#Anti frozen

[icedsodapop]

My sister is rewatching Frozen 2 on her day off and it's attempts at tackling settler colonialism and racial reconciliation is soooo questionable. If I wanted to watch a movie that touches upon settler colonialism, feelings of alienation and being different in much better ways and features a pair of sisters, Lilo and Stitch is right there??

[the-chemist-1138]

Disney's Frozen is a testament to how many ideas were wasted. And how little in common it has with the source material.

If you read it's inspiration, "The Snow Queen", by Hans Christian Anderson, you can see just how little in common Disney's Cash Cow has with that fairy tale. The fairy tale had so many elements that for some reason, Disney either removed, or changed so much, it might as well been removed...

A grand adventure, worthy of The Hero's journey, not just through the snow. We Start out with our two protagonists. Two youngsters named Kai and Gerda. A Boy and a Girl.

A grand scope of different visuals. A working class village, a vast and colorful flower garden, a grand castle with moving shadows of dreams, a golden carriage, a decayed Robber fortress, a reindeer ride under a sky lit up by northern lights. An Ice Palace.

You already have two characters of equal importance that Disney could have used to appeal to both girls and boys.

Plus, with Kai loving Roses and not being bothered with being best friends with a girl, something taboo in 1844 when the original fairy tale was written, Disney could have been bold and encouraged boys and girls to be platonically intimate, and they could have told boys that it's okay to have feminine interests, to be softies and that you don't have to see every girl as only a potential romantic partner.

For Gerda, you could show girls that you aren't forced to see boys as only romantic partners, and you could have made Gerda a Tomboyish Disney Princess, given her adventurous spirit, determination, and her willingness to get her hands dirty, while also contrasting previous princesses by having her be working class, and not being the damsel, but instead the rescuer, for someone she knows well and loves platonically already, instead of a prince.

Although if Disney decided to make them a couple in adulthood, you could at least make it a "Childhood Friend Romance", not unlike Simon and Nala.

If Disney wanted to poke fun at the "You can't marry a man you just met." You can counter it by having Gerda and Kai, as mentioned before, be adults that know each other well from being childhood friends, thus knowing each other and having a healthy relationship.

In the original fairy tale, Kai gets kidnapped by The Snow Queen. Gerda is the girl saving the boy in this case. You could show boys that it's okay to need saving, and it's not a weakness to need help. Plus Disney could have made jokes where they point out the gender reversed damsel in distress scenario.

For Gerda, you could also show her receiving help, to show a woman being helped out by OTHER WOMEN, and that it's okay to not be perfect and that you don't need to be a lone wolf.

Disney had a great roster of female characters from various walks of life, all of whom have their own goals and agency. More detail is made on another person's blog here. In short, Frozen ends up ber much LESS feminist friendly than the source material.

Plus, the fairy tale had a lesbian coded robber girl! Whom Disney could have made into their first openly gay female character.

The Snow Queen could have been a mysterious anti villain whose goals are intentionally made unclear. To contrast with previous Disney Villains.

Nobody dies in the original fairy tale, so you don't have to alter it much.

You could still emphasize the importance of platonic love. in this case, between a boy and girl, without them being related.

How did Disney reject all of those ideas? How did it take them since the 1930s to try and adapt this story? It was like they were presented with a bottle of high quality vodka... That they proceeded to water down, until the vodka gave up and turned itself into lukewarm water. Why Disney? Why didn't you use any of these ideas?

[fancylala4]

I hated what they did with Elsa’s character in frozen 2. It also didn’t make sense at all. In frozen, she cared so much about Anna and will do anything. I’m frozen 2, she doesn’t seem to care that much about Anna. In fact, it’s Anna looking out and over worrying about Elsa when it should be the other way around. I also hated how she got away with some of the messed up things she did to Anna. Elsa put Anna and Olaf in danger by putting them in a boat. Both Anna and Olaf were angry at Elsa for doing this. Did they say anything about this to Elsa? Nope, they are all good with each other when they meet up again.

Not only that, she doesn’t seem to care about leaving her kingdom alone and letting her sister take over. I think it should be a huge problem for Elsa to leave because she was raised to lead the kingdom.

I understand that some people go through changes and that goals change with time. However, frozen 2 doesn’t seem to do that with Elsa. It’s like she becomes a totally different character.

[ozziescribbler]

There sure are Disney movies I could potentially hate with more burning passion than Frozen, but nobody ever went full-on delulu about Black Cauldron being genuinely 100% good.

[painted-starlight]

Frozen 3 is officially in development 🙃 girl we are doomed

Yeah, I heard too. It's just like, the second movie was screaming "This is it people, it's all over!" "Pack your bags, we're done with Frozen".

Elsa and Anna no longer live together (though Elsa visits), Anna is getting married to Kristoff, and Elsa find out where her powers come from and how their parents died.

Frozen 2 was actually quite strict about tying up their loose ends so they didn't have to make a third movie now that I think about it.

People with other elemental powers to add to the lore? Nope, Elsa's just special and the only one I guess. No more movies please.

More information about the parents, the secrets they kept and what extremes they were willing to go to to keep Elsa's powers a under control? Sure, but only in a way where they were actually perfect parents and didn't need to be confronted, no need to look further (totally all Elsa's fault for being "different"🙄 btw).

I'm just not sure what more they can do with the story. They certainly can't ignore the previous movie or act like it never happened.

And this is just a weird conspiracy theory, but at the very least I think we're going to get another Elsa transformation dress because her new outfit...maybe it's not being received too well and they want to market a new outfit for her too?

At first I saw her dress/design all the time on merchandise and cosplays when the movie came out, but in the long run it's not very merchandisable or recognizable from a distance for products. Elsa's character design really demands a splash of color to make her stand out.

[levichouphys]

A Tumblr Essay in Response to Youtuber Aldone’s Video Essay Titled “Why Elsa IS A Bad Character”

This is the first time in forever I use anti-tags in this blog, but I have to protect myself. To be fair, this is Tumblr and you have full freedom to block me after reading this post, so bear with me.

And I will close the comment session for this one because I imagine I would be exhausted to deal with it in this particular post. Forgive me for my cowardness.

 Caveat:

Trigger warning: This post has mentioned misogyny, mental illness, and cyberbullying.

I should first explain my relationship with Frozen franchises. When Frozen was out, I was a little 13~14 gremlin. I seldom went to theatre for a movie in my entire life, and I am still the same now. In the 23 years of my life, I have ever gone to a movie theatre three times. Every other movie I watch is from DVD renting stores or Disney Plus. Therefore, when I watched Frozen 1, it was when our music teacher in the high school decided to play the film in the class as Frozen 1 was a musical (so it qualifies as teaching material in a music class I guess).

I am a cis woman who once succumbed to 1990s feminism—I refused to have anything to do with feminine qualities as I’ve never learned make-up and dress-up. So Frozen actually resonated with a part of me that I had never thought existed—I saw the girl who wished to be seen as more powerful and tougher in the characterization of Elsa in Frozen 1. But at the same time, the influence of 1990s feminism in me told me that I should feel ashamed for liking Frozen 1. I refused to tell anyone (including my family) that I love Frozen, except my closest friend in the high school.

Once, I had to confess to my younger sister because she found me drawing Elsa fanart. I confessed: “I love Frozen, yes. Your super masculine-looking sister loves Frozen. Could you let me be and don’t tell my Mom? I can’t deal with how she would think of me if she knows I love Frozen.”

I love Frozen. I love Frozen Fever. Olaf's Frozen Adventure is mostly repetitive for me but I still feel the warmth when the sisters sing “When We’re Together.” I understand there are flaws in these films, but hey, I have a fun time watching those films, and they would be a big part of my teenage years.

But I don’t like Frozen 2. I personally disagree with many of the creative choices in this film, which I don’t think I would go too much into in this post. But just so you know: I am an Asian and I once wrote Frozen fanfiction and did prompts occasionally on the Internet platform in my own country. Once my criticism of Frozen 2 was known by the Frozen fans in the Internet community in my country, I was cyber bullied to the point of depression and despair.

That is my story about my relationship with Frozen franchise. I believe Youtuber Aldone has his story of his…somewhat love-hate relationship with Frozen franchise told again and again in his video. (Yeah today I’m going to express my personal opinions on this video essay)

 Aldone, if you are reading this, I would like to say that the purpose of writing this post is not out of mean spirit or hatred against you. It is me doing the thing I am more familiar with—writing, to express my thoughts on your several points in this video. I think we can agree to disagree, it’s the purpose of a conversation even though we have never met. I appreciate your effort to put the original video together, as I understand how much work it takes to make a video because I have edited crappy videos for my school projects before.

But I am here just to provide my opinions, nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps by doing so, I can finally have more peace with a part of me that was once obsessed with this franchise. I could finally be free from the prison of this obsession.

And to anyone who cyberbullies Aldone after reading my post, I just want to say: fuck off from my lawn and you are the worst.

Then shall we begin?

 Pardon me for not quoting Aldone’s original video quote-by-quote. I would write this in bullet points, but I would simply the arguments Aldone attempted to make rather than quoting them with composing a Tumblr post purpose

  1. Aldone: “Elsa’s parents are the worst royal parents in Disneyverse, they were portrayed in a positive light, but everything they did as parents were horrible to Elsa. The issue is the film never made it clear that Elsa’s parents were bad parents.”

My counterpoints: The thing with parenting, imo, is you can love your children but still fuck up the parenting. You can love your children but still gaslight them subconsciously so they will learn better, even if you mean no ill will. Their parents’ flaw was that they didn’t know how to confront Elsa’s emotions after the Anna incident. If Frozen 1 tried to flat-out portray Elsa’s parents as characters like Mother Gothel, manipulating Elsa just for their personal gain, then honestly I would be disappointed. It would not necessarily be a bad story, per se, but how I view Elsa’s parents is: they tried their best to protect Elsa, but they messed up.

 “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” for me, it’s a heart-wrenching experience as I feel bad for both Anna and Elsa. Parents served as a purpose to fuel Elsa’s fear further, rather than being a pair of good parents.

The thing about this world is that love is not enough for salvation sometimes. And love sometimes is poison. I don’t agree with the view that there’s “fake love/just obsession” and “true love.” Love is a fact, love is an emotion, but love sometimes will not necessarily make you a better person.

 But I gotta say, as a fellow who dislikes Frozen 2, I agree it makes no sense in retrospect considering Iduna had some experience with magical spirits so I am mainly talking about Frozen 1 here.

  2. Aldone: “’ For the first time forever’ is good until Hans ruined it because upon re-watching, we know Hans was the true villain. So the contrast between Anna and Elsa in this song is weakened. This song is supposed to be about the hero vs. the villain. (Aldone did not say this in this bracket, but I guess he wanted something like ‘Out There’ in Hunchback of Notre Dame from ‘For the First Time in Forever.’)”

My counterpoints: I am sorry, Aldone. But pardon me for being blunt: I think you grapple with the idea of “Elsa was supposed to be the main villain in the first draft” too much, to the point that you couldn’t see what Frozen is now as an end product on its own.

Yes, I admit it is always interesting and important to understand the creators’ intentions. But sometimes, I would choose to embrace “The Death of the Author” more to free my expectations from those interviews from the creators.

 So what’s my point here? My view on “For the First Time Forever” is: This is a song about fear, the very core theme of this film. It is not about good and evil, but it is about how two sisters deal with their fear. Now, you might ask “Well, it is obvious for Elsa, but what do you mean on Anna’s end?” Anna was isolated by her sister without understanding the reasons, her fear was: what if the coronation party couldn’t solve her isolation?

 I know it all ends tomorrow

So it has to be today

'Cause for the first time in forever

For the first time in forever

Nothing's in my way! (Anna’s verses from “For The First Time in Forever”)

 While I personally don’t agree with the choice to make Hans the twisted villain, I do not agree that Hans ruined the song. The contrast between Anna and Elsa in this song still works even if Hans exists, because, for me, Hans’ problems have nothing to do with the brilliant writing in this song and the reprise.

  3. Aldone: “’ Let It Go’ is bad for character development because it sends a bad message. It looked like woman empowerment but felt flat because when Elsa built the castle, she didn’t face the consequences of her actions.”

 My counterpoint: I think a comment under Aldone’s original video said it better than me: “Let It Go” is about Elsa being a hypocrite.

Yes. And I mean it. Elsa was hypocritical in this song. She sang about being free and could use her power in her will, but she chose to close the gate (of the balcony) right in the face of the audience. She was blinded by her desire to be free from her lifelong fear, but she didn’t realize her ice castle was just another prison for herself because her mind was never free from her fear for real. I feel like I am not reading too much in that particular frame of closing the gate right in the audience’s faces??? I just feel like…the metaphor ain’t that subtle???

Well, people always told me that I read too much in everything. I guess that’s how I function as a human being named Levi.

 “Let It Go” was unfortunately framed as woman empowerment because of its fame. Let me say this: If you really have ever watched AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” you would understand the scene when Walter White said “I AM NOT IN THE DANGER, SKYLAR—I AM THE DANGER” is one of the most pathetic moments of the character of Walter, rather than how mainstream critics interpreted as “badass.”

Now, you could say “But this song was supposed to be a villain song! They ruined this song by making Elsa not the villain in this film!” Then pardon me for being a broken record: Embrace The Death of the Author. The song was not ruined, the misinterpretation of the mass did.

 Finally, I just would like to add something to “she didn’t face the consequences of her actions.” I think: “For the First Time in Forever (Reprise)” is her consequence. You could argue that this consequence was far from enough, therefore, Elsa never learned from her mistake.

I would like to remind you that feeling guilty doesn’t necessarily make a human being a good person. Oppenheimer was crushed by his crippling guilt after WW2, did that make him a good guy?

Elsa felt the guilt, that was her consequence, and yes, she tried to run away from it, but that made her human. The inability to face her fear was her major character flaw.

But dear Aldone, pardon me but: Having character flaws doesn’t make a character badly written.

  4. Aldone: “We don't know what is Elsa thinking that much in the course of the film. (He implied that just seeing how her magic respond to her emotions felt flat in term of characterization) She was too passive in Frozen 1.”

My counterpoint: A character does not necessarily need to be proactive/having their own agency to be compelling. Elsa’s battle in Frozen 1 is her battle within her fragile heart. I understand Elsa felt more like a tragic character belonging to a Greek myth than a main hero/heroine in a Disney film, but to me, personally, that is her charm at least in the first film.

Sorry, this one I only have my own opinions to say rather than delivering anything else more elaborating.

  5. Aldone: “It felt forced that Elsa was brought back to Arendelle rather than realising her mistakes on her own. It’s nonsensical for Elsa to escape the whole kingdom after realising the horror consequence of her actions.”

My counterpoint: She was dealing with trauma just evoked by the confrontation with Anna—She just literally re-created the horror haunted in her imagination after the incident in her childhood, I personally think it’s unfair to expect her to react rationally at this scene.

  6. Aldone: “Hans' existence ruins Elsa's character arc as well because Elsa is now forced into a hero character which she was never meant to be. She has never faced her consequence.”

My counterpoint: I understand where you came from. But I wouldn’t call Elsa a hero/heroine. I would call her an interesting character, as I have no interest in classifying them into heroes or villains.

I would say: blame the masses for misinterpreting “Let It Go.”

I am sorry for sounding so irresponsible of my own claim in this particular session.

  7. Everything in the Frozen 2 session.

My response: I fully agree other than I think Elsa’s character was handled WAY WORSE than her in Frozen 1 personally. But it would require another long post. I have severe PTSD response to watching anything related to Frozen 2 because it evokes memories related to the cyberbullying against me in my country during its release. So no. I do not wish to explain why I personally dislike Frozen 2 on this site at least any time soon. And I do not wish to have anything to do with #BringElsaHome. I dislike it for its plot and character development.

 Please forgive my cowardness.

  8. So Levi, are you saying Frozen 1 is Pogger, and Elsa is a good character?

My answer: Elsa in my opinion, is relatable and compelling, as a woman whose major flaw was her need to escape her fear, but never realized that such desire would worsen her fear. She is by no means a bad person, but neither is she a pure-of-heart innocent cinnamon roll. I love her as what she was in Frozen 1 and her character is one of the most interesting for me in the Disney animation movies. And I am sorry, I tried my best, but I dislike Frozen 2 personally.

Elsa’s story in Frozen 1 was not about her personal growth, but rather about how such a powerful (magically) woman needs something with human warmth in order to have a chance for her salvation.

 You might ask: Does such a “terrible(TM)” person like Elsa deserve salvation even to begin with? My response would be: In my opinion, characters respond to the situations around them with their own blind spots and their limited information like each of us is in the real world. Elsa, in my opinion, at least in Frozen 1, had tried her best despite all her faults. And that to me, earned her a shot for salvation, which was Anna.

And I love Anna as a character. But I just love flawed characters more when I consume fictional stories.

I understand why Elsa’s character arc didn’t resonate well with other people, and I respect their opinions, as everyone can have their opinions.

  Finally, I just wish to write some words, and immense myself in my own words so I could reflect on myself more. The fact that I love Frozen and I can’t change my own opinions has plagued me for a long while. I know the fault is mine, and I am currently trying my best to improve my self-esteem.

At the end of the day, let me quote this from Breaking Bad to explain the essence of this whole long post:

“I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really, I was ALIVE.”

 LeviChou out.

[darkcrowprincess]

I hate the frozen movies, other than Elsa (and Hans)and her songs. It's over rated and annoying. And doesn't follow the real fairy tale. Plus its being disrespectful to the original disney movies at times. Poking fun at them. Also I just find Anna annoying and Kristoff not my favorite love interest.

I'm not a big fan of Encanto either. The only new Disney movies I like are Luca

Turning Red, but that one gives me so much second hand embarrassment its hard to watch

And Elemental. God do I love how cute and romantic that one is. Plus the animation is so fucking creative and beautiful. Need to do a rewatch!

(Don't like don't read. Post hate and I'll block you)

[dani-luminae]

According to Behind the Attraction, Disney Imagineers were already thinking of replacing Maelstrom with Frozen Ever After... before Frozen even came to theaters???

If that's a fib, it's a stupid fib to spread, nonsensical at best.

If it's the truth, that just pisses me off even more. Means they really looked at a beloved ride with incredible atmosphere, storytelling, and a devoted fanbase and immediately were thinking "hmm, how can we shove a princess in here?"

[clairedelune-13]

Confession: I did not enjoy Frozen. The only thing I “liked” was Elsa’s banger song and bitchin’ ice queen style.

Everything else I barely remember.

And Olaf? Fuck him. He was not funny. I wanted him to melt.

[the-chemist-1138]

If anything, The story that inspired Frozen, 'The Snow Queen', is a rather heartwarming (literally even) tale. It is about a close platonic bond between a boy and a girl. And is one of the few fairytales to have a gender reversed Damsel in distress scenario, with the girl saving the boy.

People who r so desperate to paint every "original" fairy tale as being all super fucked up and dark and edgy are so funny lol. They're all like "The story that inspired Frozen was originally super dark guys–!" NO IT WAS TF NOT BITCH WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ????

[simpofhans]

moana 2 is... very weak compared to the original genius movie BUT MATANGI. GOD MY GAL DESERVED BETTER.... SHE WAS IMPRISONED FOR NOTHING. AGAIN. FUCK THE MID CREDITS SCENE I HATED TAMATOA BECAUSE OF THAT. (earlier he was neutral to me)..... MATANGI NATION WE RISE FOR A MOANA 3/SPINOFF WITH HER!!!!!! SHE DESERVES BETTER!!!!!

and she is insanely beautiful even radio yesterday was full of the love songs only to make me realize I fell in love again XD but Hansy, I will not forget about you ^^

[an6elic-d3vil]

Ok guys so I just rewatched frozen (yes at my big age) and you know that scene where Anna goes to visit Elsa in her ice palace and they’re arguing and Anna is like talking to Elsa, but Elsa is low-key having a mental breakdown and she’s going through it trying to get Anna stop and then it gets to a point where she can’t take it anymore and then she accidentally has an magical outburst and she accidentally hurt Anna. Why did that remind me of Tamlin and Feyre ? I don’t know, I just thought that needed to be shared with you guys 

[the-chemist-1138]

Given that the plot revolves around magic, and a girl saving her boy best friend, Echoes Of Wisdom feels like a better adaptation of "The Snow Queen" than Disney's Frozen.

[fancylala4]

The kingdoms don’t really feel real and don’t really react to the situation in modern Disney movies like tangled and frozen.

In tangled, the princess got kidnapped. This would cause the kingdom to be on edge and worried about her safety. What do they do every year? Have a festival that is like a state fair. It’s weird. Can you imagine if we had a party or a happy fair if something bad happened to a major official? We also don’t know anything about this kingdom at all. How do they feel about the princess being kidnapped? Did the kingdom change for the worse? Are they untrustworthy of outsiders? No, they act like everything is normal and are happy. What was the nameless king and queen’s response to this in the kingdom? Nothing but sending a bunch of lights in the sky each year and look sad. The town seems pretty cool, with outsiders and a wanted criminal walking around the streets. The town folk also don’t seem shocked by a girl with super long hair, and acts like it’s normal. They are also pretty stupid, as they don’t see the resemblance between the lost princess and the long haired outsider. Even with a huge picture of her as a baby. They could have easily shown how much it affected the kingdom and the people living there in the movie, but they didn’t. This kingdom feels less like an important place and more like Disney World. Nah, it’s more like a ride there. It’s too perfect and just there for rapunzel to have fun. Even some of the issues the movie shows like the king almost killing Flynn over an ugly crown is glossed over.

Frozen is a bit better, but that’s not saying much. The people in kingdom are chill about everything that happens in the movie. Elsa runs away and has powers? They did have a moment of fear of her, but that’s it. They didn’t seem to care that the kingdom was holding this big secret, wonder what else they are hiding and the fact that their queen runs away. Anna leaves some guy in charge to go get her sister? They don’t care. Elsa’s magic causes a big snowstorm that could kill them all? They cool with that. Sure, they can’t escape, their crops could fail, and they could freeze to death, but they seem fine with it. They also never show any kind of anger towards Elsa, since she was the one who caused all this. The only people in the movie who showed any kind of anger toward Elsa were outsiders. The duke, his goons and Hans were the ones who tried to hurt Elsa, not anyone in the kingdom. They also were ready to turn against Hans in favor of Elsa, even though he was the one who was there in their time of need. He was going to kill Elsa in front of everyone (or not. I didn’t notice anyone in the scene except for the main cast of characters) but for all they know, that was the only way to stop the storm and save the town. They were also cheering for Anna and Elsa after the scene. Showing no signs of anger towards them for leaving the kingdom.

Comparing the two with other Disney movies in the past like Beauty and the Beast, it’s shows how little thought the writers put into the world building.

[themattress]

Why are these Disney heroines "adorkable"?

Rapunzel (Tangled): Because she was raised in isolation her entire life. She doesn't have a clue about the outside world or social graces or other people besides her "mother" in general. But she's extremely eager to learn and eager to please, not to mention is a pent-up ball of energy waiting to run wild, which leads to her adorkability. It makes perfect narrative sense.

Anna (Frozen): While not as badly as Rapunzel, she was also raised in isolation for much of her life, largely having to rely on the books in her castle library to teach her about the world and things such as proper etiquette, life skills and romance. But real life is not a book, so when she actually has to do these things, she often flounders due to her nervousness, excitement or inexperience, which leads to her adorkability. It makes perfect narrative sense.

Moana (Moana): From early in her life, she was raised under a very strict set of rules and instilled with a strong sense of responsibility, which is at odds with her instinctive desire to break these rules and her fears that she isn't up to the challenge her responsibilities pose. All of this pent-up stress she carries within her will often cause her to explode with emotion at the slightest provocation, which leads to her adorkability. It makes perfect narrative sense.

Mirabel (Encanto): As a young child, she failed to receive a special gift and room the same way the rest of her family did. Now feeling like the failure of the family, Mirabel's coping mechanism became trying to make herself as extravagant and quirky as possible. She's an incredibly "Try Hard" person, which leads to her adorkability. It makes perfect narrative sense.

Asha (Wish): Um.....well, she.....yeah, I got nothing. There is no narrative justification here.

Disney doesn't have an Adorkable Problem. Just an Asha Problem.

[king-mera]

what are your thoughts on frozen empire? What are its failures?

Oy Vey…

I've already ranted my thoughts both in posts and in private, so what can I say that hasn't already been said? I'll just try to summarize my main gripes.

The cast is bloated with too many characters and none of them have enough screentime to properly showcase or develop their personalities. It's honestly a shame too, because Afterlife set up Phoebe, Trevor, Lucky, and Podcast as the new main four Ghostbusters to parallel to the OGs, who could be their mentors. Instead we got the Spengler family, along with Nadim, and lars. It's not as tight and focus as it should be, in my opinion. I don't hate Lars, but his inclusion bothers me in particular because his role could easily be filled by other characters. I don't know why he's being pushed as "the new Egon" either when Phoebe was already shown to have so much in common with him.

Speaking of Phoebe, what the Hell were the writers trying to do with her? In her first appearance she was funny, clever, and brave. She had a temper sure, but only when she was pushed to her breaking point. She also knew how to be a team player, working with her friends and family to prevent the apocalypse. In just her second appearance, suddenly she's snapping at her parents, recklessly causing damage, arrogantly taking all credit for saving the world, and preferring the company of a ghostly stranger over people. Disturbingly enough, she develops a morbid fascination with becoming a ghost herself. Where did this come from? She behaves more like Rowan North from the 2016 film. What happened to the determined young girl who stood up to the god of destruction and refused to die? Now she's locking herself into a metal box and painfully electrocuting herself in a scene that resembles self-harm or suicide. All this to separate her soul from her body just to be closer to this girl she's hinted to have a crush on.

Phoebe never needed a love interest of any gender, explicit or implied. It doesn't serve her story when there were so many other interesting things about her that could've been explored instead. How does she live up to the legacy of her grandfather? Is she worried about repeating his mistakes? Does she struggle to be taken seriously as a child doing an adult's job? There were already two other romantic subplots that deserved focus anyway: Callie with Gary and Trevor with Lucky. Adding a third one at this point just comes out of nowhere. Not to mention all the other elements of Phoebe and Melody's relationship that make it weird, like the age gap between the actors or the fact that melody is DEAD. Even if you ignore the flirty undertones and interpret their interactions as platonic, it's still a toxic situation because Melody is only manipulating Phoebe to release the real villain Garakka.

Garakka fails to impress me, too. He has little in the way of personality or motive. His visual design has a striking silhouette at first glance, but it's rather plain compared to other ghosts in the series. There’s nothing about him that suggests the culture he’s from (what was a frost giant/lich doing in India?). I don't understand why they make such a big deal out of his horns either, they're the source of his power yet he's able to do things without them. The horns are also conveniently locked in the same room as his orb, so he's able to quickly retrieve them. They might as well have stayed stuck on his head the whole time! What's so scary about this guy anyway? He's cold, naked, and skinny. That's not scary, it's just me stepping out of the shower.

Well, I guess Garakka deserves some credit for killing that random store clerk. The only on-screen kill in GB film besides Shandor in the last movie, and it’s some poor innocent bystander. Normally I wouldn’t mind such a thing, but it sucks that Phoebe and Nadim are indirectly responsible for this dude’s death through their irresponsibility. All the characters seem incompetent here. The Firehouse and the new lab don’t have adequate safety measures, and apparently Egon never thought to plan ahead for if the containment unit got full. That last point is a non-issue that just wastes time since the lab has backup units and Garakka breaks the main one from the outside anyway.

There are several moments that come across as mean-spirited and cynical, from Podcast crushing the old lady’s watch (that belonged to her late husband) to Lucky and Trevor cracking sex jokes about Nadim’s dead Grandmother. I complain about Phoebe’s attitude, but it’s not like she has a good support network. Her parents are dismissive of her and Ray doesn’t ask her what’s wrong when she asks if he ever wondered what it’s like to be a ghost.

We get a happy ending when Garakka is trapped and Melody crosses over, but it rings hollow when nobody acted as they should. They only acted how the convoluted plot demanded them to.

Oh and those mini-pufts, how I despise them. They were fine in Afterlife but now they’ve overstayed their welcome and become the new minions.

This whole movie feels like a bad dream and as far as I'm concerned, it's not canon.