Before it arrived on DVD last month, Disney's latest offering, Frozen, had already become the most commercially successful animated feature of all time, earning well in excess of $1 billion in worldwide box office. Only 18 films have ever managed this milestone, and Frozen is only the second animated movie to do so. The question now, is, will one of the highest-grossing films of all time finally lead to an improvement in how women are treated and portrayed in Hollywood?
I think it's fair to say that over the past three decades, the Western genre has gone through something of a torrid time, suffering the same fate as the musical in that it was for a long time considered outdated and not in keeping with modern cinema audience's tastes. Seen so often as the preserve of old men, with heroes to match (Open Range, anyone?), it is often forgotten that this most American of cinematic oeuvres has the potential to be powerful, dangerous and subversive.