Some of you may remember the outrage directed at Disney over the last year or so. Most of it was circulated via tumblr, so unless you're a millennial, exceptionally bored, or both, you may be as late to this particular party as I am. But I digress.
The object of the outrage, the manufactured offense du jour, is Disney's last major feature film, Frozen. And why? Two reasons.
1. Because it wasn't feminist enough (even though it did pass the Bechdel test).
2. Because the characters were all white. Let me say that again, in clearer terms: Because all of the characters in a fairy tale written by a Dane (Hans Christian Andersen) and set in Northern Europe were actually accurate representations (i.e. causasian) of people who would exist in the story's setting.
Partly because they primarily existed on tumblr – but mostly because they were ridiculous – these criticisms never really gained traction. But now, a different criticism of Disney's Frozen has the entertainment giant staring at the business end of a copyright lawsuit. This one has been filed by Isabella Tanakumi (born Amy Gonzales), who claims that, despite the fact that the film credits show Hans Christian Andersen's TheIce Queen, the movie was actually ripped from the pages of her 2010 autobiography.
Her book details the lives and relationships of “two sisters who have tragedies, romances, conflicts, isolation, and loneliness.”
Other cited similarities included but we're not limited to:
-Tanakumi's story took place at the base of a snow-covered mountain. Arendelle is at the base of a mountain, and there is snow.
-Tanakumi writes of an accident in which her sister burns her with hot custard, making her ashamed to show her scarred face. Elsa accidentally hurts Anna with her power, and afterward hides her hands to conceal her power. There is no mention of any magical powers either leading to or stemming from the hot custard incident.
-Tanakumi and her sister were very close and loved each other deeply. Anna and Elsa loved each other.
-Both sets of sisters had opposite hair colors, and both had horses. (Yes, that was in the lawsuit).
Now let's try an experiment. I'm going to compare my life story to Frozen. I have two sisters, but I have dark hair and they are both blond (check). I was born near the Catskills in New York and we grew up in the shadow of the Poconos in Pennsylvania (mountains and snow, check). There were times when we were distant from each other because of misunderstandings (check). Oh, but we never had horses. Just hamsters.
The point is – and as an author, Tanakumi should understand this – unless the story is relatable, it will not sell. Unless people can look at the characters and see some piece of themselves, no one will understand it.
Tanakumi is seeking damages in the amount of $250 million. Because Disney…made a movie that is relatable to many people on many levels.
