veteranfangirl:

Conceal, don’t feel. Don’t let them know. “[With Elsa, it] definitely was intentional to show anxiety and depression.” - JENNIFER LEE (x) THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS THIS CHARACTER IS SO IMPORTANT. Because little girls are obsessed with her, they’re latching on to her. Little girls love Elsa. And she’s a Disney Princess with major neuroses. (I know this is Anna’s story but Elsa’s more popular.) And it shows a main female character with major anxiety and depression issues, and it shows her as a powerful, strong, loving person around those issues, and it shows her as an incredibly positive character. A lot of people are saying that the story would’ve been better if Elsa’d been the antagonist, and she was originally intended to be until that changed in development. And you know what, it’s for the best because she’s a protagonist with mental issues. It’s easy and common to give those to a villain. Villains are twisted and they hurt people because they’re not Good People. Disney Princesses might not be perfect but they’re damn close to it and their faults are charming and cute and not crippling. Elsa’s issues and her failure to deal with them are crippling. So many teens and adults have identified with her issues, and seeing them portrayed in a positive and beloved character is so fucking important, because children see that not just scary weirdos have mental issues. Elsa hurts people because of her issues. She doesn’t mean to but she hurts her parents and sister and kingdom and strangers, emotionally and physically. And she’s a Good Guy. Not only is she a Good Guy, she’s a Disney Princess. They’re not supposed to hurt people — except oh maybe hurt feelings because they were following their dreams or something saccharine like that. And she makes a series of bad choices, selfish choices, because she can’t deal with her issues. Just like real people. She’s not a bad person because she makes bad choices stemming from her neuroses. Little kids see someone who’s awesome! with anxiety and depression and they see that she’s more than just her issues, and she’s deserving of love

What made me cry in watching this movie was NOT a stereotypical romance but, rather, the ability to SEE this person as flawed but not evil. I was watching this movie with the disappointed expectation that Elsa would inevitably turn wicked because of her “curse”. Instead, I was blown away by how she remained, not merely “good”, but “human! Because people don’t "become evil because of a tragic past”. People make choices, moment by moment - and some of those choices are right and some are wrong and those people with true goodness in them will work to make up for the wrong choices. But the irony is that, even in trying to make something right, you can still do it wrong or worse. But the difference is that the heart is desperate to continue doing the right thing by NOT hurting others - no matter what the cost. Elsa was willing to live alone forever (and not just when she was exposed either. Her entire childhood was spend cut away from her beloved sister because of her fear of hurting Anna).

She reminds me of the Beast in many ways. However, he was cursed because of selfishness and needed to find love within himself to break it.

Elsa started out with a curse and needed to accept love in order to control it.

(via samurljackson)