Evil Elsa

Disney’s Frozen is arguably one of the most successful films since the release of The Lion King. It was so popular that it changed the craze from Beeber fever to Frozen fever.  No doubt 2013 was the year of Elsa. There is not a little girl in America that does not know the lyrics to Let It Go.  With Elsa Disney not only created an icon but a role-model. 

With that being said, I’m about to be the bearer of bad news and crush little girls everywhere.  Elsa is the first Disney princess modeled after an evil fairy tale character.  I know it is shocking, but according to my research, it is true.  Frozen is loosely derived from Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen written in 1845. 

When I say loosely I mean the two stories do not have very much in common except for a queen with magical icy powers and a powerful bond formed between two children. The original story tells more a romantic bond verses a bond between two sisters.  In the 1845 version one of the characters, Gerda, has to save the boy she loves, Kay, after he has been stabbed with an evil mirror and kidnapped by the Snow Queen.  In the Disney version Ana goes on a quest to find Elsa after she exiles herself from the kingdom.  This Snow Queen unlike the one in the original version is inherently good and after learning the power of sisterly love learns to use her power for good.

So, in the end, it doesn’t matter that Elsa’s roots are evil.  Disney was once again able to put their twist on things and turn a bad character into a good one.