Confession: we have not been keeping close tabs on Frozen II's development. With the Frozen shorts being underwhelming (despite lots of artistic effort evident behind the scenes), we haven't held out much hope for a film for which the biggest hype seems to be "Will Elsa get a girlfriend?", rather than actual story* or any fairy tale associated content (as opposed to just fantasy).
Enter today's teaser release, full of fairy tale feels and allusions. You have our attention again now Disney!
Check it out:
See what we mean?
Have to mention that we are quite tickled that the internet is including this speculation about the two new characters below:
"What if these two are supposed to be Gerda and Kai from the original Snow Queen story?!"
Heh. We would be delighted - but surprised - if they were.
What we'd really like to see is the Little Robber Girl (from Andersen's original story - who, by the way, is representative of the Land of Autumn/Fall in Andersen's multi-part fairy tale) making an entrance. Apart from being a favorite character from The Snow Queen, the Robber Girl would be an interesting character to (eventually) explore for a potential Elsa-love-interest, though please note, in this teaser the new girl character is still a child. Check the original text describing her and you'll see that potential as one way to interpret her.
In the meantime, what do you think of the trailer? Does it capture your fairy tale radar's attention?
We'll remain tuned as updates from Frozen II continue in the remaining nine month countdown till it hits theaters in November...
A new snowflake design with different symbols - lots for fans to speculate over
Curated by Michael Cuffe of Warholian, the 'Animation Reimagined' exhibition will bring together many animated classic icons - both past and modern-day - "fantastically recreated in new paintings and from new perspectives". While there are more than just fairy tale characters, we're focusing on those that are most closely linked to our favorite subject here. (We've included a list at the end of the post with all the other cartoon characters we've been able to discover - and identify - to date.)
Official poster, featuring a reimagining of Dumbo (artist unknown)
Cuffe has asked all artists to bring a bit of realism into their paintings and works. We will see these animated classics re-imagined in a way we’ve never seen before, from a unique artistic viewpoint.
It's always interesting to see what sort of spin artists will put on animated icons, especially fairy tales. These paintings and sculptures belong in the 'fine art' realm, though at a glance it may be easy to dismiss some of these as 'professional fan art'. They all, however, share the intent to bring some realism - and real-world consideration - to their interpretations of flat cartoons and animated characters. The idea is to take them beyond the realm of the "safe" screen and have them "intrude" on ours, creating a response in the viewer. From the selection we've been able to find scattered around social media corners, the achievement is quite impressive. We hope to see more/better quality images, once the show is opened to the public today (Saturday, April 14, 2018) and the Gallery puts the collection online.
In the meantime, enjoy! (We've included artist's titles, comments, and statements where they were available.)
Alice In Wonderland (2018) - Brianna Angelakis
"Frozen in Time" - Ania Tomicka
“The Young Goddess Artemis” - Richard J Oliver I went to the source of what I believe inspired the character of a well known Disney’s Animation. For a while I’ve been wanting to make a painting based on DIANA (Roman Goddess) or ARTEMIS (Greek Goddess) of Hunting and nature. After some research the similarities between these Goddess’ and the princess character Merida were uncanny so I drew my inspiration from the mythical daughter of Zeus.
"Bibbedi bobbidi boo" (Cinderella) - Anne Angelshaug As a child I adored the story of Cinderella, but rewatching it as an adult it conjured very different thoughts and feelings. Thoughts of abuse, apathy and delusion.... sorry I took it to a dark place, but it just seemed right...
The Little Mermaid - Meredith Marsone "This (is a close-up of) a painting of The Little Mermaid just after the point of her transformation, still underwater, but human now and so in imminent danger in the place she used to call home."
Sleeping Beauty - Sheri DeBow
“Guardian” - Lena Danya The Little Mermaid Meets Marlin and Dory from Finding Nemo
Sometimes Ups Outnumber the Downs - Jessica Dalva "My sculpture based on Disney’s Robin Hood."
"The Strands the Bind" - Stephanie Pui Mun Law (The Fox and the Hound)
There are many more cartoon classics reimagined, of course, these are just the most fairy tale related of those revealed (whether in close-up or as finished pieces). Others include Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, Sponge Bob, The Aristocats, Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lady and the Tramp, Frankenweenie, Pink Panther, Coco, Jessica Rabbit, Betty Boop, Toy Story, Gumby, Sailor Moon, Bambi, She-Ra and more.
The exhibition is free to the public and opens today, Saturday April 14, 2018, at The Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco.
Exhibition Dates: April 14–May 4, 2018
Opening Reception: April 14, 2018 6 pm–9 pm
Featuring the artwork of Adam Hunter Caldwell, Alec Huxley, Amanda Banker, Amy Mastrine, Ania Tomicka, Anne Angelshaug, Aunia Kahn, Brianna Angelakis, Carly Janine Mazur, Catherine Moore, Chris Leib, Christina Ridgeway, Daniel J Valadez, David Natale, Glenn Arthur, Hanna Jaeun, Hikari Shimoda, Jacyln Alderete, Jessica Dalva, Joshua Coffy, Julie Filipenko, Kathrin Longhurst, Lee Harvey Roswell, Leegan Koo, Leilani Bustamante, Luke Allsbrook, Marcos LaFarga, Marie Larkin, Marjolein Caljouw, Mark Bryan, Meredith Marsone, Michael Cuffe, Nathalia Suellen, Nick Stathopoulos, Olga Esther, Rachael Bridge, Rachel Silva, Raúl Guerra, Rene Cuvos, Rich Pellegrino, Richard Ahnert, Richard J Oliver, Robert Bowen, Sarah McCloskey, Sheri DeBow, Simona Candini, Stephanie Law, Steve Javiel, Susannah Martin, Susanne Apgar, Sybiline , and Zelyss.
At this writing, Disney's Frozen has officially opened on Broadway and is in previews. There's no doubt it's going to make a boatload of money - at least initially. (Reports are coming in that it's already made back its production cost of $25-$30 in just two nights). But will it be a good show?
Why is it so daunting to bring Frozen to the Broadway stage?
Michael Grandage - Director of Frozen on Broadway
Frozen has the equally enviable and unenviable issue of continuing to be so ridiculously popular that it's both a guaranteed crowd draw and a great risk to make any deviation from the movie - whether that's costumes, songs, story details or structure.
But Broadway is supposed to be more than 'the movie on stage'. It's supposed to be a true, stand-alone theatrical experience.
You have to try to make something new. You have to start from scratch. The theme parks and the cruises have an obligation, in a sense, to do a beautiful book report of “What is the movie onstage? Let us bring that to life.” But our job at Disney Theatrical is to do something different. That’s not that one is not more valid than the other, but our job is to say, “How does this inspire something that’s purely theatrical? (Schumacher interviewed by Playbill, July 2017)
Everyone wants another Lion King success story, of course. What people forget about The Lion King, is that, at the time, it was Disney's most successful movie to date; bigger than The Little Mermaid, bigger the Beauty and the Beast, at that time. It was a monster hit with audiences and critics and the popular and sought-after merchandising added to the very real pressure to keep everything 'familiar'. (In the years since, Princess Culture and its associated marketing have kept the profile of the other two much higher and contributed to a greater 'long term stock' success.) To say "yes" to Julie Taymor's vision for The Lion King on Broadway was one of the riskiest moves the Disney Company, as a whole, made in a long time. The Lion King on Broadway now exists as a separate entity from the movie, and it's argued that this is part of it's continued staying power. Twenty years on, The Lion King on Broadway remains a sell-out show. But it certainly wasn't guaranteed at the time. The Lion King was a risky experiment gone right, and duplicating that success has never happened.
Disney's Aladdin on Broadway, after false starts, and much criticism and worry, is finally finding its feet and is considered a (decent) hit. The Little Mermaid is considered as "not having translated to success" (to put it in company terms) and 'over-produced'. Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, which stayed closer to its source material in look and execution than Lion King but took a few risks as well, is also a "Broadway keeper" but still doesn't approach the success of The Lion King.
Fresh versus Familiar So where will Frozen ultimately land? From all reports to date, Frozen is leaning more toward Beauty and the Beast than The Lion King, in terms of the Broadway experience, but it is still 'early days' and despite having full production tryouts, it's not unheard of for changes still to happen in the first few months.
Here's a reminder of the Disney Company's stance, when it was being developed and being handed over to a Director (twice), which, in some ways, seems to undermine the statement about Disney Theatrical above:
“ ‘It’s a big property for us,’ they said, ‘And we’d like it to not depart too much from what’s out there. But it’s over to you, how to reimagine it.’”
The biggest criticism of the show is that it is "obviously trying to straddle two worlds": that of including all the familiar and beloved elements audiences expect/want to see and that of trying to create a fresh take on the film and make it, its own experience. The problem seems to be that - at the moment - it isn't completely successful on either front, making the Broadway experience a bit of an inconsistent one.
As you can see from the collected images in this post, the promotional material and photos are emphasizing the familiar, that is, the movie brought to life (though clearly with better quality than either the Once Upon A Time experience or the Disney Parks and cruises Hyperion version). The attention to detail and scale of the costumes, sets and puppet construction and manipulation is excellent and very likely, exactly what the audience are handing over their big bucks to see.
There's an in-depth article from Timeout HERE that wonderfully describes in detail how the costumes were approached. We greatly appreciated this comment:
“The costumes from the film are iconic, and so I approached the reimagining of them with trepidation and respect. I was also very aware that this would likely be the first time that a generation of young fans of the film would set foot in a theater, so it was important to me that they had an experience that was both familiar and at the same time new and exciting. Certain looks translated very easily into real fabric and onto real bodies; others took more revision before they found their balance.” (set and costume designer Christopher Oram)
As well as this attention to their own research (as opposed to merely cribbing off the movie's):
“Bunad is the traditional Norwegian dress, and it’s the recurring theme of all the garments in the show. We were able to research it thoroughly through books and by visiting Norway; it’s still how they dress on festivals and occasions, and there are shops that sell contemporary versions of it and museums that have collections of antique versions of it, so you can see how it’s developed and changed. ...nothing is ultimately more useful to any design process then to experience the world in which the piece is set for real. So our trip to Norway, in the footsteps of the original filmmakers, was both a revelation and a reassurance as it confirmed both what the film and my many reference books had suggested.” ...“To experience the vast scale of the fjords, to feel the extreme cold of the mountains and to walk in the crepuscular half-light of medieval stave churches was the ultimate preparation for embarking on this journey. You get a sense of the scale of the place, the ache of the place, and the smells and the quality of light. On the bridge, Anna wears a mountain ensemble borrowed from Kristoff, based on his own Sami outfit. It’s a look new for her, created for the stage show: men’s clothes that are too big for her. When she realizes she can’t carry on in it, she changes into a skirt and cape, her iconic traveling outfit.”
Olaf and Sven
There are some approaches, since The Lion King, that have become, well, standard, for Disney stage-adaptations, specifically, the puppet-actor-hybrid. It should come as no surprise that this is the approach for Olaf, Elsa's snowman-come-to-life (which his far preferable over the Theme Park-like full-character costume, as far as creating an emotional and comedic stage performance goes), and also for Sven the Reindeer (created by acclaimed puppet maker Michael Curry).
Reports are (so far) unanimous that both Sven is even better than the movie.
Olaf isn't getting quite as warm a reception all round, though critics agree the actor-puppeteer does a fantastic job. (Note: there have been productions that have tried the full-body costume approach and it's come off as creepy, and there have been the Olaf-as-projection-special stage-EFX which have felt too removed, so the tried-and-true hybrid-puppet approach for Broadway was generally expected.)
Stage Not Screen
When asked, during development, about what differences the musical would explore, that couldn't be done within the constraints of a family friendly-length film, Playbill received this answer:
There’s a lot about origin. Animation is haiku. We can put up simple images on screen and you get it; you know what’s going on. And you accept a very brief statement as fact. [There’s] this notion that fairytale, if you will, sort of hangs over the film. What’s interesting about Frozen now is this idea that Anna is living in a fairytale world and Elsa is living in a mythic world. You think about it and you go, “Holy cow!” I’d like to tell you that was my original thought, but Jennifer Lee pointed that out to me at one point. She said, “One of them is in a fairytale and one of them is in a myth, and these two things have to crash together at the end.” It’s a big idea to think about. We also ask, “What is the circumstance of Elsa’s power?” It’s another big idea to think about. Also, who are those creatures that they go see for healing? That’s the real story there: Who’s connected to all of that? How does that exist? But the biggest idea is about love and loyalty, and love versus fear. Can you let go and love? Can you exist without fear? What if your whole life were simply controlled by fear?
With all that in mind, there are some major differences between the movie and the Broadway edition, knowledge that potential audiences may be better off armed with before going, than being 'surprised' by them. (We are indicating any potential-spoiler differences clearly, in case we have readers wishing to avoid them.)
**STILL SPOILER FREE**
The Why and How (Director Michael Grandage's Approach)
“It’s a show that’s very much about a family in trauma,” says Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who with her husband, Robert Lopez, wrote the score for the film and added more than a dozen other songs for the Broadway version, which of course retains the Oscar-winning “Let It Go.” ...And it’s a show in which frostiness itself is almost a character. (via The Washington Post)
Enlisting his partner, theatre designer Christopher Oram, to create the sets and costumes, Grandage travelled to Norway to seek inspiration for the frost-bound kingdom. “There was a guy who showed us 100 different kinds of snow!” he said. (via Telegraph UK)
**SOME SPOILERS**
(You may wish to scroll down to where it says SPOILER FREE)
The Differences (summary)
But what are those differences?
A nod to the movie's rock-trolls
Caissie Levy (playing Elsa) and Patti Murin (playing Anna), the leads for the Broadway show think the appeal will be broader than the movie:
“There is something for everybody,” Levy said. “We have discovered so many more layers to examine within this story that can only happen in the theater. A lot of adult themes are explored. It’s not just for kids. ...With the addition of so much new material, we have the freedom to expand and to go deeper than you are able to in a film.” (Broadway Direct)
The opening is also different:
The show is (now) set to open with a group of creatures referred to as “hidden folk,” similar to the Scandinavian folklore of “huldufólk” but with more animalistic qualities. (Playbill)
These “huldufólk” (basically Icelandic elves) apparently have tails too, though how they are played is unclear. (Reception has been mixed - very positive through to "creepy".) How the tattoo design for them, revealed via Director Michael Grandage's Instagram is used, is also unknown.
So there are now no "rock trolls", as they are replaced by the "hidden folk" or “huldufólk”.
The show now has twenty-one songs, more than double the film, including the original favorites, with the new ones all having been written by the original, Oscar-winning husband and wife team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Those songs include "Dangerous to Dream" and the just-released "Monster".
Tryouts program for Denver - Not Broadway final
"There’s a new duet between Anna and Kristoff called “What Do You Know About Love?,” while Anna and Elsa will both have new solo tunes, with “True Love” and “Dangerous to Dream,” respectively." (Nerdist)
There are also some key staging and chorus details that can be gleaned from the interview with costume designer Chris Oram as well:
“We start the show in summer, with the ensemble in their light summer gear, and end it in the depths of winter. So they have a journey that’s physicalized by what they’re wearing. In the final sequence they are choreographed to function as a blizzard; wearing layered, bunad-inspired winter outfits in shades of white (also by Jennifer Love), they become the storm that engulfs the sisters at the climax.”
So gone, too, is Marshmallow, the giant snow-guardian of Elsa's ice-palace, replaced, essentially, by the "Blizzard chorus'.
The wolves that chase Anna and Kristoff (and Sven) are also out.
**POSSIBLE SPOILERS CONTINUED**
Any Differences From The Tryouts In Denver?
In a word: "yes".
In a review of the tryout run of the show in Denver in September, Jesse Green of the New York Times wrote admiringly about some aspects but came away decidedly mixed about the story, by Jennifer Lee*. “ ‘Frozen,’ ” he observed, “is going to have to figure out how to make the dark character less of a bore and the light character more compelling.” (The Washington Post)
*Jennifer Lee who co-wrote and directed the hit animated feature, also wrote the book for the Broadway version.
Broadway audiences will see a show that’s about 30 percent different from what was seen in Denver, Grandage and the Lopezes say. “A character we created we got rid of, we changed the opening, we changed the closing, we changed four huge numbers of choreography. And the whole reason is to make it more poetic, clearer, more precise,” Grandage explains. “We totally rewrote the finale,” says Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Everyone agreed that “Frozen’s” teary wallop of a conclusion — a surprise final twist in the plot — had to land like a haymaker. It’s a statement about looking past pain, to an understanding of what’s most important in life, and remaining open to the possibilities of reconciliation in ways that you’re not always prepared for. (The Washington Post)
What the Critics Are Saying To Date
Rather than repeat what's wonderfully collated elsewhere,HERE's a "round-up" of the good, the bad, the wows and the indifferent comments from critics so far, (possible spoilers if you've skipped those sections here, so be warned).
Folks will be glad to know the "Let It Go" sequence doesn't disappoint.
The sets, lighting and visual effects throughout the show seem to be getting thumbs up all around.
**DEFINITELY SPOILERS AHEAD**
Audience Criticisms To Date
Hopefully some of these issues will be reworked or reconsidered in the near future, but for now, these are the issues getting the most negative attention:
There is a much-touted addition of a Danish concept (and a song all about it) called 'Hygge', (pronounced HUE-gah) which translates as "enjoying life's simple pleasures", and has a 'burlesque' (!) chorus, which some audiences are finding ingenious while others are just baffled by it. Anna joins Oaken's family in their sauna (all having towels!) and gets into the 'Hygge mood'. (Kristoff does not - he stays on task.) Hygge, acting like the 'Hakuna Matata' of this musical seems to be key to the message and themes of the Broadway show, and while it's getting critical thumbs up for the music, it's not quite working for all audiences, possibly because of the burlesque staging (towels!) and dischord (so to speak) with where the story arc is at, at the time it's sung.
The issues might be more explicit than audiences expect, such as Elsa's exploration of her insecurities being so deep she appears to contemplate suicide during the song 'Monster' (something which the staging and performance apparently indicate).
Elsa's pantsuit (below) has been advertised as making her "more powerful" - that hasn't gone over well.
Elsa has a new - white - dress because, er... oh right: ka-ching!
Anna has climbing leathers, at least for a while, but there are some concerns about consent, in how Anna is (apparently) manhandled into getting out of her party dress and into these travel clothes, then dragged around and treated like a complete klutz and only accidentally competent, all played for laughs and during a great song... hmm. There is concern emerging from audiences so far that Kristoff takes away Anna's agency in many different ways, treating Anna as little more than a spoiled girl, with her being more a match for Olaf (essentially a child) than himself.
It would also seem the biggest 'moment' is more about the Anna and Kristoff kiss at the end than any note belonging to the sisters, which is a shame. There is barely any interaction between Anna and Elsa, post Anna-thawing. To top off this odd emphasis, the closing song reprise/medley is a Love Is An Open Door/True Love (new song) combo. This is one spot where we would have expected a joyful variation or reprise of Do You Want To Build A Snowman. Currently, this seems to be a missed opportunity.
One of the subtle and odd differences is that in exploring Elsa's insecurity in more depth and in beefing up Anna's comedy in the manner they have, the women in the show now seem 'less',, in other words, weak. This might be the biggest and most worrying difference we've heard rumor of to-date - worrying also because the differences are subtly enrobed in what has been a girl-power and sisterhood 'anthem' to many, from the moment the movie hit screens. The sadly insidious and weakening differences may very well slide by unnoticed to the very people who should be planting that flag even more strongly for this 'new generation of theater-goers'.
**SPOILER FREE ONCE MORE**
The Official Trailer
Here's the official trailer for the Broadway Show which gives a nice and non-spoilery overview of the production in rehearsal (please note, this was made before the allegations against the President of the Disney Theatrical Productions [DTP], Thomas Schumacher, so he makes appearances throughout the video):
Would We Go To See It?
YES!
While it doesn't sound perfect (and has some issues that are quite concerning to us), it looks and sounds like an amazing, high-quality show and a different enough experience from the movie to make it, it's own thing. We hope it continues to evolve and refine itself as it begins its run, but there is a lot of beautiful work here in so many ways and on so many levels, we would support it. And then let you know what we truly thought. ;)
(Below are the first offical curtain call photos Disney has released:)
In fact, it brings so many different traditions and holiday folklore to the table it might be considered 'edutainment'. (Not that we're complaining - because we're not. In case that's not clear... okay? Actually, more of these sorts of shorts for the various seasonal celebrations would be ultra awesome. Please!)
Take a look at the trailer and see how many different references you can find, just in this teaser. (We were thrilled to see yule goats included!) And you know there will be more in the full short. Our only query is whether they stuck to Euro traditions or went around the world.
'Olaf's Frozen Adventure' will play in theaters before Pixar's 'Coco', starting November 22nd.
In anticipation of the premiere of "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings," FreeForm (part of the Disney/ABC Television Group) invites you to relive all of your favorite love stories during the network's weekend programming event starting SATURDAY, MAY 6 and continuing through SUNDAY, MAY 7. Follow along as Tiana kisses a few frogs to find her prince while Snow White patiently waits for true love's kiss, then cheer on Cinderella as she gets ready for the ball.
The highlights are:
Saturday, May 6
(8:00 - 10:00a.m. EDT) A CINDERELLA STORY: IF THE SHOE FITS (live action movie with Sofia Carson)
(10:00a.m. - 12:35p.m. EDT) THE PRINCE & ME (live action movie with Julia Stiles)
(12:35 - 2:40p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (feature animation)
(2:40 - 4:45p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 9:05a.m. EDT.
(4:45 - 6:50 p.m. EDT) DISNEY/PIXAR'S BRAVE (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 11:10 a.m. EDT.
(6:50 - 9:00 p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S TANGLED (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 3:20p.m. EDT.
(9:00 - 11:30 p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S FROZEN (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 5:30p.m. EDT.
(11:30p.m. - 1:30 a.m. EDT) DISNEY'S ALADDIN (feature animation) -repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 1:15 p.m. EDT.
Getting married is one of the most special days of your life and one you will never forget. For three exceptional couples, their weddings will include some Disney magic and elegance, as well as a few surprises thrown in, to give them the wedding they always dreamed of and more. And while three couples are entering wedded bliss, one lucky couple is just about to start their wedding journey with a proposal of a lifetime. Hosted by "The Bachelor" alums Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell, "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings" will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the one-of-a-kind weddings, including a surprise performance by the multiplatinum-selling a cappella group Pentatonix and magical engagements that take place at Disney Destinations around the globe.
* All dresses pictured are from Disney Bridal
Note: we're not sure why Frozen is being featured - there's no wedding in that movie!
