All the latest breaking news on the Disney film, Frozen. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Frozen.
A petition urging Disney not to portray Elsa as a lesbian in Frozen 2 has reached almost 11,000 signatures. The action was launched after Jennifer Lee, the film’s co-director, replied “we’ll see where we go” when asked whether script writers had decided the sexuality of the fictional Queen of Arendelle. (more…)
So, there are no mainstream gay characters in Disney films but that doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been any representation at all.
In the 2013 hit Frozen, the film-makers managed to sneak in a nod to gay families by making Oaken, the mountainside store owner, gay.
There’s a quick scene where he introduces his partner, another man, seemingly surrounding by their children, blink and you’ll almost miss it, but it proved to be a powerful commitment to added a more diverse set of characters for Disney.
The Big Issue asked Jennifer Lee, the film’s writer and co-director, if Oaken was gay and whether the image of another man surrounded by children was an acknowledgement of LGBT families.
She told them,
“We know what we made,
“But at the same time I feel like once we hand the film over, it belongs to the world. So I don’t like to say anything, and just let the fans talk. I think it’s up to them.”
There’s been some suggestion and in fact, a Twitter trend demanding that Frozen 2 introduce the first ever gay character in the form of Elsa. The film company has kept tight-lipped on whether there is validity to the claim that Elsa could, in fact, be lesbian or bisexual.
In the first film, the film-makers shunned the normal heteronormative narrative for the character of Elsa and she managed to get through the entire film without falling in love with someone of the opposite sex, something that was widely lauded as a positive.
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Using the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend Twitter users across the world have asked entertainment giant Disney to give the central character of Elsa a girlfriend in the next instalment of Frozen.
Frozen is the biggest grossing animation film of all time, and as already been hailed as ground breaking and progressive for not following a traditional narrative for the film’s lead Elsa.
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To date no mainstream Disney film has ever had an LGBT character at its centre, although Frozen does contain one of the most visible gay characters ever. When Oaken, the store owner introduces his family – it is another man with a number of children around him.
The Hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend is the brainchild of Twitter user @lexi4prez who commented on how big the hashtag had become.
https://twitter.com/lexi4prez/status/726603926221541376
https://twitter.com/lexi4prez/status/727090546401939456
https://twitter.com/lexi4prez/status/726618306979966976
The hashtag managed to trend on Twitter at number 3 – with tens of thousands of tweets, many from people agreeing with Alexis Isabel’s stance. The Disney team have yet to respond to the request.
ALSO READ: Top 10 campest Disney Villains of all time
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, The Gay UK’s editor Jake Hook said it would be a welcome move from Disney, but remarked even if they didn’t go down the path of giving Elsa a girlfriend to not give into traditional trends and make Elsa fall in love with a man in order to win the day.
The film Frozen already has some good LGBT credentials – Jonathan Groff, who stars as Kristoff in the film was the first openly gay actor to portray a love interest in a Disney film.
So not only is Frozen one the highest grossing films of all times, its soundtrack is now the biggest selling soundtrack since megahit Mamma Mia. The Academy Award winning Frozen is closing in on NOW 87 as the biggest selling album of 2014 to date, according to the Official Charts Company
Let It Go, the lead track performed by Idina Menzel, has spent 28 consecutive weeks in the Top 40 on the Official Singles Chart, and has now been certified Gold in the UK. Six songs from the Frozen OST are still in the Official Singles Chart.
Richard Hinkley, General Manager, Universal Music Catalogue explains, ‘When we first saw the movie it was evident that this had all the ingredients of a classic Disney musical soundtrack: lots of great original songs performed by strong characters, with a captivating storyline. We are absolutely delighted to be part of this magical story that has captured a generation. In a world of ever-greater media fragmentation, Let It Go has become the single common cultural moment for every child and their parents.’
Ritch Sibthorpe, Managing Director, Music, The Walt Disney Company EMEA adds, ‘We are thrilled with the success of the Frozen Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, a key component of the most successful feature in Walt Disney Animation studio’s history. Core song Let It Go has become a true phenomenon and anthem for young families worldwide, evidenced by a rich outpouring of user generated content across social media. The soundtrack is one of a number of Frozen products currently breaking sales records including DVD and Blu Ray formats, toys, clothing and more.’
The Disney animation Frozen has become the fifth biggest grossing film of all time.
The winter spectacular, Frozen has become the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, putting it in the top ten which include Avatar, Titanic and Harry Potter.
Frozen is now the highest-grossing animation in history.
In March the film won 2 Oscars in March – one for the best original song – Let It Go.
Top five highest-grossing films of all time
Avatar – $2.78bn (£1.65bn)
Titanic – $2.19bn (£1.3bn)
Marvel’s The Avengers – $1.52bn (£900m)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – $1.34bn (£795,000)
Frozen – $1.219bn (£723m)
Source: Box Office Mojo