The Complexity of the #frozen films: A thread!!

Before I start, please don't post Frozen hate on this thread. I'm neurodivergent and this series has been a huge hyperfixtation of mine since 2013, and I'm just trying to share the same light and love with others to have a deeper meaning!

Now, this thread will cover all of the media connected except for the Once Upon a Time crossover which was completely noncanon and ruined what Frozen 2 built.

We'll start first with Anna, the actual series protagonist.

Anna is heavily ND coded, specifically ADHD. She's very social and loves Elsa. As she says in "The Next Right Thing", she claims 'I followed you around, I always have.' which shows she is very dependant on others, which is valid, considering she spent her childhood to teens alone

Revealed in a deleted song from Frozen 2, Anna reveals how much her found family means to her, and how they complete her. In the final film, Anna loses them all. Olaf and Elsa 'die' and Kristoff 'left her'. Her grief swallows her up for an entire night.

Backtracking, this most definitely reminded her of when Hans left her to die in Frozen 1. While not entirely the same, that feeling of being alone and scared was there. This time she didn't have hope that someone would rescue her.

So Anna did the strongest thing I've ever seen any Disney character do. She got up. Keep in mind, she had only a few hours to grief the lost of her family. You can tell with it being afternoon when she went into the cave and sunrise when she exited.

Anna knew, as she stood and looked at the dam, that she was queen now. It was her duty to save Arendelle, which meant the castle would have to go. She knew her real home wasn't the castle, but the people. She did all of this, while overcome with grief.

after all is done, she reunites with Kristoff and the Northuldra, and quietly shares her grief with her boyfriend, knowing already, she is a ruler now. Nothing will be the same. But Elsa comes back. Her grief doesn't wash away, but she breaks down as she hugs her sister.

Anna was the hero of Frozen 2. She did all of this while fighting her grief. All while the rest of the franchise subtlety hints that she becomes the queen by having Anna be more social with the Arendelle citizens more than Elsa

now onto Elsa, who is Disney's first princess with a canonical mental health disorder. Three actually! Depression, anxiety and PTSD

Right away in Frozen 1, we are shown Elsa to be just as excitable as Anna, as they play together. But the trauma of that night changed her personality entirely, due to a deadly fear.

She isolated herself, locked away her feelings, surrounded herself in cold ice. Which is incredibly sad, considering fear is what strikes her powers out of control.

When her parents die, it becomes harder to manage. Her grief mixed with the others create a frozen storm which we can see later on when Anna 'dies'.

When Elsa is coronated, she believes maybe things could change, evident in the Frozen broadway song 'Dangerous to Dream' but her anxiety of hurting Anna quickly shuts up her thoughts.

When Elsa begins her storm in Frozen 1 it is because of Anna wondering why Elsa won't just talk to her, which causes an outburst that shoots ice. Elsa has a panic attack, clear in her face. You can tell she was thinking of that night.

She runs, isolated herself and freed herself. She could feel the pain disappear and she didn't have to hide anymore.

When Anna arrives to bring the Queen back, Elsa has two panic attacks, one small and brief when she flashes back to that night, and the strong one that froze Anna's heart.

Her fear gets worse as she knows about the storm, and when Hans shows up. In "Monster" from Frozen Broadway, Elsa reveals she considered taking her own life to stop the storm.

Flash way forward to when Hans said Anna was dead. The Frozen storm from earlier returns. Her grief makes her world stand still. Her worst fears have been realized.

When she cries over Anna, it's her love for her sister that saves her, love was the answer. Love rules over fear.

In the Frozen shorts, we see Elsa trying to open up more and she succeeds but Frozen 2 shows she needed her time away, after finally loving herself

Olaf is a representation of their childhood innocence that was lost due to that traumatic night.

Kristoff is an example of a caring person after an abusive relationship. It is revealed that he doesn't want to pressure Anna into marrying which is why it took a few years of dating, due to the trauma Hans put her through.

In conclusion, Frozen and Frozen 2 are beautiful stories about how mental health can make you seem like a monster, but you aren't, and that grief is scary but you have to go on and be strong for those you've lost.

End of Thread