Let the storm rage on!
Frozen is one powerful movie; here are some moments that show just why.
ALL spoilers on this page are UNMARKED. This will give away what happens in the franchise.
- The big one: the song sequence of "Let It Go" where Elsa unleashes the true potential of her power, effortlessly building a massive ice fortress for her to reside in. The scope, the camera angles, all the details Elsa adds to the fortress, conjuring her new dress, it's genuinely awe-inducing. All scored with Idina Menzel's powerful voice.
- You would think there would be a steep learning curve for Elsa, as she has obsessively suppressed her powers for nigh on thirteen years. Yet upon seeing her conjure such an impressive castle on a whim, on her first attempt, it begins to sink in just how powerful she can be. The scene isn't just beautiful and poignant; it's a stunning display of Elsa's strength, talent, and creativity, showcasing just what an incredible girl she can be when she believes in herself.
- From what we see of the castle Elsa creates, there are no foundations or load bearing support, just hundreds of tons of ice clinging onto a steep, precarious slope on the edge of an abyss (and ice isn't the best building material to begin with). Yet she keeps it standing, with no discernible effort, for days. Even in the 21st century, mankind couldn't construct and maintain a building like that, but Elsa created it all by herself without breaking a sweat.
- "Let It Go" is one of the most critically acclaimed songs released in Disney history, ever.
- As well as being 100% awesome music, "Let It Go" is 100% awesome story-wise. After years of pressure to hold her power back, she manages to throw it off and do awesome things. Without practice.
- Anna taking down a wolf with a lute. When more wolves grab Kristoff, she lights a sleeping bag on fire and throws it at them.
- Kristoff taking down a wolf by repeatedly kicking him. With one foot! It's a really cool demonstration that he is genuinely a strong, rugged mountain-man.
- Shortly after, Sven's leap across a gorge.
- Kristoff putting Anna on Sven's back and cutting the harness when he sees the ravine, making sure that even if he doesn't make it, his best friend and the young woman in his care will. That's a crowning moment, an Establishing Character Moment, and a Heroic Sacrifice all in one, folks.
- The set-up for the above: Due to severe anxiety, Elsa has just lost control of her powers and accidentally frozen their home. Anna has only learned about her sister's powers in this moment, after a whole childhood of estrangement from the sister she loves, and now Elsa has disappeared into the mountains. So what does Anna do? Go after her, of course, not only to save their home, but to save her sister from her own fear and loneliness. In a way, the entire main part of the film is an act of love from Anna.
- Seeing Kristoff's design for the first time. There's something awesome about his physical build. Compare him to other Disney heroes. They're mostly slim and just tall enough to embrace a princess and kiss them without overshadowing them. Hans is a perfect example of this. Kristoff is significantly taller than Anna and the other main characters, broad shouldered, rugged and muscular, with big feet and hands. Upon his first adult appearance, he is given slightly ominous music as he enters Wandering Oaken's Trading Post & Sauna, and he's almost a full head taller than Anna is. They want you to know, "This guy works outdoors. He'd better look like it too." He can lift Anna right off her feet without blinking, and he performs quite a lot of physical exertion in the movie. For once, a guy who is strong also looks it.
- Anna rescuing Kristoff from falling over the cliff by throwing him the pickaxe and rope.
- Hans and his men fighting against Marshmallow. Hans wins his fight by cutting Marshmallow's leg off with one slice! Possibly more awesome is Marshmallow's attempt to grab Hans and drag him into the chasm.
- Elsa's awesome fight scene against the Duke of Weselton's lackeys, nearly killing them with her impressive ice powers. Despite the relentless attacks, Elsa doesn't let up either. It shows that anger and man's basic survival instinct gives Elsa even better control of her powers than fear.
- And then Hans pleading with Elsa to not become the monster everyone thinks she is by taking their lives. Granted, it's in his own interests but it at least helps Elsa to not take a life.
- Oh, and speaking of this scene, just a second, Hans diverts the Duke's Guard's crossbow from being aimed at Elsa to being shot at a small ice chain holding up the chandelier. It's clear that Hans was deliberately trying to kill Elsa without actually aiming for her, by aiming for the chandelier because you actually see him glance upwards briefly before running to redirect the arrow. You'd have to have amazing marksmanship to pull that off. He's a goddamn good sniper.
- The two guards themselves put up one hell of a fight. They take Elsa on at the same time, they make several attempts to get behind her and flank her, they never keep their eyes off her, they stagger their slow-loading crossbows bolt shots so at least one of them can cover the other (like modern army soldiers do with automatic weaponry), and they just don't give up (which would be easy to do going up against, what amounts to, a demigod). One of them actually lines up a fatal shot after being pinned to the wall and almost being impaled.
- The Reveal: Hans is the Big Bad, a carefully researched Sociopath. Disney didn't go around dropping an orgy of foreshadowing; it's only in hindsight that you see it.
- The best part? You knew it wasn't the end of the movie. You knew his kiss wasn't going to work; it must be Kristoff. But admit it, when Hans turned out to be the Big Bad, you still went, "YOU WHAAAAAAAA?!"
- One simple sentence that made the entire audience reevaluate what they knew about Hans:"Oh, Anna... if only there was someone out there who loved you."
- When Anna sees Hans is about to kill Elsa, she intercepts his sword just as her body turns into ice. When the sword hits her now frozen hand, it's the sword that shatters. This ends up being the "act of true love" that breaks the curse.
- Just as Hans' sword is about to strike Anna, it grows frost on it, just as it was about to shatter. Any metalworker knows there must be a proper balance of heat and cold when forging a sword, otherwise the metal grows too brittle to effectively use. Anna was so cold, she fucked with the molecular structure of metal.
- There was no way Anna could have known that her hand would turn to ice at that exact moment. She was so intent on protecting her estranged sister that she was willing to shield Elsa with her own body against a fatal sword blow. Anna came close to getting her hand split down the middle, yet Anna herself was reaching to grab the blade even as it fell.
- Anna has been frozen by Elsa... so just how cold are Elsa's snow powers if they can shatter metal? Normal snow and ice cannot do that under normal circumstances... Elsa's snow powers are either as hot as lava (which is one of the few things that can melt metal) or made of something extremely powerful. "[...]stronger than one, stronger than ten, stronger than a hundred men" — those ice-miners at the beginning of the movie really knew what they were talking about.
- Kristoff marching his way to go throttle Hans for what he did. Luckily (however you look at it), Anna stops him. What makes this moment awesome is that it shows that you NEVER want to mess with the people Kristoff loves.
- Sven and Kristoff galloping across the frozen fjord in a huge ice storm to save Anna, as the frozen ships begin to collapse around them.
- Near the end, Sven looked like he'll just drown, and Kristoff is already worrying for his buddy's survival... Sven climbed right back up to the surface. For a reindeer, Sven's really tough!
- You mean even for a reindeer, he's tough. Sven's depiction throughout the film is an Awesome moment for his species, which for too long has been depicted as cuddly, twee and diminutive. But every Arctic-adapted animal is as tough as they come, and real reindeer are no exception.
- Olaf saving Anna from freezing to death alone, thus Hans only failed in his plan because he didn't even know Olaf existed.
- It may be a small one, but the way that Anna and Elsa's parents ride on their horses to save Anna's life. They don't stop riding. Their horses are going fast. Just seeing these two parents riding on their horses to save one of their two daughters is just awesome.
- The opening scene with the ice harvesters. Seeing them do their professional work, while singing, is just awesome. That had to have been the manliest Disney song since "I'll Make A Man Out You".
- The Great Thaw. Heartwarming and Awesome combine into Tears of Joy for Elsa. And quite a lot of the audience.
- Massive points for Disney for straying away from their Obviously Evil villain path and making Hans a completely different but extremely well-done type of Disney Villain: A sociopathic Jerkass Woobie who is clever and calculating while being able to hide his evilness from the characters and even the viewer!
- It may be Villainous Awesome, but Hans' performance as a grief-stricken widower for the council of the ambassadors is a tour de force. When he passes the death sentence on Elsa, you can just make out tears in his eyes. He's an appalling man, but Santino Fontana Really Can Act.
- Just as good is when Anna has one final word with Hans:Hans: Anna? But... she froze your heart!
Anna: The only frozen heart around here is yours. (turns around to leave before turning back and socking him in the face)- For a more subtle bit of awesome in the scene: notice her hands? No bruises. Anna is made of excruciatingly strong stuff.
- Kai telling off the Duke of Weselton when he starts making trouble again at the end:Kai: Oh, I have a message from the Queen. (opens a documented scroll) "Arendelle will henceforth and forever no longer do business of any sort with Weasel Town."
Duke: WESELTON! IT'S WESELTON!
