://www.amazon.com/Multiculturalism- ... ertainment

[Randall]

That's what art is about, after all!

Our new member does make interesting points, and it's great that anyone can find something to relate to in a film. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, I'm sure ther filmmakers would be pleased.

Don't mind Eric. He rants like that about everything.

[EricJ]

Our new member does make interesting points,

(Yeah, and he seems to have shown up just TO make that point, which sort of illustrates the issue here.)

and it's great that anyone can find something to relate to in a film.

In this case, it's more like when "March of the Penguins" came out and became everybody's cuddly-favorite documentary that was going to change the world--Just who it was going to change the world for, however, was up for grabs like a rugby ball:
PETA wanted it to be their movie, about endangered species. The global-warming people wanted it to be their movie, about the disappearing arctic. The evolution community wanted it to be their proof that animals adapt to their environment, WHILE the religious-right intelligent-design community wanted it to be their proof that only Someone clever could have invented the penguin. (And yes, even gays pointed out theories of occasionally odd cuddling habits between penguins, compared to other species.)
Everybody, as the great Mr. Durante observed, wanted to get IN-ta da act!....Um-briago!

With gays and Disney, however, it's more of an issue for them--Everyone thinks Disney is mainstream, after all! You'd never suspect that their secret pals among the animators were sending secret messages to their very special friends, as part of their wonderful underground agenda to sell tolerance to the mainstream on a nice commercial platter, while we can still teach the young!
Uh, sometimes a sauna is just a sauna. What YOU use one for is your own business, but the story already has its own concerns to deal with.

[Ben]

At the end of the day, people can read whatever they want into things, and take away whatever viewpoint they want to see, share or, in an extreme sense, impose upon others. Everyone has the right to an opinion and to how they see things.

I am reminded of a very funny story that Orson Welles told, about one interviewer's overpraising of a shot in Citizen Kane. The interviewer decided that the shot was pivotal to the movie, that its stark, high contrast lighting and shadows was specifically there to express the duality of the moment in Kane's life, the comments he was making and the suggestion of another force at play. The interviewer probed Welles and continued to discuss this shot's importance, finally asking Welles about how and why he decided to go for something like that, and how he achieved it.

The answer was hysterical: Welles congratulated the interviewer on finding all the "hidden meanings" and exposing them so well, only to blow them away like his cigar smoke by simply explaining that the shot was taken at the end of a day, when everyone wanted to go home, and they didn't have time to light it properly. Stringing a light up on a stand was the quickest way to grab the shot in the time given (and because the set or location would be unavailable the next day), and although it was a quick-fix and photographer Greg Toland apparently hated it, everyone agreed the lighting was good enough to work for this one shot - an insert, apparently, that Welles explained he never even wanted and used to cover up another cut in the scene!

For every simple piece of moviemaking, someone will find the "hidden", deeper meaning that isn't even really supposed to be there. Sometimes they are, but I doubt a big Disney film like this would have that much of an agenda, even if the comparisons are interesting and somewhat illustrates how the film is speaking out to so many people on multiple levels.


There, now...moving on before this potentially gets too heated, please...

[James]

There, now...moving on before this potentially gets too heated, please...

[Dan]

Keep forgetting to mention that the Frozen soundtrack regained the top spot on the Billboard 200 this week selling 93,000 copies (up 7% from last week's 87,000). It was dethroned to No. 2 last week by the debut of the new Bruce Springsteen album, which took a big hit dropping down to No. 8 (dropping a massive 74% with 26,000 copies). The soundtrack has currently sold 769,000, clearly making a run for 1 million along with a Platinum certification.

Frozen becomes the first soundtrack to spend three weeks, albeit non-consecutively, at No. 1 since the soundtrack to High School Musical 2 back in 2007, which was there for four weeks. The last film soundtrack to top the list for at least three weeks was Bad Boys II in August 2003.

Meanwhile on the Hot 100 singles end, "Let It Go" from Idina Menzel continues its slow climb up the charts, moving from 26 to 21, its peak position to date. It was certified Gold a couple weeks ago. Demi Lovato's version has also been moving back up from 57 to 51 (it's peak position to date is 38). "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" is making an impressive move, going up from 61 to 55, as is "For the First Time in Forever", moving up from 64 to 57, peak positions to date for both. Outside of the top 100, "Love is an Open Door" is at 101 and "In Summer" is at 104.

The chart movements for the singles is very significant and impressive as they hardly get any radio airplay and "Let It Go" is the only official single that's been physically released on CD.

All of this, of course, taking place as the film heads into its first week of release for the sing-along.

[EricJ]

I am reminded of a very funny story that Orson Welles told, about one interviewer's overpraising of a shot in Citizen Kane.
The answer was hysterical: Welles congratulated the interviewer on finding all the "hidden meanings" and exposing them so well, only to blow them away like his cigar smoke

I would have cited the Benny Hill sketch, m'self:

(Henry McGee interviews French director Benny)
"In your film, a woman who has lived in a sheltered fantasy world has to face the world for the first time, and from there on, you switch to black-and-white film...A brilliant use of realism."
"Nono, you see, we switch to black-and-white because we run out of money for the color film."
"Yes, but in the final shot, we see her alone, and a little dog comes into shot--The two characters, such a perfect moment."
"No, I do not know whose dog it is, he just came into shot...If I find out whose dog it is, I kill him, because it put the leg up on the camera."

except that it's off the point--Naive cluelessness for the sake of art is NOT quite the same thing as disingenuous coattailing of someone else's hit for the sake of marketing public credibility. (Or actually believing it yourself because you think the entire world really does revolve around you.)

For that same reason, I don't quite see Spongebob and Patrick as a "positive image of a gay couple", as a large core adult portion of its niche audience is frequently overenthusiastic to point out. (For reasons entirely in its own imaginations. )

(And why do people always use that Kane-clapping meme, when Kane was trying to force applause for Susan's untalented opera debut?)

[ShyViolet]

There are MANY groups that take away different things from Disney movies. Everyone has a right to view art the way they want and liking something because you can relate to it is not "disingenuous."

[EricJ]

It's when they start using it to boost themselves that I take issue:
I, for example, have no objection to Sierra Club or the forest-fire PSA's using Disney's Sleeping Beauty in their ads, or the clean-ocean PSA's using Ariel, but if they were hitting me up for donations because they were using it, I might complain....Where were you when they were animating it, anyway??

[Dacey]

C'mon, Eric...

Let it go.

[LotsoA113]

Dacey, I don't think it's any use...I don't even think we can ignore him at this point. After all, the cold (shoulder) never bothered him anyway!

[ShyViolet]

What does a group or person appreciating an artistic work have to do with "hitting someone up for donations"?

[gaastra]

Frozen is back to #2 at the box office! It beet out both new movies! It passed hobbit 2 as well and has made more money then hobbit 2

http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

[Daniel]

Dacey, I don't think it's any use...I don't even think we can ignore him at this point. After all, the cold (shoulder) never bothered him anyway!

Here's the Japan version of "Let it Go":

[Dan]

Been waiting a good while for this one and I think it's real nice.