Huh. I find it kind of funny that you said 'Let It Go' made the movie for you, because I thought the movie was great, but the song was overhyped. To each their own, I guess.
I'm a geek.
You pretty much summed up my views on the film, ESPECIALLY the villain, completley. You can really tell Hans being evil was added at the last minute.
One thing I'd add is his "defeat" is also REALLY dissonant with his character. He's actually one of the most vile villains ever seeing in a Disney film, and what's his fate in the end? Knocks himself out anticlimactically when Anna gets in the way, is punched off the side of a ship like a comic relief Romantic False Lead and is merely imprisoned and sent back home. What? Seriously, this is a guy who cruely tells Anna he never loved her while leaving her to die, tried to unite the country against her sister and murder her and take the throne... and he's treated like a comic relief villain in the end? I'm not saying he had to die or anything, just that such a serious villain deserved a much more serious defeat. I'm actually kind of hoping this film makes it into Kingdom Hearts so he can maybe get a proper boss fight or something.
But in short, like you said, it feels like a twist for the sake of a twist. It's a fantastic twist by Disney Princess standards, but it wasn't needed. When you think about it, Hans' stint as a villain added very little to the film. The main source of tension (Anna's frozen heart) would have been just as dramatic without him.
Yep. I agree with this review in every aspect. I, too, wished that they added more depth to the characters and that the reveal of Hans being a villain could have been handled better.
"You know I'm just kidding."
Let It Go is nice, but honestly, I dislike the message it seems to convey and is way too overhyped. I have seen more memorable songs in Disney movies a good twenty years ago than Let It Go.
Leave a Comment:
Certainly Could've Been Done Better
I watched Frozen, and I liked it, I thought it was a good movie. But as I looked back on it, I realized, it could've been done better. Let me explain: If Frozen didn't have the song, 'Let It Go' it would've fall flat. C'mon, imagine the movie without that musical number. Yeah, it wouldn't get all of the hype without it. As for the others songs in Frozen, they unmemorable or out of place, aside from Do You Wanna Build a Snowman and Let It Go. Unlike other Disney movies that have certain themes through their songs like Aladdin (having a bold broadway style) or Beauty and the Beast (having that old French feeling), Frozen...you can't pin that theme to their songs, because they don't match up with each other in the first place.
Moving on to characters, they are bland. Elsa is a reserved and fear driven character, Anna the optimistic, Kristoff the snarky loner, and Hans the heroic prince charming guy. Looking at those deleted songs like, "Life's Too Short" or "More Than Just a Spare" gave dimension to the characters. Sure, it would've changed the movie drastically and the tone, but it would've made them seem more developed. As for the villain of Frozen, well, though it was quite the twist that Prince Charming Hans was the bad guy, it was way too late into the movie. It kinda smacks the audience in the face like, "HEY PEOPLE, THIS GUY WAS EVIL ALL ALONG, BETCHA WEREN'T EXPECTING THAT!!"
He didn't NEEDED to be a bad guy, in fact, there was no need for a villain at all. I'm not saying that the twist is bad, it is genius, subverting everything about Disney, but face it. It felt rushed. It felt forced. In the Big Reveal, all he was missing was a mustache to twirl and that evil villain cackle. If there was more foreshadowing, we would've suspected him and felt fear for Anna, fear about his real motive and who he really is. But no, I think the creators were so excited about the twist, they neglected to actually slowly reveal his nature as the movie goes on. For example, when he was alone with Elsa. No one was watching - Hans could've been doing a Batman Gambit or just straight up telling Elsa what he was going to do so that there can be some epic battle between them. But no, that doesn't happen.
Rating: 3/5. Average and a little overhyped. But enjoyable in the end.