In more proof that it’s time for homophobes to let it go, Disney is mulling over the idea of giving Elsa a female love interest in the forthcoming Frozen sequel. Ever since the original film captured the hearts of just about everyone four years ago, fans have been wondering if the character Elsa was actually part of the LGBTQ community. After all, she doesn’t have a love interest male or otherwise in Frozen, and there could be some mighty subtext in some of the lyrics “Conceal don’t feel, don’t let them know/ Well now they know/ …Let it go, let it go/ Can’t hold it back anymore”.
The Internet soon saw petitions and the #GiveElsaAGirlfriend campaign asking Disney to confirm Elsa as an openly gay character according to the Frozen co-writer and co-director Jennifer Lee, the studio and the team behind the film have heard the fans’ voices. “Where we’re going with it, we have tons of conversations about it, and we’re really conscientious about these things,” Lee told The Huffington Post. “I always write from character-out, and where Elsa is and what Elsa’s doing in her life, she’s telling me every day. We’ll see where we go.”Echoing comments made by Idina Menzel, who voices Else and previously said she was “excited” her character has become part of the queer conversation, Lee added, “I love everything people are saying [and] people are thinking about with our film that it’s creating dialogue, that Elsa is this wonderful character that speaks to so many people.
It means the world to us that we’re part of these conversations.”Disney has been making tentative moves towards representing LGBTQ identities over recent years. In last year’s Beauty and the Beast, a scene with LeFou dancing with another man was meant as an “exclusively gay moment” by director Bill Condon. 2016’s Finding Dory had an even subtler glimpse at a couple many thought were meant to be lesbians “They can be whatever you want them to be,” said director Andrew Stanton. We’ll see if Disney is chill enough to create their first queer princess when Frozen 2 hit theatres on November 27th, 2019.