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What’s it About?
Due to its epic length, Frozen Wight is split into four parts.
The format is like a TV miniseries, with each part combining individual smaller
adventures with a set of greater arcs and storylines which span the entire fanfic…
Part One (Chapters 1 - 15) – After the events of the film,
Anna and Elsa must adjust to the recent set of changes to their life, as they
try to keep Olaf under control and help Anna regain her lost childhood memories.
Meanwhile, volatile Ice Harvester Adrian
becomes increasingly suspicious of Elsa and plots a coup against her with magical
assistance from a mysterious figure…
Part Two (Chapters 16-37) – Elsa tries to cope with the
pressures of being a queen, Anna’s attempts to pair her with dweeby bodyguard Fritz, and the
threat posed by a sinister demon. However, a snowwoman called Mary, an imaginary
friend from her childhood, comes to life and begins creating trouble.
Part Three (Chapters 38-59) – Elsa befriends a boy called Daniel with the
same ice powers as her, but Anna becomes increasingly suspicious of him. Daniel
helps Elsa take on the flamboyant dark fairy Brandr, but she soon realises that
Daniel has a terrible secret and is plotting to use Elsa in a plan to gain
revenge on the world which has shunned him.
Part Four (Chapters 60-74) – After Daniel takes away all of
Elsa’s happy memories, she creates a second eternal winter and becomes increasingly
dangerous and erratic, so Anna is forced to team up with Mary in a bid to cure
her older sister. Meanwhile, an old enemy plots to escape jail and gain revenge
on Anna and Elsa, but his schemes don’t go to plan…
Review
Frozen Wight is very hard to review in the traditional format,
due to its large number of characters, themes and storylines, so this review
will break things down a bit and highlight some of the things which make this fanfic
a must-read for any writer, regardless of whether or not they are interested in
fanfiction or Frozen…
Unique and
Interesting Tone – Frozen Wight possesses a distinctive tone which builds
off Frozen’s signature blend of comedy and drama to create something that is
unique, but still reasonably close to the approach of the source material. After
a brief prologue to introduce the sinister Wight, the story literally begins
where Frozen left off, tying up all the loose ends left by the conclusion of
the film. We see Elsa get properly introduced to Kristoff and Sven, learn what
happens when Olaf meets the people of Arendelle, and find out how Hans’s
misdeeds were exposed. This opening sequence establishes the tone of Frozen
Wight pretty quickly, with silly and broad comedy getting combined a more
serious exploration of Elsa’s fears and anxieties. From there, we go on to
seeing Elsa face a variety of issues, ranging from renovating the castle and dealing with an incompetent and sexist Royal Council to fighting angry rebels and a demonic monster. The combination of
mundane problems and extreme ones puts greater pressure on Elsa, and her range
of responses provides her with much greater depth and nuance. It also manages
to make Arendelle into an interesting and unpredictable world which is worth
staying in for all 74 chapters.
Although the characters and story are the main strength of
Frozen Wight, the creative writing also helps to elevate it. We get numerous
great descriptions throughout the story, and there are several moments when the
narrative voice intervenes to add some extra comedy. The contrast between extreme
comedy and extreme drama should be jarring, but they are balanced really well.
The comedy comes primarily from the characters and their dilemmas, ensuring
that there is an element of truth and realism to it. Meanwhile, the most serious
sections of the story contain bursts of wit and dark humour to keep things from
getting too miserable. A list of some of the best lines from the fanfic can be found
at the end of the review, but it barely scratches the surface – each chapter
has plenty of unique and memorable descriptions and dialogue…
Love of the Source
Material - It is obvious throughout this fanfic that Thebandragoness is
a keen Frozen fan with a very detailed knowledge of the movie. Virtually all
the characters from the original film are included here, from Anna, Elsa and
Olaf down to the little kid who moaned about having to wear smart clothing to
Elsa’s coronation day. Although this story is not a musical, the iconic songs from
Frozen still make their presence felt, with brief excerpts of 'Love is An Open
Door' and 'Fixer Upper' appearing, and several references to 'Let it Go' (including
Olaf talking about his view of the famous sequence). We also get a variety of Easter
eggs, including plenty of allusions to Frozen merchandise and material deleted
from the finished film. There are sneaky references to Anna and Elsa’s appearance
in Once Upon A Time and several spin-off books for children, and a few characters
from classic Disney Animated films have cameos. If you are sick of all the
Disney Animation references, there are also amusing references to other films, such
as The Princess Bride and The Avengers.
A good portion of the comedy in Frozen Wight takes on a surprisingly
meta tone, with various parodies of the Frozen fandom and plenty of digs at the
preposterous romantic pairs frequently found there. One of the comedic
highlights is a small subplot involving Anna and Elsa’s encounters with an
artist who spends his time creating and selling “illicit paintings” (i.e erotic
fanart) of Elsa with various romantic partners. There are also scenes with a
couple of royal guards, Morten and Henrik, who spend their time discussing
rumours about Elsa’s romantic life. These jokes at the expense of Frozen’s fandom
could easily be mean-spirited, but even the most avid fans can realize how
ridiculous all the romantic ‘shipping’ can get, and the mockery in this fanfic
stays on the right side of the line between affectionate and cruel. Frozen is a
pop-cultural phenomenon as well as a movie, and the acknowledgement of its
unique status in the Disney canon allows Frozen Wight to be more than another
continuation of Anna and Elsa’s story.
Big and Mature Themes
– The comedy in Frozen Wight is used to balance out the darker excesses of an
often serious story which provides a more detailed understanding of Elsa and
her inner turmoil. This fanfic was initially called ‘The Trials of Elsa’, so it
is no surprise that Anna’s troubled but brilliant older sister takes centre stage
in this story. Elsa’s cyromancy (ice powers to you and me) is the overarching focus
of this story as she struggles to come to terms with an incredible gift which
stayed suppressed for so long. Having to deal with Olaf, Marshmallow and a new
array of snow creatures feeds into Elsa’s uncertainty over how to use her
powers, and this creates a lot of comedy and drama. One of the prominent
threads running throughout the fanfic is Elsa’s struggle to deal with a drought
affecting Arendelle. With climate change becoming an increasingly urgent issue
following the heatwaves which affected the Northern hemisphere over the summer,
this subplot feels incredibly timely, as Elsa ponders the ethics of using the
fairytale equivalent of Geoengineering to solve the problems faced by her
kingdom. You do not need cyromancy to understand Elsa’s fears and insecurities,
and this is what makes her such a compelling protagonist.
The serious elements of the story are pretty heavy and disturbing
at points. Elsa’s fragile mental health is a central issue in Frozen Wight,
particularly in the second and fourth parts. In the second part, Elsa’s battle
with Mary’s toxic influence provides a disturbing representation of the
intrusive thoughts that often afflict obsessive or anxious people, with Mary
forcing her to act on her worst instincts. Mary corrupts Elsa through a mirror, echoing
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen (the inspiration for Frozen) and the damage
she causes highlights the fact that losing control of your own mind can be
scarier than any demon or snow monster. In the fourth part of the story, things
get even worse as Elsa’s happy memories are removed, turning her into a paranoid
and dangerous character who begins sliding into monster territory. Elsa’s
extreme turmoil is explored in a disturbing amount of detail. Parallels are
drawn between Daniel and the numerous real-life predators who destroy women’s
lives to live out their fanatical fantasies, and this make it clear that Elsa
is as much of a victim as a villain in this section of the story. The scenes where
she loses control and starts freezing her friends are genuinely disturbing,
because we know that her breakdown is based on fear rather than malice. Things
reach their climax when Elsa accidentally hits Anna with an extra-potent version
of the “Frozen Heart” curse from the first movie, making things even more difficult
for Anna, as she seeks to prevent Elsa from losing control of herself and her
powers for good. Anna’s race against time to save herself and Elsa is intense
and dramatic, with a powerful resolution which makes the eventual happy ending all the
sweeter.
In addition to providing drama and philosophical conundrums,
Elsa’s struggles are used to generate plenty of important messages. Beneath all
the chaos, the primary message of Frozen Wight is an excellent one - you should
never let tragedy and trauma define you. Elsa’s relationship with Anna,
Kristoff, Olaf and the rest of the “Frozen Family” emphasizes the need to
preserve our bonds with the people who can support us when things get difficult.
These messages are consistent with the themes and ideas explored by the
original film, but take them far further to provide a more sophisticated and
detailed examination. Elsa is a role model for many people with mental issues,
and the exploration of her struggles here gives this fanfic an emotional impact
and maturity. Like most fanfics, Frozen Wight is aimed at older audiences, but
whilst many of these stories misuse the “more adult” tone, Frozen Wight gets the
balance correct, adding more drama and danger without feeling gimmicky or
needlessly shocking.
A Strong Supporting
Cast – Although Frozen Wight is primarily about Elsa and her powers,
its grand scale and elaborate narrative means that the other characters from
the Frozen Universe also get plenty to do. If Elsa is the primary protagonist
of Frozen Wight, then Anna is a pretty powerful deuteragonist. The emphasis on
Elsa over Anna leads to some changes in their dynamic. With her attempts to
play matchmaker for Elsa and Fritz and a newfound obsession with punching all
her enemies in the face, Anna gets a lot of quirky and goofy moments, and can
border on being a comic sidekick at times. However, when push comes to shove
and Elsa needs her help, Anna proves to be the kind, brave and tenacious protagonist
we all know and love, fully earning her heroine status. A traditionally-built, inanimate
snowman with handprints over the heart becomes a powerful symbol of Anna’s
unconditional love for Elsa, and the scenes in which it is used are the most
powerful and moving in the fanfic. The bond between Anna and Elsa is the one
thing which made Frozen truly iconic, and Frozen Wight treats this important
relationship with the respect it deserves.
It is not surprising that Elsa’s snow creatures also have a prominent
role. Olaf is his usual blissfully happy, heat-obsessed self, and gets some
hilarious lines in this story. We learn about his inability at keeping secrets
and get a running gag about his obsession with the curse words which he hears
Anna using once too often. Hearing the innocent and childlike Olaf use profanities
which rhyme with “witch” and “wrap” is one of those things which should just be
cheap, lowest-common denominator humour, but turns out to be hilarious due to
his total lack of awareness or malice. Elsa’s intimidating snow monster
Marshmallow has an expanded role as well, as we learn about his relationship with
Elsa – beneath his menacing exterior, he loves his creator just as much as Olaf
does. In addition, we get several mini-Marshmallows, a set of talking birds
made from pure snow and a living, walking snowball who provides some
much-needed cuteness during the intense later chapters.
Anna’s allies from the original film also get some memorable
moments, although they are somewhat less significant compared to the more complex
and entertaining characters surrounding them. Kristoff retains his “anti-social
straight man” personality and gets some good lines, but he and Sven are
slightly overshadowed by the other members of the cast. Pabbie retains his role
as the magic expert, providing exposition to make the complicated magic and mythology
easier to understand. Although he generally uses his magic to help Anna and
Elsa, Daniel eventually forces him into doing things which create problems for
our protagonists. Meanwhile, the rest of the trolls get involved in the
romantic tangles at the centre of the story, providing unreliable advice for Anna,
Elsa, Kristoff and Fritz. Given that he is one of the most overused characters
in Frozen media, the eccentric Sauna salesman Oaken appears surprisingly little
in this story. However, the character is given various identical-looking cousins
who run other businesses in Arendelle and generate a lot of extra silliness – Thebandragoness could have easily ran this concept into the ground, but thankfully
manages to handle it carefully. Overall, Thebandragoness stays true to the essence
of Frozen’s main characters and gives them a lot of great new material.
Great New
Characters - There are also a variety of interesting new characters to
enjoy. Aside from the villains (mentioned in further detail below) the two most
prominent are Anders, the chief of staff, and Fritz, an awkward young bodyguard
hopelessly infatuated with Elsa. Anders is a stereotypically posh and stuffy assistant and gets a variety of dry and snarky lines, but the caring and compassionate elements
of his personality still shine through. When he is forced to babysit Olaf, he
initially finds the wacky snowman insufferable, but soon begins to form a sweet
little friendship with him. Fritz is another major source of comic relief in
the story, getting involved in a complex romantic subplot involving Elsa, Anna,
Kristoff, a bullying and macho bodyguard, and a sickeningly sweet member of
staff. Whilst the romantic subplots are relatively convoluted and can feel
like filler at times, they yield a lot of great comedy. With his ghastly mother,
a complete lack of social skills and a job he is hopelessly unqualified for,
Fritz is incredibly out of his depth in the royal world, but he is likeable
enough to root for, and its pretty satisfying when things finally start to go
his way. Besides these characters, other new additions to the Frozen universe
include Mrs. Dale, Adrian’s wise and kind wife, and Admiral Klaus, a tough
military man who has his own personal reasons for taking interest in Elsa’s cyromancy.
Both of these characters are engaging and three-dimensional, with revelations
about them later in the story add to their depth and complexity.
Excellent Villains
- Whilst the villains are one of the weakest aspects of the original film, the
villains in Frozen Wight are among the highlights of the story. There are six
main villains (seven if you count “Evilsa” – the brainwashed and crazy version
of Elsa from Part 4), of whom four are completely original characters. These
four new additions are all memorable antagonists who present Anna and Elsa with
formidable challenges. Daniel is the best of these, representing an excellent evil
counterpart to Elsa whose tragic past has driven him insane and turned him into
a nihilistic demon who has decided to embrace the death and destruction he associates
with his ice powers. Mary has one of the biggest character arcs in the story,
as she goes from demonic creature seeking to control Elsa to vulnerable and
sympathetic snowwoman who realises that her fears and anxieties are not so
different from Anna’s. Both characters are given depth through a variety of
flashback sequences, which explain how they came to pose a threat to Anna and
Elsa. These sequences add horror and tragedy to Frozen Wight, with Daniel’s
backstory being especially harrowing – his behavior may be deplorable, but it
is certainly easy to understand how he ended up becoming a monster. In contrast
to Daniel and Mary, Brandr has no internal depth or complexity, but is still a
twisted and entertaining villain. With his fast-talking, obnoxious personality and
complete disregard for human life, he feels like a more extreme version of Hades
from Hercules and is as much of a scene-stealer as this description implies.
Adrian is a smaller villain, only causing trouble in the first part, but still
has a considerable impact, particularly when we find out WHY he wanted to kill
Elsa. This devastating revelation fuels Elsa’s doubts and uncertainties about
her powers and adds depth to a villain who previously seemed like a prejudiced
thug. It needs to be stated that none of these villains are suitable for
children. Brandr’s flamboyance means that he is the closest to a traditional
Disney baddie, but this is still a character who boasts about killing a child
cyromancer and plots to replace all of Arendelle’s little children with demon changelings.
The total lack of family-friendliness gives this story a bite which provides
urgency and high stakes to prevent this being an excessively upbeat and silly
farce.
Compared to villains like Daniel and Brandr, The Duke of Weaseltown Weselton and Prince Hans, the two villainous characters from the original film, no longer feel like
threats, and their portrayal in this story reflects this. Weselton was always more of a boorish
and ridiculous ‘hater’ rather than a true menace, and Frozen Wight stays
true to this characterization. During the second part, Elsa is forced to
negotiate with him to form a new trading agreement, leading to a lot of the awkward
and amusing comedy generated by forcing our protagonists to be nice to someone
who they find totally insufferable. Needless to say, the uneasy business partnership
does not work out. It is a lot more surprising to see Hans played for laughs as
well, but this is handled really well here. Most Frozen fanfics portray Hans as a
troubled but redeemable young man or a completely evil supervillain, so it is
refreshing to see this one try something different, and the material is funny
enough to justify the more comedic interpretation. The Hans we see here is
still a scheming sociopath, but feels pathetic instead of threatening, as he
spends most of his time formulating impractical and ill-conceived plots from
within his jail cell whilst picking his nose and getting increasingly miserable
about the fall from grace that he brought upon himself. The confrontation
between him and our two sisters towards the end of the fanfic is incredibly
one-sided, demonstrating how far Anna and Elsa have come over the course of the
story. It’s telling that whilst Weselton and Hans are mere sideshows in Frozen
Wight, their portrayal here is more interesting and entertaining than they were
in a film where they were the central antagonists.
What Are the
Negatives?
This is an excellent fanfic, but it has its flaws as well, and
whilst these are relatively minor, they are still worth mentioning. The epic
approach of Frozen Wight is one of its strengths, but also generates some problems.
The second and third parts can get a little baggy at times, with the issues of Anna
and Elsa’s daily life sometimes distracting from the bigger picture. The
mythology of this story, involving magical swords fuelled by hate, evil fairies
and a mythical cyromancer called Mother Winter who turned the entire world into
a snowy wasteland, is incredibly convoluted and not easy to follow, going
against the fairytale simplicity which makes Disney films so appealing. There
is also a problem with the otherwise excellent final chapter. The concluding scene
involving Daniel reuniting with a figure from his past ends his story on an
ambiguous but surprisingly hopeful note (Without going too far into spoiler territory,
his final fate is similar to that of The Moon King in Kubo and the Two Strings).
However, it would have been more satisfying to intercut this with Anna and Elsa’s
final conversation together, a simple, moving and sweet scene where Anna
provides Elsa with support as she comes to terms with the awful ordeal she went
through over the fourth part of the story. Ultimately, the most powerful element of Frozen Wight is the
unbreakable bond between two sisters and seeing them put their handprints on Anna’s
snowman one last time would have been the perfect full stop for this tale.
What Else has
TheBanDragoness Written?
Thebandragoness has provided two sequels to Frozen Wight.
They are considerably shorter, but still packed with the humour and drama that
are the author’s trademark. Anatomy of A Snowwoman is centred on Mary and her struggles
to find meaning in her life. It continues in the tone set by Frozen Wight, with
Elsa travelling to a kingdom who worships her as a goddess and dealing with a
mysterious force which turns all her snow creatures (even Olaf!) into
rebellious monsters. Fritz: The Musical centres on Fritz’s romantic misadventures
and features parodies of numerous famous Disney songs. Both of these stories have
plenty of great moments, and are worth checking out, but Frozen Wight is still
the best story in Thebandragoness universe by some distance, due to its epic scope,
great humour, powerful dramatic moments and its excellent depiction of Anna and
Elsa’s sister dynamic.
Verdict
Although there are times where it feels a bit excessive and
self-indulgent, Frozen Wight is a must-read for Frozen fans, and even those who
despise the Disney megahit will find something to enjoy in this fanfic. With
its creative combination of funny, sad, scary and heartwarming, the story
deepens our appreciation of the characters in the Frozen universe whilst also
adding some excellent new elements to their world. Ultimately, Frozen Wight
sets an extremely high bar for Frozen 2, and it provides proof that committed and
talented amateur fans can provide a sequel capable of standing toe to toe with
the best from Hollywood.
Best Lines
“Here’s a secret. All
politics is just a bunch of old rich people who hate each other being locked in
a room to argue about boring legal stuff” (Chapter 1)
“In the span of a week, the castle had gone from a quiet,
dignified albeit empty, house of royalty to a place where sentient snowmen ran
amok and princesses dated hairy mountain men. It was starting to dawn on Anders
that the only thing standing between order and hair-splitting madness was one
elderly and overworked butler” (Chapter 3)
“Anna: Discussing Talking Snowman philosophy is great and
all, but can we please get back to fixing my brain now?” (Chapter 6)
“Anna: When you ran away just now, I was so scared, I didn’t
know what you were going to do, and, well, between today and yesterday, I guess
we both almost lost each other. And all I could think of was how we needed to
build a snowman again because… if we built the snowman, then…then you would
know…that I don’t care what happens, or
what you’ve done, or what you think you’ve done. I love you no matter what.”
(Chapter 15)
"Anders thought back to the conversation he'd had with Elsa the previous day. He was glad to see she'd dealt with the issue in her own unorthodox way. He just wished her way hadn't involved freezing the whole castle, that was all. Sudden, drastic change and finicky old men didn't agree with each other." (Chapter 17)
"Anders thought back to the conversation he'd had with Elsa the previous day. He was glad to see she'd dealt with the issue in her own unorthodox way. He just wished her way hadn't involved freezing the whole castle, that was all. Sudden, drastic change and finicky old men didn't agree with each other." (Chapter 17)
“Olaf: I’m great at keeping secrets! Like the time I promised
Marshmallow I wouldn’t tell anyone he wants to wear women’s clothing!” (Chapter 29)
"Anna glanced back long enough to scream "Evilsnooooooowmaaaaaaan!"
Okay, Kristoff was seriously confused. But then an ice-creature charged after her down the hallway, and he pieced things together.
Lesson Learned: Never try to surprise Anna. She will outdo you every time" (Chapter 33)
"Brandr: Please, must this end in violence? […] Wait, who am I kidding? I love violence." (Chapter 37)
"Olaf: First Elsa wears boy clothes, then I wear girl clothes...What a day for gender roles, right? Wait. Do snowmen have genders?" (Chapter 55)
"Anna glanced back long enough to scream "Evilsnooooooowmaaaaaaan!"
Okay, Kristoff was seriously confused. But then an ice-creature charged after her down the hallway, and he pieced things together.
Lesson Learned: Never try to surprise Anna. She will outdo you every time" (Chapter 33)
"Brandr: Please, must this end in violence? […] Wait, who am I kidding? I love violence." (Chapter 37)
"Olaf: First Elsa wears boy clothes, then I wear girl clothes...What a day for gender roles, right? Wait. Do snowmen have genders?" (Chapter 55)
“Anna had learnt a valuable lesson. No matter how bad a
person could seem, they can always realise their mistakes and find redemption.
Except Hans. Screw Hans. Anna hoped he was having a
miserable time in prison.” (Chapter 65)
“Morten the Guard: Why can’t the queen stay single, huh? Her
life seems fine without romance in it! And its not like there aren’t already a
gazillion royal chicks out there who turn romance into their defining trait!
Why can’t Queen Elsa stay special? Why can’t she be a strong, independent person?”
(Chapter 74)
