On Watching Frozen 2 for the first time

Fiction Writing 101

Your protagonist (me), whilst he may have some strengths, is riddled with human flaws (I do) which makes the reader (you) identify and empathise with him (we’ll see).

He is pitted against a Herculean task (going from Stinker to Finca in 999 days) and all the armies of the 4 worlds (the staggering difficulty of making a good living as a creative and my own inner demons) are railing against him.

Not only do you identify with him, over time, you find yourself rooting for him because, in his imperfect balance of hope and despair, you see yourself reflected back, your preciousness and your failings. If he can nail it, then so can you. The struggle is a universal; the scrappy underdog doing battle with the status quo.

Yesterday I watched Frozen 2 for the first time. My kids play the soundtrack every day at bedtime. It echoes around the house at distressingly loud volumes, time-lagging in stuttering stereo depending on who went to bed first and started the CD. I knew all the words to the songs already.

Basically, Queen Elsa follows an eerie and mysterious voice into the unknown. The voice turns out to be that of her (inner) child calling her to understand, and resolve crimes committed in the past, specifically some nastiness done by her grandfather. That there alone is some way deep, resonant shit. I’m still trying to sift my way through it.

Elsa is a joy to behold. I swooned watching her shoot ice out of her fingertips in heroic defence of her people. It was so refreshing to watch a woman saving the day instead of the usual macho shenanigans. Without doubt, she had courage in spades but I struggled to root for her because she seemed to lack the imperfections that made her human and relatable. Was her victory ever in doubt? I didn’t think so I was never invested in her.

Instead, I was drawn to the regal bearing and quiet dignity of Lieutenant Mattias.

And I think I’m beginning to understand why.

It’s a story of suffering and race and of overcoming…