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No. 211404
>>211365
While you are correct in saying that Hollywood has a reputation for hollow adaptations, I do not think you are fully appreciating the unique features of this project.
The Snow Queen project has been in development by Disney, off-and-on, since the 90s at least, with more halting attempts going back to the very earliest days. The idea of doing something with The Snow Queen originated with Marc Davis, one of the original Nine Old Men that basically founded Disney, who produced gorgeous art for creating a Snow Queen ride at Disneyland. Marc is, after Disney himself, probably the most influential of the Nine Old Men. Aside from designing many of the most iconic old Disney movie characters, he dreamed up many of their most famous attractions. Pirates? Splash Mountain? Haunted Mansion? That's him. And his art for the Snow Queen had been shown often on tours, along with art for the halting attempts to make a Snow Queen movie. So Disney finally adapting the story has turned into something of a Holy Grail for animation fans. Moreover, past production art has leaned toward embracing the cultural differences of the region, whereas the latest shift has been to instead go with some shockingly generic designs. The desire to bring the unique flavor of a different culture to the screen has been excised.
Moreover, the story itself is unique in fairytales. To be blunt, you will find no more positive fairy tale for portrayal of female characters. Period. They do not exist. No, not even Mulan. In The Snow Queen, The hero is female, the villain is female, all the significant supporting characters are female, with the exception being the one main male character playing the role typically reserved for damsel in distress. And it's stood the test of time, still considered to be one of Anderson's finest stories if not THE finest one. This has been abandoned in favor of giving the female protagonist a male hero to accompany her on her journey, along with masculine "funny animal" companions.
Yes, Hollywood has a tendency to adapt things poorly, but the circumstances here are unique. Compared to most adaptations, expectations were higher, the wait was longer, the shift in animation style more jarring, the story more beloved and widely-known, and the alterations made to the plot are far far far more telling about our society. In short this is a project that's been kicked around in one form or another since the earliest days of animated movies, and the story would have been extremely different from the standard Hollywood experience.
The decision to rush a new version into production after all this time, that bastardizes the source material on such a fundamental level, is far more painful than your standard cowardly Hollywood fuckup.
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