Conceal, Don't Feel: what if Elsa and Anna didn't know each other?

Conceal, Don’t Feel by Jen Calonita is A Twisted Tale, a retelling of Frozen (2013) story. What if Anna and Elsa didn’t know each other? When a magical accident erases Anna and Elsa’s memories of magic as well as each other, the sisters are separated to keep a terrible curse at bay. As the future Queen of Arendelle, Princess Elsa’s life is full of expectations and responsibilities, but something is missing. After her parents are lost at sea, Elsa is forced to answer these questions alone. Soon mysterious icy powers begin to reveal themselves and Elsa starts to remember fragments of her childhood and her sister, Anna. After a confrontation reveals her powers to others, she is forced to flee her kingdom. She is now determined to discover the truth, restore her kingdom, and find the missing Princess of Arendelle.

I love the A Twisted Tale series. It is a great adventure, adding twists to familiar tales. I have read three of the tales so far and Conceal, Don’t Feel is my favorite. I loved seeing the familiar characters in new situations. With nods to the film, the story takes the reader into the deeper motives of the characters. Even characters who could have had more of an influence in driving the villain than the movie suggests. I have read reviews that have stated that the book is too close to the movie to be a twisted tale; but I don’t see it. The twists are enough that offer a different element to the story and a different avenue which the events can evolve. I recommend Conceal, Don’t Feel.

 

Conceal, Don’t Feel is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook.

Frozen II: a decent sequel

Frozen 2 was released into theaters on November 27, 2019 and is the sequel to smash hit Frozen (2013). Many from the original film return for its sequel. Directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and composer Christophe Beck all return. As well as actors Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad and Jonathan Geoff returns as their characters: Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Kristoff. Frozen 2 is set three years after the original film when a new threat comes to Arendelle and it is up to Anna and Elsa to save the day. The movie is currently on DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming on Disney+. As I do with all my movie reviews, I will give a spoiler free synopsis and discuss what I did and didn’t like about the film.

The movie opens as King Agnar tells a story to a young Anna and Elsa about their grandfather, King Runeard, who established a treaty with the neighboring tribe of Northuldra who resides in the Enchanted Forest. Soon after, a fight occurs, resulting in Runeard’s death and enraging the elemental spirits of the forest. The spirits disappeared and a wall of mist traps everyone in the Enchanted Forest. Agnar barely escapes due to a mysterious savior, Fast forward to present day, life is going well in Arendelle. Until one night, Elsa hears a mysterious voice call out to her. After much resistance, she decides to follow it and causes the elemental spirits to awaken which forces everyone out of the kingdom. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven embark on a journey to the Enchanted Forest to save the people of Arendelle and discover who the mysterious siren who calls to Elsa.

There are three major elements that I liked about the film. First, the story is great. Anna and Elsa discover the story they’ve been told about their grandfather and the Enchanted Forest may not be exactly the truth. In order to save Arendelle, they must discover what went wrong and the right that wrong. It also explains that there are three sides to the story: one side’s version, the other side’s version and somewhere in the middle is the truth. Second, I liked that there wasn’t a stereotypical “villain.” The fight is against the past and the attempts to right a wrong as much as anyone can. Although this was criticism in many reviews I read, I liked that the characters weren’t up against an evil person. Third, the idea that water has memory. Even though science has proven this to not be the case (but since when is science important in a fairy tale?), it is a theme I have heard before. Along with the idea that water is healing, having memory helps Anna and Elsa discover the truth behind the events which caused the Enchanted Forest to be sealed off and what they need to do to solve the problem.

There are a couple elements of the film that I didn’t care for. First, the music wasn’t on par with the original film. While “Into the Unknown” is a good song, it didn’t have the same impact as “Let it Go.” Olaf’s song, “When I am Older” had the same musical style of his song, “In Summer” from the first time. “In Summer” was a more enjoyable song as it was comedic as to Olaf’s blissful ignorance. “When I am Older” tried to capture that same comedic ignorance, but I feel it fell short. The music wasn’t bad and was enjoyable but wasn’t on the same lines of the first film. Second, Frozen 2 may not be as rewatchable as the first film. My daughter, who was 2 when she saw the first film had watched it over and over for years. Now she is 8 and enjoyed the first viewing of Frozen 2, but quickly got bored when watching it a second time.

In conclusion, Disney has always had a hit and miss history with it comes to sequels. The majority of their film’s sequels were direct to video. The Toy Story franchise has been insanely popular (although I would argue that the fourth film as not necessary) and broke the mold that sequels couldn’t be successful in theaters. Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) wasn’t as good as it’s original film and an unnecessary sequel. I enjoyed Frozen 2 for its story and, some level, the music. However, it wasn’t as memorable as its predecessor. I don’t see many children annoying the adults with their constant singing of “Into the Unknown” as they did with “Let it Go.” I do recommend Frozen 2. If you enjoyed the first film, you may enjoy its sequel.

Frozen: another Disney classic

I recently saw the movie “Frozen” for the first time and I loved it. I don’t know why I waited so long to see it. The film stars Kristen Bell as Anna, Indina Menzel as Elsa, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, Josh Gad as Olaf and Santino Fontana as Hans. The movie is inspired by “The Snow Queen” by beloved Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875). The songs were written by husband and wife team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The song “Let it go” won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Since the movie came out, I’ve read two article which heavily criticized the movie. One for the overly sexual nature of the Snow Queen and the apparently homosexual propaganda of the relationships in the movie. I will address each criticism later. But first a short recap.

                The story opens with village men cutting the frozen river to make ice blocks, singing a work song which sets up the story: “Beware the frozen heart” and “Ice has a magic that can’t be controlled.” Inside the castle, younger sister, Anna, is wide awake and wakes up her older sister, Elsa. Elsa have magic powers to create ice and snow. Anna is able to get Elsa up and they play in a great hall, where Elsa makes a frozen wonderland. During their play, Elsa accidently hits Anna and their parents afraid of her growing powers, forcing Elsa to live isolated from everyone. “Do you want to build a snowman?” is a song which shows the continuing isolation of the Elsa and the loneliness of Anna as they grow up.

Elsa is now of age, which I assume is 18 years old but the film gives no indication of her age, and it’s her coronation day. With the excitement of the coronation and the open castle gates, Anna meets Hans, prince of the Southern Isles and they have a seemingly magical evening together. The song “Love is an open door” is sung as they fall in love. Hans proposes, Anna accepts and Anna presents their engagement to Elsa who become angry at the prospect of more people in the castle. The sisters have an argument and Elsa can’t control her powers as it seems they grow with fear and anger. She runs away as they are revealed and imparts fear into the people.

                Elsa runs high into the mountains while singing “Let it go” as she creates her ice castle and becomes the Snow Queen. Elsa’s power has grown so great the she has created an eternal winter. Anna, feeling guilty, decides to go after her and leaves Hans in charge. Anna employs the help of Kristoff and his pet reindeer, Sven, to go to the North Mountain where Elsa has set up her castle. Along the way, they met Olaf, a magic snowman who Elsa created with Anna as children and recreated when return the land to summer. Elsa hits Anna in the heart with ice magic and creates an ice monster to chase them off the mountain. Kristoff takes Anna to the magical trolls to heal from the magic hit and the troll tells them that only true love can undo the magic. They assumed that Hans is Anna’s true love and they rush to get there soon. When Anna arrives back at the castle, Hans shows his true colors and leaves Anna to die and goes after Elsa. Hans attacks Elsa just as Anna steps between them, turning into ice and breaking the sword. Elsa falls to the ground in grief. Anna begins to thaw and the sisters embrace and that’s when Elsa realizes how she can control her powers with love.

                The first criticism of “Frozen” was Elsa’s transformation into the Snow Queen. As the Snow Queen, Elsa is sexier and more womanly

My response is every little girl becomes a woman. Ignoring that fact does not change it. Little girls need to stay little girls for as long as possible; however, eventually they will grow up and if I assumed Elsa’s age correctly, she’s 18. She’s no longer a child. She’s a woman and deserves to look like a woman.

                The second criticism of “Frozen” was famously posted in the blog “A Well Behaved Mormon Woman” by Kathryn Skaggs. Her claim is that “Frozen” is filled with pro-gay propaganda and that even Elsa is a lesbian. There were NO homosexual themes in this movie. Anna’s curse broke because of true love. The head troll, Pappie, said, “Only true love can thaw a frozen heart.” Not true love’s kiss, but true love. Why not the true love of sisters? John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And that’s what Anna does when she steps between the sword and Elsa, she laid down her life for her sister. Mrs. Skaggs’ other criticism was that since Elsa was not “boy crazy” like her sister, she must be a lesbian. Not being “boy crazy” doesn’t mean that Elsa’s automatically a lesbian. Her parents instilled in her fear of her powers, fear of hurting others. So Elsa closes herself off from others. She couldn’t allow herself to get close to anyone.

                “Frozen” is going to be counted among the beloved Disney movies. I enjoyed this movie very much and look forward to seeing for years to come with my children. I love the song “Let it go.” It’s a great about being freed from whatever may have been holding you in prison. It’s being free from stress and fear. I particularly like the line “It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small.” I don’t see any basis for any of the criticisms of this movie. My only suggestion to those critics is: if you think Disney is corrupting the youth, don’t let your children see it. Don’t buy movie tickets, don’t buy the merchandise.