The original Frozen rewrote Disney’s animated movie rule book, and it sneakily broke an unspoken Disney princess rule with one of its songs. Frozen became a massive hit after its 2013 debut, and the film’s 2019 sequel went on to make a whopping $1.4 billion at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). It’s no wonder Disney already has plans for a third and fourth Frozen movie, as the series has become one of the most recognizable and successful in the studio’s lineup. Frozen marked a lot of firsts for Disney, as it featured two princesses and placed their sisterly love above romance for a change.
That’s just one of the ways Frozen bucked Disney princess norms, and the series’ popularity proves this was long overdue. The Disney film also subtly broke another rule that viewers might not have picked up on. Most Disney princess movies follow a formula, though more recent releases have switched it up. But Frozen remains the only one to include a song that ventures into new territory for such projects.
Disney princess movies often give their heroines solo songs or duets with their love interests, but Frozen is the only one to feature a duet between a princess and a villain character. In a way, this makes sense. Princess stories typically don’t offer a reason for their leads to burst into song alongside their enemies. But thanks to Frozen‘s big Hans twist, “Love Is an Open Door” became the first princess movie duet to feature this dynamic. Viewers likely didn’t realize it at the time, but Frozen was making history with one of its early tracks.
Disney’s villains tend to get solo songs, when they get them at all, and they follow a pretty standard formula. The movie’s bad guys will lament how they’ve been wronged, then outline their plans to the other characters and the audience. Scar’s “Be Prepared” in The Lion King is the perfect example, though Wish most recently showcased how this works within a princess project. It’s unheard of to see a villain singing alongside a hero, but “Love Is an Open Door” quietly makes it happen, perfectly pulling off Frozen‘s ending twist in the process.
While Hans initially seems to be Anna’s prince charming, he reveals at the end of Frozen that his whole act is solely to destroy her and her sister and take Arendelle’s throne for himself. This revelation was a huge change of pace for Disney when Frozen first came out, and “Love Is an Open Door” allowed the movie to successfully pull it off. The song, which sees Anna and Hans bonding over their similarities, initially makes it seem like the characters are perfect for one another. Hans is all charm and humor, which makes it more devastating for Anna when he reveals his true nature.
Needless to say, Frozen‘s “Love Is an Open Door” does more than change Disney history. It also allows for a solid ending to the film, one that subverts expectations and makes Anna and Elsa’s love the center of the movie instead. This is central to Frozen, so the movie would be totally different without its princess/villain duet. And given that the song itself is popular and catchy, there should probably be more tracks sung by this combination of Disney characters in the future.
While Disney shouldn’t attempt to replicate Frozen‘s big twist with other movies, the studio can undoubtedly find other ways to have princesses and villains team up musically. For one, Disney can turn an argument or confrontation into a composition, combining the more traditional villain song with a heroine’s performance. The studio could certainly benefit from refreshing its approach, and this isn’t something it’s really done before. Taking Frozen‘s lead, it can deliver a more obvious princess/villain duet in future films.
Additionally, future Disney movies could parallel a princess’ storyline with that of a villain, having the two belt out a duet wherein they both describe similar experiences. This would mirror “Love Is an Open Door” in some ways, but it wouldn’t have to lean too heavily on the twist that defines the Frozen song. Only time will tell if Disney offers more opportunities for princesses and villains to sing together, but it would be a welcome change of pace.