This is a simple article pointing out the things I like the most and the least when it comes to six of the most prominent characters in Frozen: Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, Hans, and Sven. I don't intend to go into too much detail, but... we'll see!
Anna
Favourite thing:
As far as Disney Princesses go, she's pretty undignified and clumsy at times. I love this about her. It seems to be a trait many of us can relate to, which is cool, but it's also a reminder that being born into royalty doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have an elegant, sophisticated attitude in everything you do.
Least favourite thing:
Although the writers made it work for them in the storyline, I wasn't too crazy about Anna's desperation for romance. It's a trait that's very overdone in film, and is almost always used on the lead female character. It's not the end of the world, but considering I adored so many other things about Anna's character, I personally found this predictable trait a bit of a let-down.
Elsa
Favourite thing:
There are hidden depths to Elsa that are overlooked by the other characters. I like that they jump to the conclusion that she chooses to be a loner, while the truth is that she's keeping to herself in the interest of everyone else's safety, due to lack of control over her powers. I like that everyone makes false assumptions about her attitude. Even her own sister misinterprets her behaviour. This is something real people go through from time to time, and even close, caring family members can make false assumptions every once in a while.
Least favourite thing:
When the film was over, I felt like I wanted to learn more about Elsa's character. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it means that she must have interested me during the events of the film! However, I did feel a bit unsatisfied that I wasn't as familiar with her personality as I was with many of the other main characters. Still, here's hoping I will learn more about her in the upcoming sequel!
Kristoff
Favourite thing:
Kristoff is clearly not a serious guy. He comes across fairly fun-loving, was raised by trolls, talks to his reindeer, and then voices the reindeer in response to himself. And yet, he is forced to take on the role of the "straight man" for the majority of the adventure. Considering he's on a team consisting of Anna, Olaf, and Sven, he is likely the most sensible of the team, but I like that he is not your typical no-nonsense character. He becomes the responsible one of the group because he's the closest thing they've got, not because it's entirely fitting to him. That is a lovely bit of character design right there.
Least favourite thing:
Kristoff is one of my favourite characters (I love him even more than Elsa!) but I really wish we knew more of his backstory. We know he was adopted by the trolls for whatever reason, and even before that he seemed to be friendlier with Sven than any humans. This is even referred to later in the film, in the form of a little song he performs! But I think there's more to tell about him, and the writers didn't bother to include many details about his background. Maybe they didn't regard it important to the storyline, but it would be nice to learn more about his life and backstory.
Olaf
Favourite thing:
I envy the animators every time I see Olaf. I love what they do with him, and it must have been so much fun to work on! His snowman anatomy gives them a lot of opportunities to pull him apart and have him land back together again, for visual comical effects, and they make great use of these opportunities too. Sure, there are things I enjoy about Olaf's personality too, but when asking myself what my absolute favourite thing is about him, I've got to be honest and admit it's his crazy, cartoony snowman anatomy!
Least favourite thing:
As a young kid, I could sometimes find certain parts of Disney films overwhelming. A lot of them contain scenes that are scary for small children, so I was always relieved when the plucky comic relief came on and cheered me up! Olaf is that role in Frozen, although I do feel as though these characters are losing their appeal to me as I get older. Don't get me wrong, I still think he's a great character, and I realise this is down to personal taste, but I'm starting to notice now how these characters only really appealed to me for a brief moment of my life. It's a shame really, and I kind of feel annoyed with myself for not being able to enjoy him as much as I likely would have done when I was five years old.
Hans
Favourite thing:
It actually surprised me a little when I found out how many fans didn't enjoy the twist in the story that revealed to us what Hans was really like. When re-watching the film now, I like noticing the little hints the animators gave us in his expressions and body language that subtly suggest to us that there's something evil about him. Admittedly, I was more relieved than anything when it turned out he was the bad guy. Leading up to this, I found his character a little boring. Typical Disney Prince for a lot of the film, until it turns out he is an evil prince! This made his character suddenly more exciting for me. While I notice the hints in his character in the first half of the film now, when I was watching it for the first time, it never crossed my mind he'd be the antagonist.
Least favourite thing:
As mentioned, I was disinterested in the character for the first portion of the film. I was actually glad when it was decided that he would stay behind while the story continued to follow Anna on her adventure. Of course, even though I think it's a shame they made his personality so similar to the average Disney Prince at first, like I said, it did make it that much better when he turned out to be evil, so at least something good came out of this least favourite thing of mine!
Sven
Favourite thing:
I have always loved the animal sidekicks in Disney Princess films. They're just great. I love how cute they can be, but also - and to me, more importantly - how hilariously expressive they are! My favourite thing about Sven is that, in my opinion at least, he is just the right mix of everything a Disney animal character should be. Adorable, fun relationships with the humans (and snowmen!) he interacts with the most, priceless facial expressions... I love him more and more every time I see the movie, and I think this is why. He's a great mix of everything he needs to be.
Least favourite thing:
While Sven certainly has the right mix of all the traits I love, he does still possess one trait that I feel he could do without (and I know I'm not alone in thinking this); he acts less like a reindeer and more like a dog. It's not uncommon to see this in animation - a lot of animal sidekicks in films and cartoons possess the "All Animals are Dogs" trope. While I don't hate this trope, I do think it causes animators and character designers to fall back on their creativity. I love it when Disney animators study the anatomy and mannerisms of real life animals that are the same species as their characters, and I wish they would do it more often.
So, there we are! A little longer than I'd planned, but ah well. Some information on my own opinions of the main characters of Frozen.
Anna
Favourite thing:
As far as Disney Princesses go, she's pretty undignified and clumsy at times. I love this about her. It seems to be a trait many of us can relate to, which is cool, but it's also a reminder that being born into royalty doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have an elegant, sophisticated attitude in everything you do.
Least favourite thing:
Although the writers made it work for them in the storyline, I wasn't too crazy about Anna's desperation for romance. It's a trait that's very overdone in film, and is almost always used on the lead female character. It's not the end of the world, but considering I adored so many other things about Anna's character, I personally found this predictable trait a bit of a let-down.
Elsa
Favourite thing:
There are hidden depths to Elsa that are overlooked by the other characters. I like that they jump to the conclusion that she chooses to be a loner, while the truth is that she's keeping to herself in the interest of everyone else's safety, due to lack of control over her powers. I like that everyone makes false assumptions about her attitude. Even her own sister misinterprets her behaviour. This is something real people go through from time to time, and even close, caring family members can make false assumptions every once in a while.
Least favourite thing:
When the film was over, I felt like I wanted to learn more about Elsa's character. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it means that she must have interested me during the events of the film! However, I did feel a bit unsatisfied that I wasn't as familiar with her personality as I was with many of the other main characters. Still, here's hoping I will learn more about her in the upcoming sequel!
Kristoff
Favourite thing:
Kristoff is clearly not a serious guy. He comes across fairly fun-loving, was raised by trolls, talks to his reindeer, and then voices the reindeer in response to himself. And yet, he is forced to take on the role of the "straight man" for the majority of the adventure. Considering he's on a team consisting of Anna, Olaf, and Sven, he is likely the most sensible of the team, but I like that he is not your typical no-nonsense character. He becomes the responsible one of the group because he's the closest thing they've got, not because it's entirely fitting to him. That is a lovely bit of character design right there.
Least favourite thing:
Kristoff is one of my favourite characters (I love him even more than Elsa!) but I really wish we knew more of his backstory. We know he was adopted by the trolls for whatever reason, and even before that he seemed to be friendlier with Sven than any humans. This is even referred to later in the film, in the form of a little song he performs! But I think there's more to tell about him, and the writers didn't bother to include many details about his background. Maybe they didn't regard it important to the storyline, but it would be nice to learn more about his life and backstory.
Olaf
Favourite thing:
I envy the animators every time I see Olaf. I love what they do with him, and it must have been so much fun to work on! His snowman anatomy gives them a lot of opportunities to pull him apart and have him land back together again, for visual comical effects, and they make great use of these opportunities too. Sure, there are things I enjoy about Olaf's personality too, but when asking myself what my absolute favourite thing is about him, I've got to be honest and admit it's his crazy, cartoony snowman anatomy!
Least favourite thing:
As a young kid, I could sometimes find certain parts of Disney films overwhelming. A lot of them contain scenes that are scary for small children, so I was always relieved when the plucky comic relief came on and cheered me up! Olaf is that role in Frozen, although I do feel as though these characters are losing their appeal to me as I get older. Don't get me wrong, I still think he's a great character, and I realise this is down to personal taste, but I'm starting to notice now how these characters only really appealed to me for a brief moment of my life. It's a shame really, and I kind of feel annoyed with myself for not being able to enjoy him as much as I likely would have done when I was five years old.
Hans
Favourite thing:
It actually surprised me a little when I found out how many fans didn't enjoy the twist in the story that revealed to us what Hans was really like. When re-watching the film now, I like noticing the little hints the animators gave us in his expressions and body language that subtly suggest to us that there's something evil about him. Admittedly, I was more relieved than anything when it turned out he was the bad guy. Leading up to this, I found his character a little boring. Typical Disney Prince for a lot of the film, until it turns out he is an evil prince! This made his character suddenly more exciting for me. While I notice the hints in his character in the first half of the film now, when I was watching it for the first time, it never crossed my mind he'd be the antagonist.
Least favourite thing:
As mentioned, I was disinterested in the character for the first portion of the film. I was actually glad when it was decided that he would stay behind while the story continued to follow Anna on her adventure. Of course, even though I think it's a shame they made his personality so similar to the average Disney Prince at first, like I said, it did make it that much better when he turned out to be evil, so at least something good came out of this least favourite thing of mine!
Sven
Favourite thing:
I have always loved the animal sidekicks in Disney Princess films. They're just great. I love how cute they can be, but also - and to me, more importantly - how hilariously expressive they are! My favourite thing about Sven is that, in my opinion at least, he is just the right mix of everything a Disney animal character should be. Adorable, fun relationships with the humans (and snowmen!) he interacts with the most, priceless facial expressions... I love him more and more every time I see the movie, and I think this is why. He's a great mix of everything he needs to be.
Least favourite thing:
While Sven certainly has the right mix of all the traits I love, he does still possess one trait that I feel he could do without (and I know I'm not alone in thinking this); he acts less like a reindeer and more like a dog. It's not uncommon to see this in animation - a lot of animal sidekicks in films and cartoons possess the "All Animals are Dogs" trope. While I don't hate this trope, I do think it causes animators and character designers to fall back on their creativity. I love it when Disney animators study the anatomy and mannerisms of real life animals that are the same species as their characters, and I wish they would do it more often.
So, there we are! A little longer than I'd planned, but ah well. Some information on my own opinions of the main characters of Frozen.
