• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

Which is Better: Let it Go from Frozen or Defying Gravity from Wicked?

Let it Go or Defying Gravity

  • Let it Go

    Votes: 108 43.9%

  • Defying Gravity

    Votes: 138 56.1%
  • Total voters
    246
The Albatross

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,958
marrec said:
Man... I can see finding it a little too twee for modern sensibilities, but the show is so fuckin' watchable and fun. To each their own of course.

I know this is tangential, but on the subject of musicals, whats something you'd recommend over Wicked and Rent?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm not a musical expert, superfan, or anything like that (like, I haven't seen Hamilton yet because it's too expensive), but I've really liked Jersey Boys and Mama Mia. My wife dragged me to Mama Mia, and I thought it was excellent. I don't know if either are "better or worse" than Rent, but I liked both of them more.
 
chezzymann

chezzymann

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,042
Let it go wasn't even done well. Her voice sounded off the whole time. I get its supposed to be emotional but those high notes sound nasily and bad. Those were my exact thoughts coming out of the theatre in 2014, has nothing to do with being mad its popular (I'm actually glad Disney got a new 'classic' animated musical movie mega hit for the first time in a looong time)
 
BDS

BDS

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,845
Let It Go is fine but Defying Gravity is iconic.

Also agreed that Moana is secretly the better soundtrack.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
Defying Gravity is a better song, fits its story better, and Idina sings it better too. It also involves both main characters (well, until Galinda leaves), so it's relevant to both of their arcs instead of just one.

Popular is still the better song overall though, as people have said.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
The other thing with Let It Go is that it's very clearly a villain song (it ends with her slamming the door in the audience's face!), but Disney was too chickenshit to actually do anything with Elsa as a character after six years of constant script rewrites, so instead of it being a moment where she reclaims power and defines herself as an independent person, instead it's this big triumphant song about her...hiding in a castle and avoiding everyone? Which is basically what she was already doing before...?
 
Meows

Meows

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,399
Defying Gravity is such a beautiful song - Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel singing to each other is complete perfection.
 
Meows

Meows

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,399
I'm still confused as to how Idina Menzel would perform on Broadway and West End for years and years and give fantastic performances but all of her televised performances are total duds where she looks nervous as all hell.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
Meowster said:
I'm still confused as to how Idina Menzel would perform on Broadway and West End for years and years and give fantastic performances but all of her televised performances are total duds where she looks nervous as all hell.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Her voice has been getting weaker over the past couple years (it happens, she's not a kid in RENT anymore), so I wouldn't be surprised if the CONSTANT belting she's asked to do for most of her hits means she's a little worried about cracking mid-note.
 
Zero315

Zero315

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,184
PlanetSmasher said:
The other thing with Let It Go is that it's very clearly a villain song (it ends with her slamming the door in the audience's face!), but Disney was too chickenshit to actually do anything with Elsa as a character after six years of constant script rewrites, so instead of it being a moment where she reclaims power and defines herself as an independent person, instead it's this big triumphant song about her...hiding in a castle and avoiding everyone? Which is basically what she was already doing before...?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is the biggest problem I have with Let It Go and Frozen. Like... she didn't actually let anything go.

Seeing Defying Gravity performed live gave me goosebumps.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
Zero315 said:
This is the biggest problem I have with Let It Go and Frozen. Like... she didn't actually let anything go.

Seeing Defying Gravity performed live gave me goosebumps.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The lyrics of Let It Go feel like they were written for the audience more than the story or the character. It's part of the reason why I refer to Frozen as a two-hour music video rather than an actual narrative film. The song was basically designed to be sung at karaoke rather than to serve Elsa as a force in the story.
 
Dalek

Dalek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,900
Defying Gravity by far-it gave me chills and goosebumps to see it performed. Also Wicked is just a much better experience than Frozen.

I was lucky enough to see Wicked before it premiered on Broadway-when it was in San Francisco with Chenowith and Menzel.
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 3815

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,633
PlanetSmasher said:
The other thing with Let It Go is that it's very clearly a villain song (it ends with her slamming the door in the audience's face!), but Disney was too chickenshit to actually do anything with Elsa as a character after six years of constant script rewrites, so instead of it being a moment where she reclaims power and defines herself as an independent person, instead it's this big triumphant song about her...hiding in a castle and avoiding everyone? Which is basically what she was already doing before...?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That still pisses me off, as I wanted to see Elsa turn into a villain. But Disney realised that the song was so good that they rewrote the movie around it to make Elsa a chaotic neutral.

She could have easily been a villain, misunderstood and still have a redemption arc but alas she wasn't given one.

Hopefully the sequel fleshes her out and really showcase her fighting skills as I loved the scene when she was fighting the guards.
 
deathsaber

deathsaber

Member
Nov 2, 2017
3,095
Let it Go is the better 3 minute Disney ballad that one can "consume" via streaming online/just listening to the song. But to actually take in a performance of Wicked on Broadway, seeing the whole Defying Gravity scene in its entirety (the whole thing isn't song, as there are dialogue and action breaks), ending with the song's climax when Elphaba takes to the sky, that final run she sings, and the smash cut to black on the final note signaling the end of Act 1. Freaking amazing and anyone who has seen it knows what I'm talking about, and way better than Let it Go.
 
chirt

chirt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,691
They're both awesome but I gotta give it to Defying Gravity. Seeing it live was such an experience.
 

Deleted member 176

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
37,160
Let it Go is the culmination of Disney movies

Gravity ain't in Kingdom Hearts if you know what I'm saying
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
Brock Reiher said:
Let it Go is the culmination of Disney movies

Gravity ain't in Kingdom Hearts if you know what I'm saying
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The problem with Let It Go is that it's not really a Disney song. It's some random pop hit they just stapled into a movie and didn't bother to contextualize or fit into the story.

Hellfire and Be Prepared inform the story and develop the characters singing them. Let It Go is just a generic radio-safe pop ballad slapped in the middle of a two-hour movie that works fine on its own merits but doesn't do anything for the character herself.
 

Deleted member 176

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
37,160
PlanetSmasher said:
The problem with Let It Go is that it's not really a Disney song. It's some random pop hit they just stapled into a movie and didn't bother to contextualize or fit into the story.

Hellfire and Be Prepared inform the story and develop the characters singing them. Let It Go is just a generic radio-safe pop ballad slapped in the middle of a two-hour movie that works fine on its own merits but doesn't do anything for the character herself.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It cemented Elsa as the single best Disney character of all time. The other two you mentioned are good villain songs, but Frollo is no Elsa you know?
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
Brock Reiher said:
It cemented Elsa as the single best Disney character of all time. The other two you mentioned are good villain songs, but Frollo is no Elsa you know?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

What the hell does Elsa have going for her? She doesn't do anything. She spends the beginning of the movie hiding in a castle, then she goes out and hides in a different castle. Then her sister almost getting herself killed saves her from herself. What an amazing character.
 
I KILL PXLS

I KILL PXLS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,520
PlanetSmasher said:
The lyrics of Let It Go feel like they were written for the audience more than the story or the character. It's part of the reason why I refer to Frozen as a two-hour music video rather than an actual narrative film. The song was basically designed to be sung at karaoke rather than to serve Elsa as a force in the story.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
PlanetSmasher said:
The problem with Let It Go is that it's not really a Disney song. It's some random pop hit they just stapled into a movie and didn't bother to contextualize or fit into the story.

Hellfire and Be Prepared inform the story and develop the characters singing them. Let It Go is just a generic radio-safe pop ballad slapped in the middle of a two-hour movie that works fine on its own merits but doesn't do anything for the character herself.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Thankyou.gif

It took me a while to figure out why Let it Go doesn't work for me until I realized the song's ties to the story are tenuous. They could have put any pop song with the same "letting go" message in it's place and it would have made just as much sense.
 
Frodo

Frodo

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
4,338
Defying Gravity. Not that Let it Go is bad, but it was so overplayed I can't listen to it anymore. It also seems Let it Go is heavily inspired by DG, so...
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
I KILL PXLS said:
Thankyou.gif

It took me a while to figure out why Let it Go doesn't work for me until I realized the song's ties to the story are tenuous. They could have put any pop song with the same "letting go" message in it's place and it would have made just as much sense.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

There was a way to make it work too. Instead of her "letting go" of nothing, she instead "lets go" of her love for her family so that she can't be hurt by the knowledge of what she did to Anna anymore. This causes her to go dark for a while and become cold and uncaring and kind of cruel (the ice queen motif the story is literally based on!), and then the theme of the story is then about Anna reminding her sister of what they mean to each other rather than the weird 'TRUE LOVE' theme that Elsa has literally nothing to do with.
 
Ignatz Mouse

Ignatz Mouse

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,741
Jesse_and_the_rippers said:
Bonus round:
"Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop of Horrors


Vs "Part of Your World" from Little Mermaid
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Somewhere That's Green by a million zillion miles.

Nothing against Part of Your World, but Somewhere That's Green is one of my favorite musical numbers period.


Also, people are dogging Let it Go a lot, but the raw emotion of just letting out whatever you've bottled up or hidden away is really powerful. I don't think it's an accident that it's become a bit of an LGBTQ classic.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
Ignatz Mouse said:
Somewhere That's Green by a million zillion miles.

Nothing against Part of Your World, but Somewhere That's Green is one of my favorite musical numbers period.


Also, people are dogging Let it Go a lot, but the raw emotion of just letting out whatever you've bottled up or hidden away is really powerful. I don't think it's an accident that it's become a bit of an LGBTQ classic.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's not a bad song on its own merits, it just does literally nothing for the film or the character. Which is why it feels more like your standard 2010s girl-power pop ballad rather than an actual piece of the narrative.
 
Ignatz Mouse

Ignatz Mouse

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,741
PlanetSmasher said:
It's not a bad song on its own merits, it just does literally nothing for the film or the character. Which is why it feels more like your standard 2010s girl-power pop ballad rather than an actual piece of the narrative.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Completely legitimate criticism. Frozen overall is a pretty weak story, and Wicked blows it out of the water. By standalone, I think Let it Go is a better song.
 
mikeys_legendary

mikeys_legendary

The Fallen
Sep 26, 2018
3,008
Just give me the rope, I'll hang myself.

Both songs are so overplayed by the kids at my family gatherings that I can't even remember why people like them =|
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,489
Tfritz said:
also it has that really strong reprise, and it's like "The call isn't out there at all, it's inside me" completely blows everything from Let It Go out of the (ahem) water
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

How Far I'll Go is just generally a better song with a better message, but it's also served by Moana being a better movie than Frozen overall.
 
Midramble

Midramble

Force of Habit
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
10,453
San Francisco
Defying Gravity

Also, am I the only one that dislikes Let it Go for the fact that the song makes no sense in context? She's the one that locked her self away but the entire song is about not letting other people hold her back...

 

Deleted member 48897

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 22, 2018
13,623
I don't hate on the idea of Let It Go so much as I'm sure Disney would never have okayed the rough draft of the song which was called "Fuck This Shit I'm Out"
 

Deleted member 32561

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 11, 2017
3,831
I keep taking Disney personality quizzes and I keep getting Elsa so I'm obligated to say Let It Go.

Seriously though, I do prefer it as a song. But I'll admit as a narrative vehicle Defying Gravity is better.

Also going to agree How Far I'll Go is superior to both as a song and narrative vehicle.
 
Kaji AF16

Kaji AF16

Member
Nov 6, 2017
1,405
Argentina
I´m not much into this style of songs, but a year and a half ago I attended a Wicked concert at the bel canto singing academy where I study. I was a very basic singer by then, and I am most comfortable with visceral tango and rock / metal songs which are extremely different to this, but I was blown away by this performance of Defying Gravity (in Spanish, since this was in Buenos Aires, Argentina):


 

talkingood

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,120
The song itself is well composed, but I'm always surprised anyone likes the version of Let It Go from the movie. The vocalist seems to be straining her voice well outside her range and the pitch correction is so aggressive it sounds in parts like her voice is being run through a keyboard. Not good at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.