I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but I have to ask, where is it stated that the people of Arendelle canonically dislike Anna? I never got that impression from the movie. Is it a detail that was in one of the books that they've been releasing or something?
::oh!!!!!!! sorry!!!!! i should have added like a link or something!!!!
in the deleted scenes/songs which (i think? are canon? I think that’s how it works in the fandom world, and they helped develop anna’s character, like it or not) anna has some conversations with the townspeople, it becomes very obvious that the people of ARENDELLE aren’t very interested in their princess. In fact, they hardly notice her in the movie at all!! In ‘For The First Time In Forever’ they ignore Anna rushing through the open gates, only focused on Elsa.
In this deleted scene, Anna is trying to find a pig, and instead of helping, all the people in arendelle don’t really seem to care what she’s doing -- or that she’s in trouble -- they are more concerned about their stuff, not her safety. The little boy, Anders, LITERALLY says he wants Elsa to help instead!
Now, its true that Anna is kinnndaaa a fuck up, but she has a great heart. And the fact that the people or her kingdom would rather see elsa than even talk to anna is incredible to me. She tries so hard, and they don’t really care too much.
In ‘More Than Just A Spare0’ a deleted song anna sings that she’s not part of the town, further explaining the idea that the people of ARENDELLE are more interested in Elsa or themselves to care about their spare princess.
basically anna is shoved under the rug like all the time and I’m tired of it hahaha
Alright, so I’ve already talked about how Elsa is not the best sister in the world. Throughout the movie, she is struggling with trying to protect Anna from her powers, but in doing so, she leaves Anna to deal with the death of their parents, the struggle of living in a kingdom that dislikes the awkward princess, and the pressures of ruling a kingdom for 3 years while Elsa came of age (a particularly dark time for ARENDELLE as a whole).
Now, i’m not saying Elsa was a horrible bitch who didn’t do anything nice for Anna. And I’m not saying that it was Elsa’s fault. It wasn’t -- it was a combination of poor writing, not enough time to expand on Elsa, and too many plotholes. What I’m really focusing on, is that fact that A MAJORITY OF THE FROZEN FANDOM IDOLIZES ELSA AND PUSHES ANNA TO THE SIDE. I’m not saying you do it. I’m not saying you don’t. I’m not saying it’s your fault. I’m just saying, it’s what fucking happens.
Let me explain.
THROUGHOUT FROZEN, Anna is trying to save her sister, trying to bring her back to their kingdom, because “I pushed her, so I need to be the one to go after her.” Which is true -- Anna did push Elsa into revealing her powers. Anna didn’t let Elsa just talk to her alone (which would have saved their relationship, but then, no movie). Anna isn’t a perfect character. She’s just much more tragic than Elsa.
I know, it’s wild. But I mean it.
ANNA was trapped in a kingdom that didn’t like her and a castle that didn’t notice her for her entire life. Once Elsa’s powers were kept secret, Anna faded to the background. Sure, she had servants, but so did Elsa. Sure, she had parents, but so did Elsa. Anna could leave whenever she wanted, that’s true. But where was she to go, honestly? Her own sister didn’t want her. Her kingdom didn’t want her. Where was she supposed to be? It’s why Anna is so desperate for love. She just wants to be noticed. Even after the THAW, I would argue that Anna is just as much if not more ignored than she was before. Suddenly, Elsa is back. Elsa loves herself. Elsa is the star of ARENDELLE.
YES, Anna loves her sister -- she always has, she has too much love to give (she loves Elsa because what else is she going to do? Anna can’t hate, she just can’t. She can’t push people away.) its why she goes on this incredible journey to find and bring Elsa back. She knows it probably won’t work, but she’s gotta try, because “nobody wants to be alone!” It’s just her way of thinking because she’s been alone her whole life. Whether you want to admit it or not, her parents definitely spent more time with/worrying about Elsa than they did with Anna. It doesn’t matter that Elsa had more going on, which she did. Anna was still pushed to the side, again.
SO ANNA goes after Elsa, in hopes to bring her back. Elsa immediately tells Anna to leave, that she’s just protecting her, but Anna isn’t afraid. Elsa continues to push her away, instead of trying to get the help she needs from the one person she has left, Elsa forces Anna out.
THEN, they don’t see each other again until the frozen fjord, where Anna sacrifices herself for Elsa because Elsa is the one person who needs love the most. It’s not because it was the act of true love. It was because nobody was ever going to try to love Elsa, nobody was ever going to get the chance to love Elsa in Anna’s mind. Elsa was unloveable because she always pushed people away. . Anna saw this, said ‘fuck it’ and used her last bits of life to save her sister.
Anna is a much better, more well-rounded character than Elsa. Elsa is axnious, scared, confused, and hurt for the entire movie. She barely shows any other range of emotion until the end, where she magically learns to love herself and everything is fine. (I know it’s Disney, but it just .....does not work that way. I’ll chalk that one up to being for kids.)
It just...It amazes me how the fandom can push Anna away, a character who is so beyond just quirky and kind, in favor of Elsa just because she’s so tragic. She’s not tragic. She’s a poorly written character who needed more development. ELSA is a horrible example of how to get over your fears and insecurities, and she is a horrible role-model for self-love.
I cannot stress enough that Elsa is a horrible role-model for learning self love. Anna is a much better example, because she puts other’s needs before her own. Elsa never puts anyone before herself, even though the whole time that’s what she says she’s doing. Actions speak louder than words, and she never backs her words up. I am sick and tired of people loving Elsa.
I KNOW there are people who relate to her. That’s 100% okay. You can relate to her struggles, but please don’t relate to her in thinking that that is how you overcome your mental illness. Locking yourself away and trying to work through it yourself is NEVER GOING TO WORK. You need to accept the help (the anna) that is offered to you. It’s hard to accept that help, trust me. But you cannot, not should you have to, do it all yourself.
i can’t write anymore, elsa isn’t a great character (she’s...fine, I guess) but she is not the savior of frozen, nor should she be a role model for feminisim or mental health. I won’t say anything about a love interest, because frankly I don’t care who Elsa gets with -- I think she needs to work on herself more first. Disney needs to work on her more, first.
1.) I love how in the song "Let it Go" she realizes how her power can be good and not something to be scared of also...
2.) Does anyone think that the only fear she had was from herself and that is what hurt her.I think that if she had been open with her powers from the start it would not be that big of a deal to her and she would be able to deal with her powers better
