Cognition Dissemination: Frozen Ambitions
Frozen is now available for all to see in theaters across America, and there was little doubt that it would be another quality Disney movie after the first trailers surface. It’s an adaptation of classic fairy tale The Snow Queen, given a new name to appeal to a wider audience when Disney figured the original would alienate boys who thought it might be too girly. It’s a spiritual successor to the superlative Tangled, a movie that apparently rivals it in quality; it also experienced a name change from Rapunzel due to the same aforementioned potential reluctance from a certain audience. Both of those examples say quite a bit about the poor exposure children have to fairy tales, and the way some kids think. But hey, that’s not the topic of this post.
I have no doubt that Frozen is an enjoyable experience, especially after how Tangled turned out — though the latter didn’t compare to some Disney movies I enjoyed as a child. We first heard about it years ago, when it was still going under the original The Snow Queen name. It entered the conceptual phase after The Princess and the Frog hit theaters, Disney’s first 2D movie in what seemed like ages — and the first good 2D movie in ages. The original version of The Snow Queen was planned to be their next 2D venture.
Disney moved away from 2D movies go they were making less and less money on an annual basis at the box office, though that had more to do with the quality of the movie at times. At the same time, they saw how CG films were growing in popularity, leading to the acquisition of Pixar in 2006. That, again, had quite a bit to do with the quality of the films — something that’s sadly dwindled with Pixar lately, with directors (especially Brad Bird) departing for ostensibly greener pastures.
The Princess and the Frog was enjoyable, and it was profitable for Disney. The problem was it wasn’t profitable enough, and made nowhere near as much as the juggernauts Pixar was releasing. Frozen entered a lengthy period of development hell behind the scenes, as turmoil ensued between a production team adamant on creating the 2D film and Disney’s higher-ups who didn’t feel it was a venture worth pursuing in an alternate manner. At this point, you can tell which side won. In fact, they “won” so hard that they tanked the entire 2D animation department. The Princess and the Frog sadly marked a return and a departure from the genre for Disney.
Part of me doesn’t want to admit that The Princess and the Frog underwhelmed at the box office because it focused on an African American family. I’d like to think people aren’t that short-sighted, but I also won’t kid myself and think that isn’t part of it.
It’s a shame The Snow Queen/Frozen couldn’t be part of Disney’s 2D venture, but it’s not like my age group is the target audience for these movies, despite it being popular among them. And it’s not much of a budget issue, considering Tangled cost 2.5x more cash to make than The Princess and the Frog –though the former, in fairness, went through a small period of development hell. But in those links, you can also see which movie made more money. There are elements incapable of being replicated in the transition from 2D to 3D, where characters and backdrops can’t be as meticulously detailed in the latter compared to the former. It’s partly a personal preference from someone who grew up looking at and adoring 2D animation, but aside from a few exceptions, those movies age far better than CG works. Anna making faces that make her resemble a generic Dreamworks film character in some promotional materials doesn’t help matters, but hopefully that’s not a common occurrence in the movie. It’s also typically much easier for artists create a unique art style in 2D movies than 3D. It’s possible the gap between the two will close in time, but they still have a way to go. Disney’s non-Pixar 3D work doesn’t hold a candle to their old 2D films.
Criticism aside, I’m still looking forward to seeing Frozen. I believe the majority of critics and moviegoers who claim it’s a good movie. But I can’t stop thinking about what it could have been, and the different road its production could have taken. Semi-ranting about 2D over 3D makes me feel like an old man clinging to the past, and I might sound like that too. Fear not, though, I’m not jaded enough that I can’t enjoy anything 3D. I’ll always have a place in my heart for 2D animated movies, and I’m looking forward to the time where CG rivals that work. Assuming it ever happens.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Regarding the lesser monetary success of Princess and the Frog, I think your original line of thought with the “de-girlification” of movie titles is much more on the money. In this case, Princess is right there in the title, and Western audiences (speaking very generally) are adverse to anything that sounds remotely girly. This even applies to girls and women these days, considering how much anything that is considered feminine tends to be derided.
Regarding CG films, I have to say I’m typically unimpressed (even when it comes to many of the highly-acclaimed Pixar ones). I’m not much of a movie-goer in general though, so I don’t particularly care. But I do wish Western studios didn’t give up so thoroughly on 2D animation. It’s a medium that allows so much more creativity than its CG counterpart (IMO); I remember being quite impressed with the somewhat recent film The Secret of Kells, for example.
Fortunately anime from Japan has managed to maintain top-notch 2D animation over the years though, and I’m always impressed at just how much content is produced over there. Dozens of movies, hundreds of TV series–many of which look practically movie-quality at times. It actually boggles the mind, if you dare to compare any of it to the Flash-level of “animation” coming from cartoons most anywhere else.
I’m glad someone feels similarly! Though I never doubted it too much.
It’s sad how movie studios were quick to abandon 2D animation, but yeah, at least we still have some Japanese studios like Ghibli that still focus on it. I just hope they’ll keep up for a while, because I don’t see this getting any better.