Queer Reading of Disney's Frozen

Nichole Currier

Robin DeRosa

Critical Theory

8 December 2015

Queer Reading of Disney’s Frozen

            Disney films are often known for their perfect, fairy tale story line. A beautiful princess finds herself in an awful situation, but is ultimately rescued by her dashing prince charming and they marry before living happily ever after. But what happens when one looks at these stories through a Queer Theory lens? Do these stories still hold the same stereotypical, heterosexual plot line we all know and cherish? Many would argue that they do not. In fact, just about any Disney movie contains a female character that goes against the social norms and what is expected from her by her family because she is misunderstood. In The Little Mermaid, Ariel refuses to listen to her father, as she wishes to be free to go to the human world and live the life she dreams of. In Aladdin, Jasmine denies the suitors her father lines us for her, insisting that she does not wish to be pushed into a relationship she does not feel is right for her. Even in Mulan, Mulan continuously questions the social norms of her town and the match making she is forced to endure, having rather change her entire identity to make a difference in her world and live the life she wanted. However, none of these movies imply homosexual tendencies quite as strongly as one of Disney’s most recent films; Frozen.

            In her queer reading of the Disney movie, Conceal, Don’t Feel: A Queer Reading of Disney’s [Frozen], Angel Daniel Matos discusses how “Frozen is perhaps the queerest film ever produced by Disney” (Matos). Matos goes on to discuss the various points throughout the film that lead to her conclusion that it contains various queer undertones. Many of these points have to do with one of the main protagonists of the film; Elsa. Frozen is a heterosexual film that shows the struggle of Elsa as she overcomes her differences and accepts who she truly is.

            In her paper, Matos shows how at the very beginning of the film Elsa’s parents realize there is something ‘wrong’ with her. After deciding that she would be incapable of living life like everyone else in the kingdom, her parents shut Elsa away in her room and limit any contact she may have with anyone else in the kingdom. This isolated room translates quite literally to the metaphor of homosexuals living in a closet before revealing their true feelings to those around them. By keeping Elsa locked away in her own form of a closet, Disney shows how she lives the early stages of her life hiding who she really is to everyone. “It is uncanny that the main enforcers of Elsa’s suppression are her parents—authority figures that try their best to uphold an image of normalcy by shutting Elsa away from the outside world” (Matos). By keeping Elsa in her safe haven, her parents succeed in keeping her ‘powers’ hidden for her entire childhood life. It is after her parents die and Elsa is released from this closet, however, that the homosexual undertones of the film can truly be seen.

            Almost immediately after receiving the crown to her kingdom following her parents death, Elsa begins breaking the binaries that surround her. Though by accident, she ends up revealing her secret and her true self to the entire kingdom during her coronation. While Elsa does flee in fear of being harmed for what people now know of her (a common occurrence in many homosexual stories) she begins to accept the facts about herself once she is alone. For Elsa, “breaking away from family and forgetting family lineage becomes a way of starting fresh even though it entails a failure from engaging in the heteronormative enterprise of the nuclear family” (Matos). The most popular scene of the film, where Elsa retreats up the snowy mountains singing Let it Go, can easily be seen as the moment she comes out of the closet and embraces who she truly is. Even when confronted by her sister, Elsa insists that she cannot go back because she is incapable of changing herself. Even when she does return to the kingdom, Matos points out how Elsa “declares that the gates of the castle shall stay open to the entire community, thus obliterating the divide that was being upheld between the domesticity of the castle and the queerness of the outside world.”

            One aspect of the film that Matos does not focus largely on in her paper is the fact that Elsa is not romantically involved with any of the male characters at any point throughout the film. In fact, it is her sister that is taken by both the male characters of the film at various points of the plot. Elsa, on the other hand, is constantly left on her own as she pushes away and ultimately accepts her ‘powers.’ This goes against not only the stereotypical standards of a happily ever after fairy tale, but also against the standards that Disney has put into place for the movies that have preceded this one. By having Elsa continuously be on her own, it shows the struggle she faces in accepting who she is when no one else will. This plays largely into the main theme that is often associated with homosexuality, that of being misunderstood and having to come to terms with one’s differences.

            There are many aspects of this movie that play into the heterosexual reading. Elsa is isolated from her kingdom after her parents realize she is different. She is denied contact with anyone and spends her days locked away in what refers strongly to the metaphorical ‘closet’ that many kids find themselves in today. When she does accept who she is, though, Elsa begins to find happiness with herself and those around her. She vows to keep the palace doors open, putting an end to the social binaries she was forced to uphold during her childhood. More than this, Elsa is never seen with a romantic interest at any point throughout this film. Binaries and stereotypes are constantly being broken in a way that makes Frozen an easy candidate for a queer theory reading. Frozen is a heterosexual film that shows the struggle of Elsa as she overcomes her differences and accepts who she truly is.

Citations:

Matos, Angel Daniel. "Conceal, Don't Feel: A Queer Reading of Disney's [Frozen]." The Ever and Ever That Fiction Allows. N.p., 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 08 Dec. 2015. <http://angelmatos.net/2014/01/19/disneys-frozen-queer/>.
Frozen. Dir. Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. Walt Disney Pictures, 2013. DVD.