Elsa, Simba and the Circle of Ice

by Molly Gross

  

One of the most fun features of being a parent is having the excuse to not only watch animated films, but to allow ourselves to enjoy them. Sure, we might make brief, humiliating eye contact with the parent next to us in the movie theatre when we weep over the princess-parent reunion, or when we spray popcorn in laughter over the double-meaning joke inserted just for us parents.  But luckily, we can offer the “It’s-for-my-kids-sake shrug” and go on pretending to pretend to love it. Or maybe you’re the parent who has no shame in loving kid flicks, and the only downside to taking kids to the theater is when they want to see a different animated film than you do. Either way, I think what can make watching dozens (hundreds?) of animated films, sometimes over and over, highly entertaining as well as satisfying for parents is to find deeper meaning in a script or parallels with other stories.

Take for instance, Disney’s Frozen. Our kids saw this twice in the theater, and you betcha it’s on its way in the mail to us right now. I identify more with No-Shame Parent above, and I absolutely loved this film. My admiration for the song “Let it Go” has been reinforced since Idina Menzel (Adele Dazeem if you speak Travoltanese) performed at the Oscar’s, and since that classroom-rendition on Jimmy Fallon – man, I’ve been singin’ that thing all week, and so have our kids (3 and 5. They just repeat “Let it DOE!”). Anyway, while I was cleaning today, singing it again of course, I realized there are some interesting parallels between Frozen and The Lion King (that go a bit beyond the basic ‘hero’s journey’ formula).

First off, Princesses Elsa and Anna share a vibrant, adventuresome childhood at first, much like Simba and Nala. Unfortunately, Elsa leads Anna to danger in their snow-games, much as Simba leads Nala to danger by taking her to the elephant graveyard. In each plot, the older sibling/friend is supposed to be the protector, but fails.

Jumping ahead, Elsa becomes involved in a conflict that she does not instigate herself, similar to how Simba becomes a pawn in the stampede-plan to kill Mufasa (Anna wanting to marry seems like a great thing compared to a jealous brother’s murder plot,  but hey, they both involve someone wanting the throne). Elsa’s reaction to this conflict results in chaos and violence that she feels responsible for, just as Simba feels immeasurable guilt for the death of his father. Both Elsa and Simba end up in exile in response to the pressures of their circumstances (again, part of the hero’s adventure, but all too similar in execution).

Being far from home, Elsa is finally able to let her fears and inhibitions fly, because “the past is in the past.” She makes a new home for herself, and seems happy and free, and the audience accepts this. Simba follows the same course, perhaps not as much by choice as he’s guided by two new friends, but he seems to like his new home and new motto that resonates with Elsa’s: “hakuna matata,” or “no worries.”

Meanwhile, Arendelle suffers without its queen, just as Pride Rock slowly deteriorates without a King. The conditions of each kingdom naturally result in great suffering and desperation among its subjects, and Princess Anna and Nala both venture out into the wilderness in seek of what they believe will help their respective kingdoms.

When Elsa refuses to go home with Anna, and Simba refuses to go home with Nala, both of these characters need a rude awakening; they don’t realize how important their roles are in their respective communities, or how evil are the hands (or paws) that their kingdoms have been left in. Elsa’s hit on the head is actually a hit in the heart that makes its impact on her sister. Simba LITERALLY gets hit on the head, however. In both situations, an old tribal-shaman-type man provides the wisdom needed to help clarify the “wake up call” for the stubborn royals. The leader of the Rock Trolls explains that ‘love’ is the only thing that can save Anna (and indirectly, Elsa and Arendelle), while Rafiki helps Simba see that his father’s spirit (and love) are within him (and then his father shows up, and we get into Hamlet parallels, but I’ll stick with Disney for now).

Okay, almost there. Elsa finally returns to Arendelle (sounds like Rivendell…coincidence?), which is nearly destroyed by the cold that she feels responsible for (even though she didn’t intend this to happen), and faces the challenging ruler. Simba returns to Pride Rock, which is nearly destroyed from the neglect to the balance of life, which he feels responsible for (even though he didn’t intend this to happen), and faces the challenging ruler. Whew. Now here’s where the comparison gets tricky, because Elsa is nearly slain, Anna saves her with a sacrificial-move (ala Lily Potter) that breaks the curse, and the kingdom is restored almost immediately by Elsa’s reverse-freeze. Contrarily, although Simba is nearly slain, he kicks Scar off a cliff. Perhaps Anna’s punch-to-the-prince and the hyenas’ dog-pile-on-Scar are similar attacks that the should-be-rulers don’t have to carry-out since we might not like them as much. 😉 Still, the core of each conclusion is shared: the rightful monarch is in place, the false rulers gone, the health of the kingdoms restored, and the important lessons learned: Know who you are, learn from your past, love conquers all, and DO NOT EVER decide to marry someone you’ve just met (that’s just in Frozen. Thought I’d make it as clear as they did).

On a side note, there are of course other fun character-connections to be made, like Kristoff and Olaf with Timon and Pumba, and the deaths of the parents (lay OFF of this, will ya, Disney? SHEESH), but I’ll save those for you to put together. Oh, and of course the fact that Anna is the protagonist, but it’s Elsa’s story that aligns with the hero’s formula….tawk amongst yahselves! See? I really do think it makes kids movies even more fun. Seriously, I think I love Frozen even MORE now!

Lastly, Frozen and The Lion King are, in fact, the two highest-grossing Disney Animated films of all time, Frozen having the edge. Personally, I think music has an awful lot to do with that (as my musician friend Mark pointed out, the same chord progression is seen in “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Let it Go” AND “Defying Gravity” – the latter also sung by Idina Menzel). But it seems parents and kids alike are drawn to this specific version of the hero’s tale – a child comes of age and exiles themselves from past mistakes, only to have a major event draw them home, where they restore their community with prosperity and love, and take their place in the great circle…of ice.

Sorry, it had to be done.

Welp, here it is, today’s status: Frozen and The Lion King: Has anyone else noticed this?