#anna appreciation

And I think about what Jen Lee has said about the sisters both being the fifth spirit, and beautiful comments I’ve read from people saying that was clear in the film because of the “mother had two daughters line” just after this...

...and I’m conflicted because even though “the sisters are both the fifth spirit” may have been the film’s intent, a vast majority of the audience (if most comments, blog posts, and gifsets in the years since the film’s release are any indication) don’t seem to realize or pick up on that.

And I have friends who will say, “Well, it’s not the filmmakers’ fault if everyone misinterprets their film,” but...

This is Anna.

Anna believes in you, unconditionally. Anna will cheer you on until the end. Anna will provide you with endless strength and courage.

It is okay to not be okay. It is okay to take time for yourself. It is okay to feel like giving up. As long as you never give up. As long as you keep pushing.

Anna shows that you will be okay. You will find your path. You will find yourself. You will receive all that you deserve. You will accomplish so many things in your life. Your life is worth fighting for, even if you end up alone.

Anna shows that you are never truly alone. You always have you. And you are your most powerful hero. You are the one that picks yourself up off the ground. You are the one that reminds yourself on the daily that life is worth living. You are the one that takes that next step. Gets out of bed. Brushes your teeth. Always does the next right thing, no matter how big or how small.

Anna shows that there is light after grief. That the darkness doesn’t last forever. And even if it’s absolutely paralysing, and you find youself without air, there is always a star to follow. You will always find your way somehow. It will get better.

Anna shows that leading life with positivity and optimism does make life look brighter after all. But she shows that it’s also okay to be negative and pessimistic sometimes. Sometimes, life is tough. Sometimes, it just really sucks. When you’re left alone to fend for yourself, despite having no experience as to how you’re supposed to handle the real world, and you feel like you’re learning to walk for the first time all over again.

Anna shows the power in independence. From being overly co-dependent, to finding your own worth and learning to survive on your own. This is an incredibly difficult trial in life, but the result is so worth it. Discovering the incredibly powerful woman (man/human/you) that’s been hiding under the surface for so many years. Now that person has a time to shine. Now you’re seen. Now you’re heard. By You.

Anna shows what it takes to no longer require approval from others. To be able to stand tall and proud of the person you’ve worked so hard at becoming. The person you’ve always longed to be. To take control of your life and lead for you.

But at the same time, the amount of people I’ve seen completely miss the fact that they are both the fifth spirit troubles me. Because I’ve seen ask blogs that are completely dedicated to just Elsa being the fifth spirit. I’ve seen people gif just the, “You are the fifth spirit!” line without any thought to Anna. I’ve seen Elsa alone be called the fifth spirit in fics. 

It makes me feel that the film should have been clearer in getting its concept across. It’s not just a matter of scores of people misinterpreting the text. Part of the reason behind the misinterpretation comes from the film’s lack of focus on the “Anna as fifth spirit/other side of the bridge” angle.

Good concept, flawed execution. 

Her freckles are more pronounced than Elsa’s are

AND THEY’RE JUST AS ADORABLE.

I mean just look at the way they spread to her shoulders

and how they sit on her little nose!!!

Like, it’s one thing to turn Frozen into an Elsa franchise (it’s stupid, but still a thing) but at least fucking stop bullshiting us you still consider Frozen a sister franchise when you obviously only care about one sister.

There’s a reason why the 3rd act is the best part of Anna’s arc. Because it’s something they added to the story really early in the process, it’s one of the rare Anna scenes that survived their desire to keep deleting and deleting Anna scenes to kiss Elsa’s ass more.

If you claim to be the sister movie that you are, you would’ve kept the dream sequence with both Anna and Elsa experiencing the images of The Enchanted Forest (Elsa saw them in her dreams, Anna saw them through the ice Elsa created in her sleep) instead of Into The Unknown, that’s literally just cashing in on Let It Go’s success.

You would’ve made The Big Song of the movie a sister duet like I Seek The Truth. Or just any duet, I assume they could’ve written another song if they had bothered to keep the secret room plot. Heck, when you really think about it, even the voice plot could’ve had a duet if they tried.

You would’ve kept the original engagement plot and allowed Anna to have her own story outside of Elsa, just like how Elsa was allowed to have her own story outside of Anna, instead of turning the entire engagement plot into one giant running gag joke (which ironically kept going wrong because of Elsa getting in the way one way or another).

You would’ve kept the Anna self-doubt plot of her worrying if her parents are proud of her (which also puts focus on Anna growing up feeling neglected). Or just anything showing Anna’s love and devotion for Arendelle the way the deleted scenes did to foreshadow her Queen of Arendelle ending.

And you would’ve kept the ice memory epilogue scene of Elsa putting actual effort into her relationship with Anna, having her acknowledge she’s not the only one suffering here and Anna needs comfort too, instead of having Elsa high on her horse (pun intended) the entire epilogue and expecting Anna to blindly go along with everything she decided in that moment with zero input if Anna even wants it.

Saying you’re a “sister movie“ is one thing, now fucking act like it.

Happy Mother's Day!!!