I liked Frozen a lot, yeah, but I kinda wanted to 'bump in' what I didn't hear in your commentary, that's all (before you read on, my post ins't to criticise, but hopefully to compliment yours).
I'm kind of torn on the princess idea. On one hand, yeah it's overused. But I suppose you can look at it the other way around these days, it certainly feels like the big blockbusters for boys these days are superhero flicks than any other type of action flick (it certainly works that they're usually more family-friendly than how a lot of other action heroes were in the past, I suppose). It's also hard to deny that the "Princess" theme was simply used in a lot of the source material they're pulling from (they'll run out eventually?!)
On the other hand, it worked itself in as an effective plot device for how Hans fits into the story and the big issue with Elsa becoming a queen. Anna was kinda whatever about it, she just wanted a friend. Certainly the whole "royalty" adjunct makes telling a story easier sometimes (you need a lot less permission to do things). I also think that it's like that "story-telling
peak" that games similarly pose a "save the world" plot (it's just "height" and "grand-ness" to saving/being royalty, or that most honourable and courageous task of saving the world that works well for entertainment purposes).
But yeah, I don't deny that princesses are over-used...But if it works, it works, and I thought their bond as sisters out-weighed their role as royalty.
(Oh, quickly, while Brave
isn't my
least favorite Pixar film, it's certainly one that let me down the most).
And truthfully I didn't notice any
hip-swaying till you brought it up! If anything, I found Lion King's romance more suggestive because of the
eye-fucking Nala pulls during her and Simba's "romance" song. x)
Meg from Hercules had body proportions that would make even Barbie jealous. And even though it was riddled in a somewhat abstract song, Frollo's song in The Hunchback of Notre Dame was probably the most suggestive Disney came to sexual themes (literally about his 'firey passion' and lust for Esmerelda).
I think it's more of a 'grazing' of suggestive themes that Disney pulls than anything explicit.
If I see the film again, then I'll get back to you on it -- because now you've got me curious.
I don't have time to hunt it down right now, but there's an interview with Dustin Hoffman where he talks about how doing Tootsie really affected the way he thought about women. It started when he first got the makeup and wardrobe on, and he saw himself in the mirror and was really sad, because he had thought he'd be a better-looking woman than that. And then, if I remember correctly, he was upset because being attractive was the first thing he thought of as important.
I'd love to see that. Nevertheless, for all intents and purposes, I'm surprised with how well Hoffman does. His voice is almost the polar opposite of feminine and his face has features you can only find on a sort-of "rugged-looking" fella. I thought it worked even though he looked and sounded like a middle-aged teacher.
