Frozen Remake: Corporate Cash-Grab or Promising Prospect?
Disney as of late has been on a rehash power trip, scheduling most of their upcoming projects as either remakes or sequels of various beloved franchises, including Incredibles, Toy Story, and Moana. This has fans irritated, with their often lifeless live-action remakes one of the biggest contributing factors to this aggravation. Following the disastrous financial plummet of Snow White and the smash hit that was Lilo and Stitch, the company’s views on live-action remakes seem to be unsure. And yet, out of all their rumored remakes waiting around the corner, there’s one hidden gem that gleams quietly. One diamond in the rough that, if they play their cards just right, could well be that global hit they’ve been waiting for.
Now, brace yourselves; what I’m about to say will probably shock you. Here it goes: A Frozen live action remake could be better than the original.
Why Adaptations Fail to Satisfy
Now, hear me out. I myself was never much into Frozen. (Sure, you can say that’s because I’m a boy, whatever.) I found myself naturally boycotting it because I claimed it was “overrated” without knowing what that meant nor thinking why I believed that. And it stayed this way for quite a while. I never really sat down to watch it all start-to-finish or took the time to invest in the world and story until the past year, when Disney+ released a recording of Frozen: The Broadway Musical.
Naturally, being the theatre kid that I was, I went “Oooh, I should watch that!” But the other side of me went “Oh, Frozen. Yay…” But, after much deliberation, I sat down and watched, expecting a few laughs before I forgot about it entirely. Boy was I wrong.
Somehow, from the first few minutes, I was entranced. This familiar yet unknown world showed two princesses separated by a tragic turn of events. Sure, I knew everything that would happen as this was, of course, a musical adaptation of the hit animated film, and yet it improved upon the movie’s success. It dug deeper into the gravity of the sister’s breakup, and showed more of an edge to the social pressure Elsa finds herself under. Somehow, they did the impossible, taking this story that has been revisited over and over again and making it feel fresh and original.
However, not everyone thought the same way about the musical as I did. Some complain that it boasts “sloppy pacing”, inconsistent tones, and overall generic narrative. Essentially, fans felt it stuck too close to the original film’s story. This is the same tension we see with live-action remakes: fans complain both when they’re too faithful and when they stray from the original. To that I say, “What do you want?”
Allow me to clarify, dear readers: I also find Disney’s soul-stricken remakes as unnecessary cash-grabs majority of the time. And, while Disney themselves should no doubt rethink their long term strategy after seeing the poor reception from their fans, I also think it isn’t entirely their fault. The truth is: We’re part of the problem.
Take the example of The Lion King. The original is a cult classic and worldwide icon, and, when Disney remade it nearly entirely using visual effects, viewers noted how it was nearly a shot-for-shot recreation of the original, only with photo-realistic animals. Fans said that it was ‘too faithful’ to the source material. Then you have their most recent disaster, Snow White. Sure, blame the bashful marketing, sloppy product, and horrendous CGI dwarves. That’s all fair game. But another common criticism is how it changed crucial story elements and story beats, claiming that it strayed too far from the original narrative. (I bet you can see where I’m going with this.)
With both of these examples, as well as countless others, such as Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, or Beauty and the Beast, you can start to realize how difficult it is to satisfy fans. Should Disney be remaking all of their original films into multi-million dollar blockbusters? No, they shouldn’t. But that’s not what I’m getting at. My point is: Fans don’t want their childhood stories to change, but then whine when they’re different from what they remember.
And this is where the big problem is made: The combined effect of Disney’s remakes and fan reactions. This isn’t to discredit the fans’ views on the remakes, these are often somewhat valid complaints. But sometimes, they just don’t know what they want.
But how I see it, stage adaptations, much like remakes, don’t need to entirely reinvent the story. Sure, they shouldn’t just take the original, replace the animation with CGI and human actors, and call it a day, but they also don’t need to necessarily change much of the plot itself. So long as they expand upon what we already know - or think we know - about the world and characters in a compelling way, I’d call that a job well done. The Frozen Broadway musical, in my view, proves that a story can feel both familiar and fresh — and do so brilliantly
Live-Action Magic: Could Frozen Shine Even Brighter?
The musical follows the same overall story as the animated movie: a superpowered princess lashes out and runs off, her concerned sister chases after her, and along the way she picks up a lovable meathead, a dopey reindeer, and a talking snowman. The sister’s heart freezes, setting off a cascade of betrayal, anger, and grief, until the bond between them reawakens the kingdom and melts everything back into light. And yet, the minds behind the stage adaptation manage to go a step further, deepening our understanding of this ragtag crew—especially Kristoff, Anna, and Elsa.
In the musical, it’s bombastic numbers like What Do You Know About Love that strengthen the uneasy trust between Anna and Kristoff, followed by new additions such as True Love and Kristoff’s Lullaby that make us realize how far the pair have come, from forced companions to wanted lovers. Meanwhile, we get a clearer glimpse of Elsa’s inner turmoil and how it pushes her to the brink. Her true person shines through songs like Dangerous to Dream, Monster, and even the global phenomenon Let It Go.
It’s the combined force of the genius of the writers and the complex, emotional performances of the actors themselves that elevate the story to new heights. And this is perhaps where a live-action adaptation could shine: Live-action actors can bring new depth to the iconic characters.
Having real, down-to-the-earth people presenting these larger-than-life characters gives us the chance to build a connection more genuine and touching than has ever been done before. True, this could been said for multiple other Disney remakes, from The Little Mermaid to Aladdin. But the truth is, Frozen’s story gives it a significant advantage, and that’s thanks to the brilliantly crafted lead characters and interactions of the head characters. The unshaken bond between Elsa and Anna is the heart behind the tale, and revisiting their journey gives another chance to touch hearts and lives for the second time.
It’s because of this that Disney should absolutely capitalize on the strong narrative and worldwide appeal of Frozen. Blending elements of the musical with the original film’s success opens up a promising array of possibilities. If done right, a Frozen remake could be even better than the original.
Closing Thoughts
And that ends my little rant for today, dear readers. What do you think? Should Disney ever remake Frozen, or simply leave it as is? I’d love to hear you take on the subject. And until next time, so long.
