Disney Fans Make Demands: #GiveElsaAGirlfriend

In Li and Bernoff’s Groundswell, we’ve explored how corporations large and small are engaging their customers via social media and group forums. We know that businesses will go great lengths to engage and energize the public, and for good reason. One such company is Disney, the 34 billion dollar entertainment giant founded in 1923. For years, Disney has reigned supreme in the entertainment industry. The company's trademark, Mickey Mouse, is widely known and loved across all generations; remarkable as it seems, the cartoon character hasn't yet become irrelevant or outdated. And Disney's reach is not just in the U.S. but in other countries too -- most notably China, India, Germany, Russia, the U.K. (I could go on).

But even international giants like Disney can run into unexpected situations.


Enter the Groundswell: #GiveElsaAGirlfriend

In 2017, Disney’s followers began tossing a hashtag back and forth on Twitter. What they're tossing around is a completely fan-made phrase; one that Disney had no hand in creating. The phrase itself, #GiveElsaAGirlfriend, is somewhat of a grassroots campaign created in an effort to sway Disney to give one of their popular female leads a same-sex partner.

Let’s backtrack for a minute. The lead fans are talking about – a fictional, animated princess named Elsa – is the shining star of Disney’s Frozen, a film that took theatres by storm in 2013 (and, unfortunately for parents, the radio as well). This isn't unusual for Disney; they're experts at capturing the attention of younger audiences and capitalizing on their fandom; Disney is an expert at this. But Frozen is unique from other Disney films, despite the fact that it seems to follow the same plot pattern: a story about a princess who goes on an adventure of sorts, with a couple of singing companions in tow. Because, as the internet observed: Elsa is the first Disney princess without a love interest.

A strong female lead making it through an entire plot without falling for a male character? That’s unheard of for Disney. It pushed the boundaries of what was “normal”. But it’s not enough.

The hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend takes the franchise a step further. Fans have taken to tweeting the hashtag along with their thoughts on why the character Elsa should have a female romantic interest in the Frozen sequel. Among the top reasons fans are citing? Equal representation, something that Disney hasn't exactly excelled at in the past.

Flipping the Script


What’s interesting here is that the groundswell is flipping the script. Some companies ask customers what they want, and how they want it. Disney doesn’t. Fans don’t typically call the shots when it comes to Disney. The company’s huge success in the entertainment industry has made them untouchable for decades.



Thanks to social media, however, the fans are now able to make demands anyway. The company may not be actively responding to their fans, but if they're smart, they'll be listening and incorporating their feedback into the next Disney film.

These fans who are vocalizing their desire to see a same-sex couple shown in a Disney film are looking for something more than a plotline; they are demanding equal representation, and that the company put forth role models for all young boys and girls.

#GiveElsaAGirlfriend Counter Arguments

Some fans, however, are against the #GiveElsaAGirlfriend movement. And they’re just as vocal as their opponents about it. In this way, the Twitter hashtag has become a sort of chat forum where audiences can hash out their feelings and thoughts without Disney’s intervention.

If Disney is smart, they’ll realize that their traditional business model can’t sustain them forever. Sure, vocal fans make for tumultuous Twitter conversations. But we're entering an age where nothing is "off the table" for discussion. Furthermore, as audiences worldwide become increasingly more critical of traditional gender roles, Disney’s classic movies have come under fire; the bread and butter of the company's worth is under intense scrutiny by young adults and parents who are concerned about what role models their children are spoon-fed through the films they watch.


Disney has yet to respond -- in any capacity -- to the twitter conversation, despite their company Twitter handle being tagged by hundreds of fans in tweets. I'd imagine that Disney isn't thrilled with the #GiveElsaAGirlfriend debate. I can also imagine they're not thrilled that their movies have become somewhat of a political topic of discussion as it relates to portrayals and representations of young women. But Disney can't make these debates go away. They're going to either lose or gain followers moving forward. If they want to stay abreast of these changes, perhaps listening to their fan base would serve them well.

This is what makes the #GiveElsaAGirlfriend movement so powerful. It’s the real-time manifestation of the groundswell taking control of the markets they drive. Long gone are the days where entertainment companies could tell viewers what to watch and how to watch it; people know they’re in control.


What are your thoughts on this?


Are Disney fans making inappropriate demands, and just politicizing children's films? Or does the company have a responsibility to listen to these fans' needs?