2. Elsa Was Supposed To Be The Villain Of The Story
As said in the last point, Frozen was adapted from Hans Christian Andersens The Snow Queen, which ended up being a radically different story with very loose ties to the original work. One of the major changes was turning the evil Snow Queen into the misunderstood but sympathetic Elsa, which writers felt was essential to help the story connect to audiences. Before that, Anna and Elsa werent even sisters; Anna was a peasant who appealed to the Snow Queen, who had a whole army of evil snow creatures, to freeze her broken heart. Elsas design was radically different, and she even had a coat made out of seriously living arctic ermines (pictured above). The character of Elsa/The Snow Queen was crafted as the villain of the piece until quite late in the game, when she was ultimately changed to a flawed heroine. A key factor in this drastic shift was the anthem Let it Go, written by Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, which, when considered by the writers, acted as a game-changer. The song transformed Elsa from frosty antagonist to a complex and deeply troubled, but ultimately very relatable, character who made bad choices when faced with a difficult situation. Then, once Anna and Elsa were established as sisters, the movie finally unfroze the heart at its core to craft the story of two sisters that the world came to love.
Canadian student. Spends probably an unhealthy amount of time enthusing over musicals, unpopular TV shows, and Harry Potter. Main life goal: to become fluent in Elvish.
