Wednesday, November 27, 2013

MCL: The Cast of 'Frozen' and Remembering Diane Disney Miller



Anna, Olaf and Kristoff from Frozen
Happy Thanksgiving from The Mouse Castle Lounge!

Frozen opens today and in this week's show we hear from the movie's directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee as well as the voice cast including Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa) and Josh Gad (Olaf).

This is the 53rd feature film from Walt Disney Animation Studios and the latest in a long line of stories about fairy tale princesses (albeit independent, empowered ones). You'd never know this from the movie trailers, though, which have gone out of the way to present Frozen as a comedy action adventure centered around a talking snowman with interchangeable parts. It's misleading and indicative of Disney's own lack of faith in its princess legacy. Does anyone (outside of hardcore Disney fans) have any idea that Frozen is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen? Anyone?

Diane Disney Miller
Disney took a similar approach in promoting 2010's Tangled. Dashing rogue Flynn Ryder, not Rapunzel, was the character getting all the attention in Tangled's first promos. Apparently, trying not to alienate male moviegoers who wouldn't be caught dead at a "princess" movie takes precedent over advertising a film strictly on its own merits. It's this bait and switch marketing approach that makes me skeptical about Frozen despite the good reviews I've seen for it. I'll be catching it this weekend. I'll let you know what I think.

Also in the Lounge today, I pay tribute to the late Diane Disney Miller, Walt's daughter and co-founder of the sublime Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Diane passed away last week at the age of 79 and her death hit Disney fans everywhere very hard. She was a respected philanthropist, patron of the arts and a lifetime champion of her dad's legacy. She will be greatly missed.

It's all in today's episode of The Mouse Castle Lounge. Enjoy!

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Related: 'Frozen' is Hard to Warm Up To

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