History DefrostingIceQueen / LiveActionFilms

* Creator/ClintEastwood's character in ''Film/GranTorino'' starts off as a racist [[JerkAss jerk]] with a short fuse but gradually throughout the movie warms to his 'gook' neighbors by seeing even more reprehensible characters elsewhere in the neighborhood.

* Practically the entire point of ''The Cutting Edge'', which is about an Olympic-class female figure skater who can't find a partner because of how high her standards are and how vicious she is toward them. The guy she eventually finds actually refers to her as an ice queen in the scene right before she finally defrosts. It's so much in focus that the film even ends before we find out whether or not they won the [[spoiler:Olympic gold medal]].

* In ''Film/ARoyalAffair'', Caroline (who gets double points for being [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask an actual queen]]) comes across as aloof and unfriendly due to becoming [[BrokenBird miserable and bitter about her disastrous marriage to Christian]]. She starts to thaw once she meets [[LoveInterest Struensee]].

* Lyric in ''Jason's Lyric'' initially rejected Jason's attempts to get close to her before eventually warms up to him and returns his feelings.

* Lyric in ''Film/JasonsLyric'' initially rejected Jason's attempts to get close to her before eventually warms up to him and returns his feelings.

* Lyric in ''Jason's Lyric'' initially rejected Jason's attempts to get close to her before eventually warms up to him and returns his feelings.

* Lyric in ''Jason's Lyric'' initially rejected Jason's attempt to get close to her before eventually warms up to him and returns his feelings.

* Lyric in ''Jason's Lyric'' initially rejected Jason's smooth talk before eventually warms up to him and reciprocates his feelings.

* Lyric in ''Film/JasonsLyric'' initially rejected Jason's smooth talk before eventually warms up to him and reciprocates his feelings.

* Lyric in ''Film/JasonsLyric'' initially rejects Jason's smooth talk before eventually warms up to him.

* Leia from ''Franchise/StarWars''. Her relationship with Han Solo in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' is an example, as she starts out rather icy to him but by the end is declaring her love for him. It is perhaps dramatically notable that they start out fighting in an ice cave, working together out of need in a [[ThatsNoMoon foggy cave]] and declare their love in an industrial facility filled with jets of steam.
* Many [[Film/JamesBond Bond]] girls, at least for the brief period before they melt into James' arms.
** Probably the iciest of all the Bond girls is Melina Havelock in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly''. She initially thinks only of her revenge, and treats Bond harshly, seeing him only as a government agent that she doesn't know whether or not to trust. Throughout the movie, getting to know Bond better, she begins to feel romantic feelings for him. He makes her laugh and smile at a tragic time in her life, and a deleted scene shows her failing to hide her jealousy when she learns that Bond spent the night with the Countess. In the final scene of the movie, Melina becomes the happy and optimistic woman she was before her parents' murder, and makes love to Bond.
** Downplayed with Stacey Sutton in ''Film/AViewToAKill''. In the first half of the movie, she appears to be cold and cynical when Bond flirts with her at Zorin's mansion, but in the second half of the movie, after discovering that Bond is an ally, she becomes one of the most sympathetic Bond girls in the franchise, always smiling.
** Miranda Frost in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' appears to be a straight-up version of this trope, right down to her MeaningfulName, but is actually a subversion [[spoiler:as she's secretly working for the villain, and thus didn't 'melt emotionally' as she appeared to.]]
** Vesper Lynd, ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006''. Technical realities of her being a civilian, and not actual royalty, while looking down her nose at the vulgar Bond are utterly meaningless, both in the story and in this trope.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'': It's alluded to when the Phoenix (who is presumably using her telepathy) says to Wolverine, "What, you think [the Professor's] not in your head, too? Look at you, Logan. He's ''tamed'' you." Unbeknownst to both Wolverine and the audience, he has grown to love Xavier as a friend, and this finally comes to light after [[spoiler:Logan crumbles emotionally after Charles is murdered]]. This is the first time in the original trilogy where Wolverine had displayed this much vulnerability towards a male character.
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': In a PowerOfFriendship example, the combination of Charles Xavier's sensitivity and intelligence is able to "thaw" Erik Lehnsherr's cold heart, making him the first and only person in the original timeline [[note]]Erik has a [[Film/XMenApocalypse wife and daughter]] only in the AlternateTimeline[[/note]] Erik has loved since the death of the latter's family during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': Wolverine's bond with the elderly Professor X must have grown quite strong during the TimeSkip in between ''Film/TheWolverine'' and ''Days of Future Past'' because after Logan meets the younger Charles--who is practically a stranger to him--he gradually sheds his outer "macho armor." Compared to Wolverine's normally gruff exterior (especially towards other male characters), he really is quite gentle with Xavier in a few scenes where it's just the two of them, like the plane ride to Washington D.C. and the heart-to-heart talk they share in the [[spoiler:AlternateTimeline]].
* ''Film/IHeartHuckabees'': The character Brad first appears to be a sexy, smug, condescending corporate manipulator. However, as the film moves to its denouement, it becomes clear that Brad is desperate to be liked -- and convinced that being a male StepfordSmiler is the only way he can get people to like him. By the end of the film, the defrosting has already begun.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', in which Doc, who in all likelihood has never been interested in a woman for all his many years due to his eccentric lifestyle and devotion to science, insists that love at first sight is a scientifically ridiculous concept - and is promptly proven wrong the moment he lays eyes on Clara.

* Catwoman in ''Film/BatmanReturns'' starts off as a DarkActionGirl / IceQueen, but eventually warms up to him. Or at least, Selina Kyle warms up to Bruce Wayne, which isn't QUITE the same thing.
* Dr. Grace from ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. Jake - and the audience - meet her as a cold, [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] and non-social woman. In her avatar body, though, she seems downright joyful. Of course, you'd be pissed-off too if the only way to get to the place you've been studying your whole life is because a bunch of army guys want to destroy it and its people for literal {{Unobtanium}}.
** Neytiri could count as well, due to her being rather hostile toward Jake at first. She begins to warm up to him as they get to know one another, and eventually falls in love with him.
* Creator/TylerPerry makes use of this trope a lot. The heroines of ''Diary of a Mad Black Woman'' and ''Madea's Family Reunion'', for example, have [[BrokenBird physical and sexual abuse]] in their backgrounds, respectively, and both require a tremendous amount of care and patience from their eventual love interests before they finally thaw.
* ''Film/TheodoraGoesWild'': Due to Theodora's upbringing in a small town full of gossiping, Puritanical women, she's very reserved and only let's herself go while writing her daringly perverse novel, ''The Sinner'', making her quite the ice princess. But when Michael Grant, the book designer, tries to bring her out of her shell, Theodora begins to thaw out.
* Kay in ''Film/LoveBeforeBreakfast'' initially rejected ''all'' of Scott's advances, but eventually falls for him, and begins to thaw.
* Creator/GretaGarbo plays the DefrostingIceQueen to a T as the title character in ''Film/{{Ninotchka}}'', when she turns from a [[NoSenseOfHumor humorless]] TotalitarianUtilitarian Russian envoy into an [[AllLovingHero All Loving Heroine]].
* In ''Film/AForeignAffair'', Creator/JeanArthur's Phoebe Frost is a classic example. Even her last name matches her personality!
* In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', both Darcy and Elizabeth are ice princesses; they go back and forth rejecting each others advances [[spoiler:until the end of the last act where Elizabeth finally accepts Darcys hand in marriage after he proposes for a second time]]. Probably belongs in literature as well.
* Practically the entire point of ''The Cutting Edge'', which is about an Olympic-class female figure skater who can't find a partner because of how high her standards are and how vicious she is toward them. The guy she eventually finds actually refers to her as an ice queen in the scene right before she finally defrosts. It's so much in focus that the film even ends before we find out whether or not they won the [[spoiler:Olympic gold medal]].
* Sally from ''Film/DontBeAfraidOfTheDark'' starts out as this. When she first meets her dad's new girlfriend Kim, she coldly rejects Kim's attempts at friendship with her, first shown when she hesitantly accepts the teddy bear Kim bought her. Over the course of the film, she warms up to Kim when the latter is the only one to believe her stories about the evil creatures living in the old mansion they're staying in. This is best exemplified when she's shown to be visibly upset when the creatures ruin her teddy bear, and even more so when [[spoiler: she cries at Kim's HeroicSacrifice near the end.]]
* In ''Film/UnaccompaniedMinors'', Oliver Porter starts out as being a bullyish character, irritated that his flight to Hawaii was cancelled, but having to deal with the antics of the children, he eventually calms down and actually plays SantaClaus for all the stranded children at his airport.

%%* Agent 99 from ''Film/GetSmart''.zero context
%%* Linus Larabee from both film versions (Creator/HumphreyBogart, Creator/HarrisonFord) of ''Sabrina''. zero context

* The best male example is Rick Blaine (Creator/HumphreyBogart) in ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''. He affects like he doesn't care any more about Ilsa Lund when she re-enters his life; he pretends that he doesn't care about anything actually. But in the end he first professes his love for Ilsa before putting her on the plane with her husband.
%%* Robert in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' is another male example.zero context

%%* Megara aka Meg from ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' combines this with TheSnarkKnight.zero context
%%* Rose Sayer (played by Creator/KatharineHepburn) in ''TheAfricanQueen''. Seems to be a common theme in these Creator/HumphreyBogart films.zero context
%%* ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory''.zero context
%%* In ''Film/CoolAsIce'', we have the interesting situation of a heart of stone being [[IncrediblyLamePun defrosted]] by Music/VanillaIce.zero context
%%* Charleton Heston, of all people, is one of these in ''[[Literature/LeiningenVersusTheAnts The Naked Jungle]]''.zero context
%%* Kat in ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' zero context
%%* ''Film/DrivingMissDaisy.'' zero context
%%* Anna Scot in ''Film/NottingHill'' is not as "icy" as some versions but the theme song of the movie is a classic invocation of this trope.zero context
%%* Kelly towards Jason in ''Film/MysteryTeam''.zero context
%%* Joanna from ''Film/{{Overboard|1987}}''. zero context
* ''Film/{{Annie|2014}}'':
** Will Stacks. He throws himself into work and into getting ever wealthier until he realizes Annie brings a different sort of richness to his life.
** Miss Hannigan, both for the girls and her DoggedNiceGuy from the convenience store.
* Amelia Dedham of ''Film/DonovansReef'' who behaves like a stereotypical rich snob from Boston upon arrival in French Polynesia, but quickly begins to defrost upon admitting her own fear of the situation and meeting some local children she quickly begins to bond with.
* The titular character of ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' is a gruff man of few words, who has completely cut himself off from humanity and cares little for Furiosa and the women she's trying to protect. He speaks in grunts, shoots a pregnant woman in the leg and keeps his distance from everyone else. After spending a lot of time with the girls, he rediscovers compassion, changing his initial plan of "escape Joe's men at any cost" to "protect the women at any cost." At the end of the film, Max willingly donates his blood to save Furiosa's life and finally tells her his name.
* ''Film/RecordOfATenementGentleman'': A non-romantic example involving a middle-aged widow getting tasked with taking care of a homeless boy. Tone is initially very put out when Kohei gets foisted on her. She tries to ditch the boy in Chigasaki. She chastises him for wetting the bed, harshly scolds him again for eating the persimmons (which as it turns out he didn't even do), and is generally harsh and unfriendly towards Kohei. But eventually the frosty facade melts and by the end she's asking if he wants to be her son.
* ''Film/OfficeRomance'': Ludmilla's character arc. She is cold and distant and serious to the point where she's nearly robotic, until Anatoly calls her "inhuman and heartless." Her formerly cold and distant manner starts cracking right around the time she bursts into tears after summoning Anatoly to her office specifically to deny that she is inhuman and heartless. It turns out that she's desperately lonely, afraid to fall in love again after a previous romance ended in heartbreak. Love tentatively blooms between her and Anatoly.
* ''Film/PacificRimUprising'': Liwen Shao, head of [[MegaCorp Shao Industries]] starts the movie as a shrewd, no-nonsense businesswoman who looks down upon everyone, and vehemently believes that her drone program, which she intends will replace the Jaegers, is humanity's only chance of survival should the Precursors decide to send more Kaiju, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and refuses to speak in anything but Mandarin.]] Once her drone program goes on the fritz [[spoiler: as result of her head researcher, [[BigBad Newton "Newt"]] Geizler, sabotaging the program after [[BrainwashedAndCrazy his mind was taken over by the Precursors]],]] she cooperates with the heroes by willingly opening up the vast resources of her company, starts communicating with the others in English, and even has a BigDamnHeroes moment at the end.
* In ''Film/MortalEngines'', Hester starts the film totally driven by revenge on Valentine, but starts to soften throughout the movie due to Tom's influence, saving his life after stating just a few minutes before she'd have abandoned him in a heartbeat after he refused to do the same to her. Comes to a head in the climax, where [[spoiler:she realises how her quest to avenge her mother has made her [[NotSoDifferentRemark no different]] to the maniacal and unhinged Valentine, and chooses to live instead, escaping to be with Tom while Valentine gets crushed by the city's treads]].
* Olive at the beginning of ''Film/{{Popeye}}'' is very snooty, especially towards Popeye. She starts to soften however [[BabiesMakeEverythingBetter when the two find Swee'pea]] and they eventually end up developing feelings for each other.
* Wichita from ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'' is quite a cold-hearted jerk to both Tallahassee and Columbus (especially the latter), robbing them ''twice''. Slowly over time, however, she starts to warm up to Columbus by sympathizing with his failure to find a girlfriend in middle school and his family likely being dead in his hometown. By the end of the movie, she considers them close friends, even [[ItMakesSenseInContext finding a Twinkie for Tallahasse.]]
* ''Film/LetMeIn'' shows Abby. At first she is cold and dismissive of Owen, and tells him openly that she wants to be left alone and that they cannot be friends. Over time, however, he can soften her and make her happier and happier. Towards the end of the film, she acts like an ordinary 12 year old girl with a childish crush.
* ''Film/PrincessProtectionProgram'': A non-romantic example. Carter starts the film being needlessly rude and standoffish to Rosie, from berating her for not fitting in to forcing her to do inventory by counting worms, and finally by being rude to her after she makes her and her dad dinner. However, through the course of the film Rosie teaches her that there is more to being a princess than how you look, and slowly gets Carter to come out of her shell, as well as befriend her. By the end of the movie, Carter is prepared to risk her life to save Rosie, and is even invited to her coronation.

* Lyric in ''Film/JasonsLyric'' initially rejects Jason's smooth talk before eventually reciprocate his feelings.

-->'''Jason''': Damn, you're ''cold''? Were you always this difficult?

* In ''Film/MortalEngines'', Hester starts the film totally driven by revenge on Valentine, but starts to soften throughout the movie due to Tom's influence, saving his life after stating just a few minutes before she'd have abandoned him in a heartbeat after he refused to do the same to her. Comes to a head in the climax, where [[spoiler:she realises how her quest to avenge her mother has made her NotSoDifferent to the maniacal and unhinged Valentine, and chooses to live instead, escaping to be with Tom while Valentine gets crushed by the city's treads]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'': Marianne and the Bog King both relearn to love from being grumpy snarks by [[spoiler: [[BirdsOfAFeather falling in love over fighting]], past heartbreaks and their shared [[{{Irony}} complete abhorrence to love]].]]

** Miranda Frost in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' appears to be a straight-up version of this trope, right down to her MeaningfulName, but is actually a subversion [[spoiler:as she's secretly working for the villain, and thus didn't 'melt emotionally' as she appeared to.]]
** Melina Havelock of ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' is arguably the iciest Bond girl, with her desire to avenge her murdered parents.

%%* Joanna from ''Film/{{Overboard}}''.zero context