Disney's Frozen "Let It Go"

I've fallen in love with Frozen, The animation was so pretty, The songs were so emotional, the characters were really lovable and it was laugh out loud funny.
  
It was so sad at times. And, I cried like a baby.
My friend laughed at me.

The sound track has been a chart success, it peaked at number 1 in the billboard 2000 , the american album chart, and it is currently (as of Sunday the 12 of January 2014) on the top of the american , Canadian and Australian I tunes album charts chart.
it also charts in the top 10 in the iTunes album in 7 other counties.
It also has 37,141,277 views on YouTube.

I've decided to analyse the Let It Go sequence in the film.  


The sequence starts off with an establishing shot of a snowy mountain, the camera zooms in and pans around to face the figure walking up the mountain.

I would hate to think how many frames and how much time went into that shot.

As the camera has reached a point where it is close enough for the audience to identify the figure is Elsa (the snow queen), the lyrics begin.

The vocal performance is amazing, you can really hear the emotion in her voice, I love the sigh on the "It looks like I'm the queen" and the "couldn't keep it in " line.

The way she holds her self would indicate she feel vulnerable, having ran away from home she would obviously feel uncomfortable, but it's also the fact that she has been made to hide her magic and herself away.

She doesn't know how to deal with people or their reactions to her powers so she left, but at the same she doesn't know how to be truly alone. She was so used to having he parents help her deal with it and locking her self in her room that she is slightly scared of her powers and doesn't know how to cope.

Her clothing is interesting at this point, because her clothing changes through out this sequence and what she wears seems to effect her mood.

She wears a lot of cold but dark colours, her clothes are heavy and almost cover her completely.

The given reason for that is that her powers come from her hands so she wears gloves, I also refers to the "conceal don't feel" phrase mentioned at various points in the film.

I also think it could show insecurities, She isn't happy being herself so she wears heavy clothing to hide away.

The lyrics:

"Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well now they know"

Seem reflective, as if she is reciting what her parents are saying and reflecting on it.

I think she is weighing the advice of her parents and trying to work out how it all went terribly wrong.

She pulls of her last remaining glove and the mood of the character and the mood of the song change instantly to that of a much more upbeat and happy song.

The lyrics are starting to look at the positives of being free and alone opposed to the sadness at the start of the song. 

The character looks so much happier now too, removing the glove was the catalyst for her happiness, because the gloves represented the years she spent locked away and hiding herself and her powers.

Removing them allowed her to not only use but also enjoy her magic.

She then makes Olaf the snow man, Olaf is an important part of the film.

Many people don't really understand why he is present, Olaf acts as comic relief in what would otherwise be a pretty intensely emotional film.

I think Olaf also represents Elsa and Anna's happy memories, he was present in their childhood during the first scene of the film but he was also created when Elsa was feeling happy.

I would say that Olaf also represents either the joy Elsa's powers bring her, or her happier self.

Olaf is a cheery character who helps Anna and Kristoff restore summer despite the fact it would mean he melts. 

This could a reference to another story by Hans Christian Andersen (the writer of the story The Snow Queen which this film is based.) The Snowman and The Stove, which is about a snowman who falls in love with a stove and melts.

At a later part in the film Elsa makes a snow man/golem to keep people away, He could represen her sadder self that pushes people away or the pain her powers give.

He is scary looking which is how she feels people will view her powers, he is also mute which could represent how she was made to stay away from people. The golem chases everyone away quickly and forcefully which is similar to how she treated the guests at the coronation.

he could also represent Elsa's sadder side.

Back to the video.

Elsa plays with her powers and makes sparkling swirling snow, For years she had to hide her powers, she was told how dangerous they were and not to use them and now she can enjoy it.

She takes off her cape and lets it fly away.

The feel of the song changes again, it's a lot more relaxed and slow but it's just as upbeat and maybe slightly happier.

the lyrics:

"It’s funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can’t get to me at all

It’s time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I’m free"

These lyrics seem to embrace her powers, she no longer fears hurting anyone because she is alone and she now wants to see what her powers can do now she has the opportunity.

She makes an ice stair case to bridge the gap between 2 cliffs, the stairs start off frosty but as she steps on them she turns them smooth and icy.

This could show how she's improving, she wouldn't have been able to practice or perfect her magic at home so this is her opportunity to make really beautiful things.

The animation is also really pretty, I love the frost.

when she gets to the top of the mountain she starts to build her castle, the song changes again.

It's fast and without lyrics, I think the castle building sequence would be ruined with lyrics.

There is a big difference between the look of the castle and how the stairs looked originally.

 The castle starts off smooth and clear when she had to make the stairs smooth and clear, having made it frosty originally.

The fact she can create all the different pillars, walls and floors simultaneously is pretty impressive.

I Loves the way she dances as she starts singing and continues to build her castle, you can see how this film could translate into musical theatre.

 "My power flurries through the air into the ground

My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back, the past is in the past."

By this point Elsa's lyrics completely embrace her powers, they even begin to to appreciate the beauty of it.

On the past is in the past line she removes her crown and throws it away, she lets down her hair.

The plait is informal and messier compared to the bun.

Being a princess you would be expected to dress more formally any way but because Elsa was also made to hide herself and powers, she would have had to control her feelings.(because they seem to manifest according to her emotions.)

I presume her outfit and hair style was chosen for her, if she had chosen it she couldn't want 

to change it.

 Her is attire is as much about trying to please others as hiding her powers.

One thing I find slightly weird is that her fringe disappears during the hair change.

Then her dress changes, it reminds me of Cinderella when the fairy godmother changes her dress. 

  I don't know if this was deliberate but it made me smile.

The new dress is a lot more revealing and light weight.

It is literally like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders.

She feels a lot more comfortable about herself now and the dress emphasises this. 

 It's interesting to note that the new dress shares similarities with the old dress.

Both have sleeves, cape, long skirt and they both feature icy colours, this dress however is lightweight, lighter in colour, sparkly and reveals more skin.

As the musical number comes to an end a shot of the castle is shown in the sunlight.

The sun has just risen over the mountain, usually mornings are seen as new beginnings, for Elsa this is a new beginning because she has left home and now can live without fear of hurting anyone, she can now do as she pleases without being judged.

The song ends with Elsa standing on the ice castle balcony and the line "the cold never bothered me anyway", Elsa then returns to her castle and closes the door behind her.

 It's interesting to note that she leaves home because she doesn't like how people reacted to her powers and that she doesn't want to hide her self away.

But then she runs away and effectively hides herself away making everyone react badly to her powers and so she doesn't solve her problems.

The fact her problems aren't solved by running away means that obviously later on in the film she is again faced with the same problem when faced with people again, I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who hasn't watched the film yet so i'm going to finish this here.

I really loved this film, it's definitely a must see.