In our previous post, The Disneyfication of Pocahontas and the True Story of Uleleh, we explored the origins of the Disney film Pocahontas and discovered that it has a deeper, more complex history than we thought. In today’s post, we delve into another Disney film, Frozen, which is said to be based on the fairy tale The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. Interestingly, there are speculations that Andersen’s fairy tales were actually inspired by Norse mythology, so we decided to examine The Snow Queen for these literary remnants. Join us as we peel back the layers of history to see how an ancient culture eventually gave rise to a 21st-century Oscar-winning animated film.
Since 1943, Walt Disney Animation Studios had been struggling to bring …show more content…
The Snow Queen, illustration by Elena Ringo.
Still, Disney’s studio artists claimed that Andersen’s villainous Snow Queen did not lend herself to a film adaptation, therefore forcing a complete reworking of the plot.[3] (In fact, this is not the first time Disney has made over a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen – The Little Mermaid underwent this treatment as well.) In The Snow Queen, the young heroine, Gerda, sets out to find her beloved friend, a young boy named Kai, who has been kidnapped by the Snow Queen. Gerda battles witchcraft, murderous robbers, hunger and extreme cold to reach Kai who is imprisoned inside the Snow Queen’s palace of ice.
In the end, there is no climactic showdown between Gerda and the Snow Queen. (Which is perhaps another reason Disney felt the plot needed to be reinvented.) Actually, when Gerda arrives at the palace, the Snow Queen is nowhere to be found. She has flown south to Italy, where she plans to shower snow down upon Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna. Kai and Gerda “strolled out of that enormous palace,” and at the story’s end (a few paragraphs later) they are safely back at home in …show more content…
Illustration by H.L.M. in 1901.
Skadi hunting in the mountains. Illustration by H.L.M. in 1901.
For example, some speculate that Andersen modeled the Snow Queen after the Norse goddess Skaði.[6] Skaði is associated with winter, mountains and skiing – in fact, she is often depicted as traveling about with skis strapped to her feet. Others believe that the Snow Queen was inspired by Hel, a Norse goddess who presided over the mythological realm of Niflheim, a land of ice and snow where men’s souls went after they died of sickness or old age.[7]
Also, according to SurLaLune, a website dedicated to annotating fairy tales, two central characters in The Snow Queen are plucked straight from Norse mythology. They are the two crows who assist Gerda at a critical point in her journey. According to myth, the god Odin carries two crows on his shoulders, referred to as Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory). The birds bring Odin information from all over his realm.[8] In The Snow Queen, Gerda encounters the crows when she is searching for clues as to where Kai could be. The crows tell Gerda that they think Kai traveled to a palace, and married the princess within. The information turns out to be wrong, but nevertheless it is a step forward in Gerda’s journey to Kai. The crows take her to a benign prince and princess who provide her with much-needed supplies, and Gerda sets off
Since 1943, Walt Disney Animation Studios had been struggling to bring …show more content…
The Snow Queen, illustration by Elena Ringo.
Still, Disney’s studio artists claimed that Andersen’s villainous Snow Queen did not lend herself to a film adaptation, therefore forcing a complete reworking of the plot.[3] (In fact, this is not the first time Disney has made over a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen – The Little Mermaid underwent this treatment as well.) In The Snow Queen, the young heroine, Gerda, sets out to find her beloved friend, a young boy named Kai, who has been kidnapped by the Snow Queen. Gerda battles witchcraft, murderous robbers, hunger and extreme cold to reach Kai who is imprisoned inside the Snow Queen’s palace of ice.
In the end, there is no climactic showdown between Gerda and the Snow Queen. (Which is perhaps another reason Disney felt the plot needed to be reinvented.) Actually, when Gerda arrives at the palace, the Snow Queen is nowhere to be found. She has flown south to Italy, where she plans to shower snow down upon Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna. Kai and Gerda “strolled out of that enormous palace,” and at the story’s end (a few paragraphs later) they are safely back at home in …show more content…
Illustration by H.L.M. in 1901.
Skadi hunting in the mountains. Illustration by H.L.M. in 1901.
For example, some speculate that Andersen modeled the Snow Queen after the Norse goddess Skaði.[6] Skaði is associated with winter, mountains and skiing – in fact, she is often depicted as traveling about with skis strapped to her feet. Others believe that the Snow Queen was inspired by Hel, a Norse goddess who presided over the mythological realm of Niflheim, a land of ice and snow where men’s souls went after they died of sickness or old age.[7]
Also, according to SurLaLune, a website dedicated to annotating fairy tales, two central characters in The Snow Queen are plucked straight from Norse mythology. They are the two crows who assist Gerda at a critical point in her journey. According to myth, the god Odin carries two crows on his shoulders, referred to as Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory). The birds bring Odin information from all over his realm.[8] In The Snow Queen, Gerda encounters the crows when she is searching for clues as to where Kai could be. The crows tell Gerda that they think Kai traveled to a palace, and married the princess within. The information turns out to be wrong, but nevertheless it is a step forward in Gerda’s journey to Kai. The crows take her to a benign prince and princess who provide her with much-needed supplies, and Gerda sets off