Animation can create a creative world for children who are watching it but also can shape the values of children at the same time. Because it is so influential, our worry is that there are still male-centered values existing among the digital media. Considering the world-level influence of Disney and its movies, how genders are portrayed in each movie might be an important issue. The two film we chose for analysis is Disney’s live-action film Enchanted (2007) and Frozen(2013).
In Enchanted, Giselle, the female protagonist tries to find her true love between the Prince Edward and the divorced divorce lawyer Robert. Although the whole plot of Enchanted deviates from the typical Disney princess movie patterns, it still seems to convey the traditional gender roles and stereotypes. Disney has been featuring a pretty, kind, and family-oriented female protagonist who loves animals, treated badly by unhandsome female characters around her, and waits for the Prince Charming to come save her. Giselle fits into many of these “feminine” characteristics: She often talks to animals, cleans the house, waiting for the prince to pick her up. She enjoys shopping, swiping Robert’s credit card. Also, Nancy—another female character—who made the best of her career gives up everything back in New York and gets married to the Prince Edward all of a sudden. It is apprehended that these might reinforce the idea that being a wife of a man of wealth and authority is the best thing a woman can achieve in her life.
In contrast, two female characters of Frozen are independent of male characters. They stand as a subject of their own life, like the soundtrack “Let it go”. Elsa and Anna are far away from traditional Disney princess; they fight against the destiny instead of accepting it and fit more into adjective like “brave” and “active” rather than “fragile” or “modest.” Elsa recognizes her power later and builds her own castle as an independent self. Also, Frozen rejects the typical Disney ending; female character marries male character and lives happily ever after. Elsa does not marry with anyone and emphasizes her status as a queen, not someone’s wife. Elsa and Anna recognize the value of the family love at the end, not true love that Disney has always emphasized. It seems that Frozen reflects the modern society’s female image, female as a subject, and female who rejects to be valued only by how beautiful she is.
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