After a bit of a hiatus, Vs. is back. For those that may not recall, Vs. is where I pit two Disney characters against one another to see who might be the stronger character. Now, this was determined by a Twitter poll as today, we are looking at Elsa Vs. Moana. As a reminder, the categories for Vs. include Personality, Grand Desire, Defining Moment, Song (If they sing and these two do, so that is included) and finally The Film Factor, which determines which character worked better in her film overall. With that outta the way, let's begin.
Elsa
On the surface and at the start of the film, Elsa may seem cold and distant but that is because she wasn't afforded the opportunity to understand her powers. Take into consideration what the Disney Wiki says here.
. Beneath this cool and collected appearance, however, Elsa is quite turbulent; in truth, the Snow Queen was, for a majority of her young life, troubled by her abilities, a feeling which stems from a traumatic incident as a child.
Elsa became a recluse because of the incident with Anna at such a young age and that harmed her psyche greatly.
So yeah, it's quite understandable how this moment could affect someone as it is such a traumatic experience. And you really get that sense as you see a young adult Elsa after her and Anna's parents have died as that speaks volumes to everything she had been put through. Now one should not only look at the traumatic experiences of Elsa's life even if they did shape who she became. One must also understand that Elsa is a very compassionate person and will do anything to protect those that she loves especially her little sister. There is so much one can unpack with Elsa's personality as that is the most fascinating aspect to her character but we'd be here all day if I did that.
Moana
Moana is an interesting case as she is on the surface, good-natured loving and very caring. I've seen so many people my age compare her to Ariel and to some degree that works but not by much. Ariel felt surer of herself than Moana did at the start of her movie. That's not to say Moana isn't a strong character as she is But the Ariel comparison does make sense if one considers how Moana wants to go out into the ocean but it has been forbidden and I like how the Disney Wiki states this as being a bit of an identity crisis as you truly get the sense that Moana feels just a smidge out of place on her island. You also get the sense that Moana like other characters before is a teenager and doesn't think things through such as sailing without knowing exactly what to do. And leaping before thinking.
This is tough as both of these characters are great and their personalities are two of the biggest things that make them work but in the end, I gotta give this round to...
Elsa
Grand Desire (Round 2)
Elsa
In many regards, Elsa's grand desire is a bit hard to define as she isn't the character the audience follows throughout the movie as the character movie focuses on is Anna. But that does bring us to something that that was stated in the previous round and I could be way off but I think something that Elsa may have been trying to do but it backfired on her is protect Anna while growing up. And we see now that she goes overboard in spoiling her little sister.
However, these articles are meant to only look at the characters in their original appearances. And I may be off-base here but that is the best I could come up with.
Moana
Moana's goal is a bit easier to pin down as she wants to save her people by returning the heart of Te Fiti and restore them to brave people they were once before. As much as I love Frozen, I think this one is easier to understand as Moana is the main character and the audience gets to see her achieve this goal as she grows.
I gotta give this round to...
Moana
Defining Moment (Round 3)
Elsa
Hmm... so many options but I think I have to go with this moment.
While some might argue Let It Go is Elsa's Defining Moment and it is one of them, I feel Elsa saving Anna speaks volumes to where she comes from the beginning of the movie as she thought she was going to lose the only relationship she had left and this was one if not the first time that we saw Disney successfully redefining how love could save a princess in one of their movies by showing the love of a sibling saving her younger sibling. It is a powerful moment that shows how much Elsa would do to keep the one person that loves her.
Moana
This film subverted the recent trend of twist villains by having Moana go up to Te Ka and sing remind her that is not who she truly is as Moana returned her heart. It's beautiful, simple and personal. We will tackle that in a bit but one of the biggest things that makes this moment work shows how grown up Moana has become on her journey by talking to Te Fiti instead of fighting her. Last year, I wrote a blog about this song and this moment and how it meant so much to me because it helped me to express that I know my epilepsy much like Te Fiti having her heart stolen does not define her. I typically try to only focus on movie appearances with Vs. but that is so hard with these two movies as that song has come to mean so much to me and if you've noticed, I'm using little and not younger to describe Anna & Elsa's relationship, that's because it's like my relationship with my big sister. Looking at it from that perspective of which of these moments hit me more is the hardest one because both left me crying but for different. Elsa saving Anna because I know my sister would do the same for me and Moana giving Te Fiti reaffirmation that this does not define you, let me hear something that told me everything would be okay.
This is the hardest category to pick a winner for but I gotta give it to Moana as I'm just tearing up listening to that number again.
Moana
Song (Round 4)
Let It Go (Elsa)
Seriously, what can I say about this song that hasn't been said at this point? This is one of the most iconic Disney songs of all time and for good reason, much like Defying Gravity also sung by Idina Menzel, this is a song of liberation and owning who you are. And not letting others hold you back. This song wouldn't fit into the typical mold of an I Want song as this is more a statement of Who I am and if you don't like it, I don't have time for you. Elsa is freeing herself of her past and you can see the weight being lifted off her as the song goes on and that just makes this number all the more empowering.
How Far I'll Go (Moana)
I really do like this song and it is a great I Want song. And it was my favorite song from Moana until I re-listened to Know Who You Are but this song really does sell the idea of Moana filling out of place and how she yearns for more and wants to only help and loves the island. I really love the part where she asks what is wrong with her. As so many people have had that moment and I always enjoy coming back to this song.
While that is a great song, I gotta be honest and acknowledge that Let It Go is the stronger song. So this round goes to...
Elsa
The Film Factor (The Final Round)
Welp, we are all tied up with Elsa taking Personality & Song while Moana took Grand Desire & Defining Moment. Now, it all comes down to The Film Factor. Which character worked better in her respective film.
Elsa
Elsa worked wonderfully in her movie and that was seen by how many little girls have been dressing up as Elsa since Frozen came out. Elsa became a role model and one that I feel is needed to show that is okay to be strong but also let yourself break down. Elsa showed that you can be caring and flawed at the same time and there are so many hard-hitting moments that make her character in the movie work so well such as when she believes that Anna had died. Ooh, chills.
Moana
Moana is good and does a lot to carry her film. Even if at times, Maui has a stronger film factor than she does and while Know Who You Are is a great hard-hitting moment that shows wonderful strengths of her character, I don't think she has as many hard-hitting moments as her opponent except maybe when her grandmother died. But even then, I dunno.
I gotta give this round to...
Elsa
The End Result!
By a score of 3 -2, Elsa is the winner. Gotta be honest and say when I originally came up with this one, I thought for sure Moana was gonna win the personality round but there ya go. Things change, once you start putting words in motion. Again, I like both of these characters and this is just meant for fun. Do you agree with the winner? Let me know in the comments. Peace!
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