The Two Villains of Frozen

I'm going to say it, there are two villains in Frozen, and neither of them are the Duke of Weaslton.  I know what you're thinking "Who is this guy and what's his obsession with a x year old movie?"  Well...I'm a father of a two, almost three year old girl, so I've been treated to more screenings of this movie than you can imagine.  It was around screening three or four that I started to question some of the assumptions the movie has you take, and around screening ten that I was really able to make my case.

    Everything that the Duke does is perfectly rational throughout the entire movie.  When he first arrives his dialog is written to show an amount of greediness, but that makes sense when you consider he is there to promote trade between his country and Arendel.  Next he questions Anna about the isolationist state that Arendel has been in for the last several years, and although he's a bit creepy when he asks, he immediately takes Anna at her word when she say's she doesn't know.  Further on in the party Elsa accidentally fires ice at him and various other guests.  When she runs away he follows.  Perhaps because he's curious, or maybe he's concerned, but either way the moment he makes it out the door Elsa fires more ice at him causing him, and his two companions to be knocked over.  It's then that the movie first attempts to make him seem like a villain, he calls Elsa a monster.  But then again she did just SHOOT ICE AT HIM!  If that isn't a reason to think someone is a monster I don't know what is.

credit disney.wikia.com

    I hear you, I hear you, "But Elsa didn't mean to shoot that ice at him, she was scared."  Well for one, he didn't know that, and for two, that's no excuse.  If I get scared in the middle of a crowded street and start busting off caps at random strangers that's illegal regardless of if I hit anyone.  Hell even if I accidently pulled the trigger (some how) I could still be charged with a crime.

    Anyway, moving on.  Later in the film while everyone is freezing in the sudden winter that Elsa has caused, and the Duke make a comment to the effect of "We should probably kill the ice-witch-monster-thing so we can take care of this eternal winter."  Hans responds by saying "Hey, guy, that's like totally treason, and junk."  Or something close to that.  Now this scene was obviously to show what a good guy Hans is, so that later you can be so very surprised that he's bad.  But let's once again step into the Duke's shoes.  Ice queen shot ice bolts at him, then ran away, and created a winter that has frozen everyone in, taking everyone hostage.  Now he likely has no idea how to clear up this eternal winter, but it's a good bet that killing crazy-scary-ice-demon will do the trick.  Furthermore when Elsa sets off the "Eternal Winter" she does so to a population in the middle of summer.  A population that in no way is ready to deal with winter.  They haven't had time to collect firewood, or store food.  So ending this winter is imperative, as hundreds may already have died, and thousands more could if nothing is done.

    This is where the movie really tries to make him out as the primary villain.  He sends his two men to "end this winter."   Note that he doesn't say "Kill Frosty-the-ice-witch."  So saying that he sent them specifically to kill her is a little hard, but still likely.  I'm going to harken back to my last point here, he thought she was holding them hostage, and killing off her own people.  What was that?  She didn't mean to?  Perhaps, but he had no reason to know that.  She ran away you say?  Sure, she ran away, freezing everything as she left, likely killing hundreds, and showing no sign of remorse.  How could anyone possibly think she was doing that on purpose.  Oh, that's exactly what anyone would think?  Oh, okay.

credit disney.wikia.com

    Fast forward, Elsa has been captured.  Anna is dying...alone...because Hans is a jackass...arguably so is Christoff.  The Duke is shown to not be on Elsa's side in all this.  Which is consistent with his actions thus far.  Then he disappears until the conclusion of the film where he's being forced out of the country by the Arendel guards.  Throughout this whole time it's very clear that he's been acting somewhat weasly, but not outright bad.  When he demands to see the, only recently reformed, queen he's told that she has decided to cease all trade with Weaslton.  For what?  Well because he tried to kill her, duh.  You mean he tried to kill her when she was a terror to her own people, likely killing many of them?  Well, yeah.  So that means that she is primarily concerned with what he attempted to do to her, not what he was trying to do for her people, and the hostages she took.  Yeah, she's going to be a great queen.

    By now you've probably asked the question "Clearly this guy doesn't see the Duke of Weaslton as a villain, but then who does he think is the other one?"  Well here's the Shamalan twist you probably have seen coming.  Elsa, is the other villain.  Cue shock, and suspense.  How could anyone see Elsa as the villain.  This is clearly a movie about her finding liberation, and freedom from her apparent anxiety, and possible depression.  The movie shows that family love concurs all, and blah, blah, blah.  Here's the point from the real world, Elsa was dangerous, out of control, and as I've said several times by know, likely a killer.  Oh but she didn't mean to do any of that, she just didn't have control of her powers.  Well going back to my gun metaphor from earlier, that doesn't really matter.

    Elsa didn't intend on any of that happening so she's not to blame.  Yeah, okay, she didn't intend harm.  Neither did any given genocidal maniac, they all thought they were doing what was right for their people.  Elsa's motivations aren't even that selfless, she literally does what she does only for herself.

    Elsa didn't know she set off the snowpocalypse.  That only really makes it worse.  She went to the tallest peak in the area.   Tall enough apparently to be snow capped year round.  She then goes on to create an ice palace for herself.  So on top of this tall mountain, in her ice palace, you're telling me that she never once looked down at her home?  She never checked to see if everyone was okay from the carnage she caused running away?  That's just irresponsible.  Listen man, Elsa has anxiety, and she is just now free for the first time in her life, you should be more happy for her.  Oh yeah, I mean she just caused chaos on an unprecedented scale, plunging a population that's not remotely ready for winter into a snowpocalypse, but at least she made a personal journey so all should be forgiven.  I mean honestly, how could anyone see that as okay.  To worsen matters she hits her sister in a way that she knows will kill her, and rather than be concerned, Elsa asks who Christoff is.  It's worth saying again here, Elsa was told when she was younger that if she hits someone with an ice blast to the heart, they are dunzo, dead, kaput.  When she hits her sister directly in the heart, she has every reason to know that will kill her, but is she worried for her sister's safety? No.  Does she show any remorse for accidently killing her sister? Nope.  But, maybe she didn't know what she'd done.  Fat chance, she clearly said "You're not safe here." to her sister before loosing the blast.  Not to mention she sees her sister clutching her heart after the blast.  But Anna said she was fine.  Man you're really clinging onto what ever you can to say Elsa isn't bad here huh?  I said it before, I'll say it again, she should have known better.  Not to mention he next idea is to create a homicidal ice golum to get rid of Anna and Christoff.

    Okay you say, fine she was kinda bad before, but everything's alright at the end so, all's well that ends well, right?  Nope.  Elsa does nothing to show remorse for her actions, nothing to stop the death storm she cast on her people, and nothing to show she isn't still a self centered ass.  Then instead of prison she goes back to being queen.  Injustice at it's finest everyone.  Not to mention the punishment she dealt out to the Duke of Weaslton, was unnecessary and self centered.



    One more thing to ruin your day before I leave you.  I don't care what the creators say, the king and queen couldn't possibly have been Tarzan's parents.  The technology they show in Frozen is behind the technology they show in Tarzan by at least a hundred years.  Watch the movie again and tell me how they could go from wooden schooners, crossbows, and candles, to steamboats, cartridge firearms, and lights in any less than a hundred years.  Elsa, and Anna's parents are dead.  Period.  End of story.