Film
Since the beginning of the new millennium, none of the Disney Classics has been as successful as Frozen - The Ice Kingdom. Indeed, never before could one speak of a global phenomenon. In addition to winning the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Song (Let it go) composed by the couple Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, in no time at all it became the highest-grossing animated film in the history of cinema. The credit for this success is mainly due to a storyline centred on two sisters, Elsa and Anna, who stick together without Prince Charming. Their story is inspired by yet another European fairy tale, The Snow Queen, written by the same Hans Christian Andersen who was the main inspiration for The Little Mermaid in 1989. Jennifer Lee's writing shifts the narrative bar a little higher with unexpected twists and turns, although the innovative elements of Frozen are definitely toned down by the film's robust traditional setting.
Art
Children and adults all over the world have loved this film, a total success about two sisters, an ice mascot, trolls, fjords and a bunch of artwork. In Frozen, after the disappearance of their parents, the two lead sisters Anna and Elsa are supposed to try to move on and face their loneliness, but each reacts in a different and personal way. If Elsa is naturally frightened by her powers and tries to isolate herself as much as possible, Anna continues as she did as a child to roam the castle and dream of love. She herself, on the day of Elsa's coronation, accompanies us with her song 'Today for the first time/For the first time in forever' to discover the family collection. All the paintings shown depict couples in love, the central theme of the collection as well as of the Princess' dreams. We see for instance The Picnic by Auguste Serrure, but in a version seen from above. The original can only be recognised by the clothes of the protagonists, which are identical in the animated film. Among others, we note an interpretation of the Peasants' Dance (1567) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, although not exactly identical we note many similarities with the houses in the background, the costumes of the characters, the atmosphere and the style of the Flemish painter. Another painting is that depicting a flamenco dancer, by John Singer Sergeant and entitled El Jaleo (1882). Eager to find love, Anna fantasises in front of these depictions of happy couples spending time together or dancing, as in Gerard Ter Borch's painting of 1660. The most accurate artistic reference is undoubtedly The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, a triumph of Rococo aesthetics and characterised by the richness of movement, embellishments and refinement everywhere the eye can see. A decidedly frivolous painting depicting a love triangle, a girl with her two suitors, one swinging her and the other, hidden in the bushes, spying on her where he should not (under her skirt). In this respect, the original title in French, Les Hasards Heureux de l'Escarpolette, which translates as 'The Happy Coincidence of the Swing', is significant. No wonder Disney romanticised it a little in its depiction, deciding to omit the detail of the second suitor and the cherub who makes the sign to be silent, as if to keep a secret.
In this case, the artistic quotations certainly helped the art directors to communicate to the viewer the festive atmosphere of that day for the coronation of the Queen of Arendelle and to delineate Anna's naive and romantic character.
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