What. On. Earth. Is. This?
We knew this was coming. There was no way the 25-language version of "Let It Go" was about to be the only one of its kind. And yes, I know this song is harder to give equally to multiple languages, because the lines end at different lengths - some are shorter and some are longer. But it defeats the purpose of having 29 languages if 3 of them (Latin Spanish, Kazakh, Hindi) are displayed during the "ah-ah ah-ah" part of the song. We're not hearing Latin Spanish, nor Kazakh, nor Hindi, at all! Yeah, maybe it shows that a lot of cultures liked this film and there are many versions, but the problem is that it doesn't flesh out the languages of those cultures. It's in bad taste to then count these 3 in the final count for the number of languages. And then the lines aren't divided up equally. Why does English get 2 lines at the beginning, and then Castellano and Mainland (PRC) Mandarin get 1 line each? Case in point (0:12-0:30): 1. (English) I can hear you, but I won't. / Some look for trouble, while others don't. (Castellano) Más de mil razones hay para seguir igual, / (Mandarin) 无视你的低语 对我无形的支配。 Could have cut one of the English lines and slotted in Latin Spanish/Kazakh/Hindi. And then this section, of Swedish-Hungarian-Danish (0:38-0:57). These lines are the equivalents of the English "You're not a voice..." to "...I'm blocking out your calls." Lyrics taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkyFL9_WWXw (Swedish) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_nV2MQLYI8 (Hungarian) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLQpwBrGC5E (Danish) 2. (Swedish) Du är ingen röst, bara en obetydlig ton / Jag är upptagen, hur som helst, (Hungarian) csak kitalált hangzás. / Oly’ sok embert védelmeznek várunk falai / (Danish) Så mystiske sirene, nej, dit kald bli’r ikke hørt Why do Swedish and Hungarian take up 1.5 lines each? Just give Swedish and Hungarian and 1st and 3rd lines respectively, and slide in Kazakh/Hindi/Latin Spanish. And then there's the rapid-fire sequence of Flemish-Vietnamese-Thai (2:21-2:28). This corresponds to the English "Are you out there? / Do you know me? / Can you feel me? / Can you show me?" Lyrics taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv3Nu31YuF8 (Flemish) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKWxnL3lkYg (Vietnamese) https://lyricstranslate.com/en/frozen-2-ost-%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%88%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B9%E0%B9%89-din-d%C3%A6n-th%C4%AB%CC%80-m%E1%BB%8B%CC%80r%C5%AB%CC%82-unknown-lyrics.html (Thai) 3. Dus waar ben je (Flemish) Nghe ta không nào (Vietnamese) Ta đang nơi này (Vietnamese) เดินไปชักที (Thai) Why 2 lines of Vietnamese? Just cut one and insert Hindi/Latin Spanish/Kazakh. And just by making those 3 changes, we might really, really have had a 29-language version of "Into the Unknown", which would anyway have had more balanced lines (I think. The length of each language's lines depends on where in the song it appears: is it an "Into the unknowwwwwwwn" or is it a longer content line?)
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This version feels more like a real lullaby. It still contains some elements of the foreshadowing of the English version (and kudos to the localisation team for that), but much less of the spirit-y undertones at the end that sets up Queen Iduna's return from the grave in Ahtohallan. ("Come my darling, homeward bound / When all is lost then all is found" - did Queen Iduna know her spirit would live on or something?) The ending of the song in this French version just says "a mother daydreams", which is...vague? And certainly not spirit-y. You can compare it to the English version which I talk about in a separate post. As an aside, the rhyme scheme of the French version is almost totally similar to that of the English one. the French version has AABB CCDD EFEF AAHH. I know that the A, D, and E are all /e/ ("ey"), but I don't think there was a conscious choice to make them all the same. The English version has AABB CCBB DEDE AABB, overall a tighter rhyming scheme. Disclaimer: I do not study or speak French. My exposure to French comes from listening to Frozen I songs and scattered experiences in the past. This translation may be imprecise. La Berceuse d’Ahtohallan (The Lullaby of Ahtohallan)
Written by: Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez Composed by: Christophe Beck Performed by: Prisca Demarez Quand le vent frais vient danser / La rivière chante pour ne pas oublier When the fresh wind comes to dance / The river sings so that (it/she) does not forget Ferme les yeux si tu veux voir / Ton reflet dans son grand miroir Close thine eyes, if thou wouldst see / Thy reflection in its great mirror Dans l’air du soir, tendre et doux / L’eau claire murmure un chemin pour nous In the evening air, tender and sweet / The clear water murmurs a path for us Si tu plonges dans le passé / Prends garde de ne pas t’y noyer If thou plungest into the past / Beware thou not to drown there Elle chante pour qui sait écouter / Cette chanson, magie des flots She sings for whom knows to listen / This song, the magic of the waves Il faut nos peurs apprivoiser / Pour trouver le secret de l’eau We must tame our fears / To find the secret of the water Quand le vent frais vient danser / Une maman rêve tout éveillée When the fresh wind comes to dance / A mother daydreams Dors, mon enfant, n’aie plus peur / Le passé reste au fond des cœurs Sleep, my child, have no more fear / The past resides at the bottom of our hearts Image taken from https://www.disneyclips.com/lyrics/frozen2-all-is-found.html I've been listening to the Frozen 2 songs a lot since I saw the movie (yesterday). And "All Is Found" is interesting. In the movie, it's a lullaby that Queen Iduna (or Iðunn according to her headstone, says the Disney Wiki) sings to her children (Anna and Elsa), and as a lullaby, it's nice - it talks about a faraway place, magic, a singing voice...then suddenly Queen Iduna sings: "But can you brave what you most fear? / Can you face what the river knows?" Oddly "breaking the fourth wall"-ish, and why would you ask your young children if they are ready to face what they most fear? I mean, what, does the river know the bogeyman exists? (If it does, then Jack Frost probably exists too. Hmm...) In reality though, the meaning of the song is apparent only after watching the movie (and then, for me, listening to the song many times). Have a listen: Lyrics + Analysis
Where the northwind meets the sea / There's a river full of memory The first time we hear about water having memory is actually here, not from Olaf. The river is the glacier Ahtohallan ("Glaciers are rivers of ice" says Elsa in the movie). "Where the northwind meets the sea" is a poetic rephrasing of "Frozen Heart"'s "Born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining". Also Ahtohallan is far north, so. Sleep, my darling, safe and sound / For in this river all is found "Sleep...sound" is standard lullaby fare. But "in this river all is found" is about how Elsa will discover the truth of her heritage in the glacier. In her waters, deep and true / Lie the answers and a path for you This line repeats the previous line, but the "path" is interesting when compared to Anna's "The Next Right Thing", when she steels herself to walk on without her sister, and destroy King Runeard's dam on her own. The answers in the glacier show Anna the path in other way: Elsa's message literally leads Anna to the exit of the cavern she finds herself in. Dive down deep into her sound / But not too far, or you'll be drowned Elsa must jump into a pit she can't see the bottom of to find the answers. When she first confronts the pit, the line "but not too far, or you'll be drowned" plays again. And she does end up drowned: the magical cold of Ahtohallan's deepest cavern freezes her solid. In response to complaints about how the Queen of Snow could have been frozen, I would suspect that, since Elsa's magic is a gift from the spirit that resides in Ahtohallan, the spirit has far greater power than her. Thematically speaking, perhaps the idea is that Elsa's power is to be put on hold until the wrong her grandfather committed is righted - if she is released and she doesn't right the wrong, she would be complicit in the crime. This means that 1) Elsa is the only person who can first know the truth, since her magic is what allows the truth to be revealed to the world; 2) She had to do it together with Anna but Anna had to be elsewhere and not by her side as she wanted. Thus the interesting first look at the dynamic that Elsa and Anna can be together even when they're apart - once they become queens of different realms, that's what's happening after all. Yes, she will sing to those who hear / And in her song all magic flows Her song is the voice that calls to Elsa, and is the subject of the song "Into the Unknown". Her song is magical, for she is magical, for she is the spirit that granted Elsa her powers. But can you brave what you most fear? / Can you face what the river knows? The river knows the truth behind the sealing of the Enchanted Forest. but to discover this truth, does Elsa dare to: 1) Leave behind her kingdom (and later attempt to inundate it) after it has been struck by the four classical elements? 2) Separate from her sister, and everyone she holds dear? ("Everyone I've ever loved is here within these walls", from "Into the Unknown") 3) Die? Where the northwind meets the sea / There's a mother full of memory Elsa will meet her mother in a less-deadly part of Ahtohallan (listen to "Show Yourself"). Her mother will reveal to her that Elsa has finally come into her own, that she is "the one [she's] been waiting for all of [her] life". If you believe that Queen Iduna and/or Elsa (and/or Anna) are the fifth spirit, then Queen Iduna's ability to speak to Elsa from beyond the dead should not be surprising. I don't believe they are spirits. But I think they might be its "chosen ones". After all, Queen Iduna could ask the wind spirit to help her when she was rescuing King Agnarr. In this way, the spirit maybe resides in them, but is not them. Or maybe the spirit resides in Ahtohallan, but knows everything from the memory stored in the waters that flow past it. Come, my darling, homeward bound / When all is lost, then all is found Elsa's home is Ahtohallan? I don't know, this does sound like she is the spirit. Or maybe since her powers are from the spirit, her going to Ahtohallan is a symbolic returning home? I'd say it's more like her powers are returning home, to be returned to the spirit (by her death). She is only deemed worthy of those powers again when she helps to destroy the dam. "When all is lost, then all is found" is interesting. It makes no sense as a line, but in the context of the movie, Elsa must be willing to lose her kingdom, her loved ones, and her life to reveal the whole truth. In "The Next Right Thing", Anna sings of Elsa: "You are lost, hope is gone." Perhaps this line is a foreshadowing in this way. Just my two cents worth. What do you think? Tell me in the comments! FROZEN!Finally! After 6 years, the sisters are back! Fylgi! #fylgi Warning: Spoilers below. Do not continue if you hate spoilers.I didn't really have any expectations going into the film. I just hoped it was gonna be good, and yeah, it was! Although once again, Frozen II defies expectations by...not showing some scenes in the trailers. You thought they were travelling across the ocean to the New World because of the ending shot of the teaser (which you can view here)? HAH that scene isn't in the movie. You thought Anna was slashing Hans in the trailer, because you thought Santino Fontana said that Hans could get a redemption arc back in 2014? HAH that scene isn't in the movie. And to any hopefuls thinking Elsa will get a romantic partner, HAH nope. Although some of the songs can be interpreted that way... Although personally, if they cave to pressure and make her lesbian/bisexual, they may just lose the money of millions of people in various markets...and if they give her a romantic partner I feel like it detracts from the regality of her characterisation. But let's not talk about what the movie doesn't have, but instead let's talk about what the movie does have. Winterheart, Reaching OutAnna is the unequivocal protagonist of Frozen, even though the advertising tends to focus on Elsa instead (Let it go, let it go...) Read more about it here. But in this movie, Elsa is the unequivocal protagonist. She is the driver of the plot, while Anna is, ironically, the one holding her back. This is despite the fact that the dynamic of the sisters has never changed. Elsa still pushes Anna away, and Anna still tries to pull Elsa back toward herself. The difference is that in the previous movie, Elsa was merely trying to escape from what she thought was a horrible space. Anna was trying to prevent Elsa from blindly trying to carve out her own comfort zone away from her family. In essence, Anna was trying to let Elsa find her roots. In this movie, Elsa's roots have established themselves well in Arendelle. She seeks now her true identity, her true purpose, her true direction. But whenever she starts towards it, Anna pulls her back to "safety", or insists on going along. In essence, Anna represents the desire to have things remain the same, while Elsa represents the desire for change, or at least the desire for self-realisation, at the possible cost of all she holds dear. This is actually discussed in the new earworm, "Into the Unknown". Hlutskipti: How Things Change!In fact, whereas the first movie is about learning to accept love from others and yourself, this movie is about learning to be okay with change in your own life. The movie even acknowledges that the audience has grown up, and can handle the more sombre, mature, epic tone of the movie. Listen to "Some Things Never Change": The music is more complex in this movie, which might not help it become the next "Let It Go", but 6 years on from the first movie, this movie knows that its fans and viewers have all matured in their own ways, and wants to show, from many angles, how Elsa and Anna have or are trying to grow in their own ways. See this link for an interview which explains more: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/21/780972977/disney-animation-chief-jennifer-lee-is-the-queen-behind-elsa-and-anna It is for this reason that the songs are much deeper, and tend to all feel more natural than less rushed than those in the first movie ("Fixer Upper"...) They have a philosophical charm to them that is more beautiful than the immense power behind a song like "Let It Go". This is also why, personally, I like "Let It Go", but I love the two "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" (including Reprise). These songs define the character interactions, not only the characters. And what's a movie without characters and their co-development? Attentive listeners may find out that the songs in this movie have traces of the old songs in them: I think "Into the Unknown" has a similar piano melody to "Do You Want To Build A Snowman". What do you think? Tell me in the comments. A Story without PlotThis movie is all about Elsa and Anna. There isn't even an antagonist in the movie. No person is really holding them back from completing their quest. It's just that Elsa literally has to cross a sea on foot and Anna has to outrun a group of giant earth spirits to do it. But there's no antagonistic character who schemes to foil them. So there's no plot. But there's a helluva great story. Not just because the events have been well thought out (even if the inciting event for the whole story is rather strange - singing and using magic invites spirit-based natural disasters?) - but because the sisters grow and grow throughout the movie. Elsa learns to push herself to her greatest limits, even sacrificing her life to find the truth of her heritage. Anna in turn learns to let Elsa go, and finally let her carve out her own proper space, find where's she meant to be. In the search for the truth - why Elsa has her powers, why there's a secret enchanted forest in the far north, what happened to their parents - these sisters mature and become more complete persons, and thus more compelling characters. Special mention must be made to Olaf here. He is representative of the bond between Elsa and Anna, the childish, pure, complete love they have for each other. When Elsa pushes him away, it hurts him, until he - Olaf! - feels angry. When Elsa gives her life to reveal the truth of her forebears' legacy, Olaf dies too, while Anna grievingly hugs him until he vanishes. It's a cruel moment in the movie, when the object of her unshakeable love and faith isn't even there, and Anna can only express her love by proxy. But Anna swallows her grief, and heads off with steely determination to fulfil her sister's mission to dispel the curse upon the enchanted forest. She is stronger now without her sister than she ever was chasing her up the North Mountain or throwing herself in front of a blade for her sister. She has truly come into her own. I didn't cry then, because I was still in shock from Elsa's death, but here's the corresponding song. Don't listen to it until after you've seen the movie. Now both are queens. Anna, of Arendelle, where into the great fjord fleets of ships arrive to pay their respects to the magnificent, magnanimous Queen; Elsa, of the Northuldran Enchanted Forest, where the spirits tickle the quiet calm where tribesfolk gather around their hearths. Fylgi. Elsa's and Anna's parents, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, are also more fully fleshed out in this movie. Their backstories show how the love between two enemy groups can bridge the divide between said groups. It is my wish that, through a common love of humanity and co-appreciation of cultures across the world, this world will be peaceful. Interests are of the state, but states do battle and make peace through their people. If the people refuse to fight, then states will not be able to fight. You can visit the "Let It Go" page to see the song's lyrics in many different languages, some with translation. Hit me up if you wanna contribute to the page as well. With regard to less dark things, in this way, Maleficent 2 managed to do one over Frozen II: When Maleficent came out slightly after Frozen in 2013, people had already seen the "true love" is "family love" thing once. Now, Maleficent 2 shows the world how love bridges communities before Frozen II. Ending ThoughtsWithout Frozen, this movie would never have existed. This movie exists only to develop the world of Frozen and the characters within (and to make money, but that's another issue). In spite of this, I'm truly happy that 6 years of work on Disney's part created such a rich movie despite its pretty simple plot/story. The characters really drive this story, and it's a heart-wrenching journey to watch.
I will watch it again. I may even go on a rampage for the songs in many different languages. But until then, stick around for more Frozen content! |
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Wallpaper picture from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi4LMpSDccc |