Elsa from “Cold Heart” became a favorite character, but one of her best songs “Monster” was not in the original 2013 film, nor in its 2019 sequel. Instead, “Monster” is taken from a Broadway musical, also called “Cold Heart,” based on the animated film. The musical “Cold Heart” has a slightly darker tone than the Disney film, it reveals the motives and relationships of the characters more deeply, as well as the consequences of their actions. To do this, songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who worked on both the film and the musical, expanded the number of songs in “Cold Heart”.
One of these new songs is “Monster”, which was originally performed by Cassie Levy as Elsa. In “Cold Heart: The Broadway Musical,” The Monster takes place shortly after Elsa throws Anna and Kristoff out of her ice palace. However, Elsa is left alone for a short time, as soldiers from Arendelle, led by the duplicitous Prince Hans, arrive to grab her during the number. Because of this, “Monster” focuses on Elsa, but also includes an ensemble cast and John Riddle as Hans.
Released on YouTube the day after the first performance of Frozen: The Broadway Musical, “Monster” received mostly positive reviews both for its powerful music and for the significance it adds to the Frozen story. In particular, the “Monster” develops Elsa’s character and reveals her motives at this stage of her journey. The new song Frozen does this by exploring not only Elsa’s morality, but also the influence of her parents on her worldview.
“Monster” enhances Elsa’s story by showing how she questions her own morality. Although she tried not to harm anyone with her icy abilities, Elsa does it anyway, making her wonder if she really is a “monster”. Earlier in Cold Heart, Duke Weselton blames her for this and secretly orders his bodyguards to end winter by killing Elsa. Since she can’t hide and run, even Elsa begins to wonder if this is the only solution, singing “Is everyone in danger while I’m alive?” This shows that, although Elsa is scared and longs for freedom, her main concern is still the protection of her people. Since she can’t resist hurting them, she doubts herself even more.
Eventually, during the “Monster”, Elsa decides that she needs to try to solve her problems on her own, which shows the influence that her parents had on her. After the release of the film “Cold Heart”, the audience criticized Elsa and Anna’s mother, Queen Iduna, and father, King Agnarr. Despite the fact that the Great Pabby, the wise troll, directly told them that “fear will be the enemy of [Elsa],” the King and Queen hid Elsa and taught her to be afraid of her powers. However, when Elsa thinks about her future in “Monster”, she thinks about her parents, wanting to ask them for advice. This forces Elsa to solve her problems, assuming that Agnarr and Iduna loved her and believed that she could overcome her powers. Although they didn’t make the best decisions, Elsa’s parents still gave her the courage she needed to face the consequences of her actions. Thus, “Monster” makes Elsa’s story even better by exploring her relationships and morals, despite the fact that he appears only in the musical “Cold Heart” and not in the film.
