Why Frozen is My New Favorite Disney Movie of ALL TIME!

    If you have read my blog before you probably know that I have a problem with most Disney princesses. However, a couple of weeks ago my husband and I took our kids to see Frozen at the theater and Anna and Elsa have redeemed my love for Disney princesses. Please note that this blog will contain spoilers and if you do not wish to have the greatest Disney movie of all time ruined for you, then read no further and please click that lovely red X in the top right hand corner of your screen. I will understand, really. For those of you who have experienced Frozen in all its glory, please read on for the reasons why this is my new favorite Disney movie of all time.

Disney Frozen (2013)

       1. The Music!
           As soon as the very first song started in the movie theater, I leaned over my children and whispered to my husband, "Can we please buy this soundtrack?" I was in love from "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?" The songs kept getting better and the music behind the lyrics did such a lovely job of emoting what was happening on the screen. Not to mention, the story was written in true musical fashion, which I absolutely love. My entire family loves to sing along and we carry the soundtrack with us everywhere!! Not only did Disney give us some pretty spectacular music, they also had the brilliance to cast Idina Menzel as Elsa which was simply pure genius. When she sings "Let It Go" it is pure gold. Menzel has always done such a beautiful job of emoting with her voice and she brings such beautiful dimension to the character of Elsa. My only issue with the music was that Jonathan Groff, the voice of Kristoff, did not sing more. I love his voice and I am disappointed that his only song was a goofy number, that while entertaining, did not display his true abilities.

     2. The fact that "love at first sight" is portrayed as ridiculous.
          Early on in the movie, teenage Anna meets Hans at a party. They sing a little number, Hans proposes and Anna accepts.When Anna asks for her sister Elsa's blessing on the engagement and Elsa plainly tells her, "you can't marry someone you just met." Later, after Anna has met Kristoff and is telling him her story, he is shocked and appalled at the idea of getting engaged to someone you just met. Even the trolls dismiss her engagement as not being real. Of course, towards the end we learn just how dangerous it is to commit yourself to someone you just met when we discover that Hans is actually a power hungry villain who is willing to kill both Anna and her sister just so he can be a king. People can pretend to be anyone for a little while, but the truth always comes out and unless you spend time getting to know someone, you can't know the truth about them.

     3. You can't change someone.
          When Kristoff takes Anna to the trolls, they immediately try to set the two of them up and they sing a fun little number titled, "Fixer Upper". The trolls keep telling Anna that even though Kristoff is a little bit of a fixer upper, all he needs is a little love. My favorite part of this song is the bridge when one of the trolls tells Anna that you can't actually change someone, but that instead love is a powerful force that can bring out the best in people. Throughout the movie, the undercurrent is there that people make poor choices when they are frightened or stressed or angry, and that if they could only experience true love, they would act differently. This is so contrary to what Disney has portrayed in the past and it is much more like real life. You cannot change someone simply by loving them, however, the love of the right person (and especially the love of Jesus) can give someone the courage and strength to try harder to be their best self.

     4. True love is not confined to romantic relationships.
         When Anna is shot through the heart with ice, the troll tells her that only an act of true love will melt the ice. Of course, we all assume that this means she needs true love's kiss. Kristoff rushes Anna back to Hans so that his kiss can save her, however,  Hans is the bad guy. Later Kristoff, rushes back to save Anna, because we are still assuming that only true love's kiss can save her. Then Anna sees Hans preparing to kill her sister Elsa. Instead of rushing to Hans to save her own life, Anna shields Elsa from Hans' sword, thus sacrificing her life to save her sister's. Anna is the one who exhibits the act of true love. It is the act of true love between sisters that melts Anna's heart. This is a really powerful statement that Disney is making. So often in the past, princesses have been quick to give up their families to get their Prince Charming. But Frozen shows that true love has many forms and it's not always about "getting your man."

     5. The unintentional portrayal of the Gospel.
         I must give my husband, Aaron, a lot of credit for this part as he pointed out many of the ways that this movie portrays the Gospel of salvation. He and I have discussed this movie quite a bit and hopefully he won't mind me sharing what we discovered. I know that Disney did make this movie with the intent of portraying the gospel and more than likely they were just trying to tell a good story; which just goes to show how creativity is truly a gift of God and how God can be glorified by his creation, even without the knowledge of the creation.
         Throughout the movie you see Elsa being captive to her fear and having to always perform. Elsa always has to be the good girl and when she can't perform any longer, she runs away and chooses to live isolated. She says that she is free, but in actuality that is far from the truth. She is still consumed by her fear and it is not until she realizes the power of love that she is truly set free.
         You also see how sin has far reaching consequences. We don't like to talk about our sin and we don't like to admit that we are sinners. We prefer to think that as long as we are not hurting anyone else that our actions don't matter. However, it is very rare that our actions only effect us; more times than not our actions have far reaching consequences. We see this when Elsa sets off the eternal winter. Elsa believes that as long as she stays by herself that she can do whatever she wants and no one will be effected, however that is not the case. Elsa's actions, though innocent, set off a chain reaction that quickly effected the lives of everyone and most severely effected her sister. Now, I know that Elsa really did not do anything wrong and to call her setting off an eternal winter a sin is a stretch, however, think back to her parents. Her parents misheard the trolls and taught Elsa that she was not to feel anything and that she had to conceal her gift and never let anyone know her power, and that was wrong, or a sin. The sin of the parents effected Elsa's choices and those choices effected everyone.
        Anna never gives up on her sister. I think anyone else would have simply written off someone who never acknowledged her presence, but not Anna. When Anna realizes why Elsa has remained closed off for all of these years, she seeks out her sister. She believes that her sister can fix everything. Elsa repeatedly sends Anna away, or rejects her, and every time Anna comes back. Anna never gives up on Elsa, much like Christ never gives up on us.
        The final, and I think most obvious correlation to the gospel is the sacrifice of Anna for Elsa. Anna did nothing wrong in this whole situation. Anna is the innocent one and for all intents and purposes, Elsa is the guilty one. Elsa's actions are the cause of Anna's deteriorating condition and even Elsa believes that she deserves to die. However, Anna's love for her sister is so strong that she gives her life to save Elsa. This is what Christ did for us on the cross. Jesus lived a perfect life, was completely blameless before the Father, and in his love for us, the guilty ones who deserved death, he went to the cross in our place. Jesus took the judgement that we deserved and his love, death, and resurrection sets us free and enables us to live changed lives.

     I hope that you will take the time to watch Frozen, either in the theater or when it comes out on DVD in March and I hope that you will love it as much as my family did. But, I also hope that you will see past the well written story and see the glorification of God and will seek Christ.

Part Two: How to Respond to the Lessons of Disney Princesses

   In case you missed it, you can read part one here.

   After reading about all the detrimental lessons that Disney princesses are teaching our daughters, you may be wondering how can I counter that? Is there any way to redeem the Disney princesses or should I just get rid of all the Disney movies in my house? I believe that there are lessons we can be instilling in our daughters that will give them a firm foundation to stand on when faced with the lessons in the Disney princess movies. Before I get into the lessons we should be teaching our daughters, I want to touch on a couple of things.
    First, we should actually watch the movies with our daughters every once in a while. I am not saying that we have to sit down and watch Beauty and the Beast 15 times a week, which at my house sometimes happens. Sometimes you need to be able to put a movie in so you can have time to take a shower or clean the kitchen or get some other work done around the house; or maybe you just don't want to watch Cinderella three straight times in a row, I totally get that. I'm just saying, we need to make sure that our daughters aren't watching the movies alone every time. Watch the movies with your daughter and engage with your daughter during the movie. Talk to her about she is seeing and ask her what she thinks about what she is seeing. You may be surprised at her answers. Also, interject comments about how that may be okay behavior for Ariel, but it is not okay behavior for your little princess. Turn these viewings into teaching moments.
    The other thing I want to make clear, is that these are not lessons we can just share once and move on. We can't just tell our daughters all of these things right before or right after she watches a movie and expect it to stick. These are lessons that we should be instilling in her life on a daily basis. We should be talking about these things at the dinner table, while driving in the car, during family devotions, etc. These are things our daughters should hear repeatedly throughout the day, not just once or twice a week. Our daughters will not believe us, unless we repeat ourselves, a lot. Also, our daughters need to see us living out these lessons, not just telling them to her. She needs us, her parents, to set an example for how she should be.
 
1. Daughter, your identity is in Christ, first and foremost.
    Figured I would get the Jesus Juke out of the way right away. If our daughters do not learn that her identity is in Christ, she will spend much of her life trying to find her identity in other things. As a daughter who sought to identify myself in empty, non-eternal things, this one matters most to me. I want my daughter to understand that nothing else in the world will give her true value and worth, only when she identifies herself in Christ will she be whole.

2. Life is more than finding a guy.
     Our daughters should have many dreams, not just about finding a husband. We should ask our daughters about her dreams, encourage her dreams, remind her that her dreams are important. The right guy will be just as excited about her dreams as she is and will help her follow those dreams. Mr. Right will compliment her dreams, not complete them. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with our daughters dreaming about finding a husband, but if that is her only dream, we will end up with a boy obsessed young girl who is completely consumed about not being single. We need to teach our daughters to be okay in her singleness and pursue other dreams while she waits on God's timing for marriage.

3. You are beautiful and smart and funny and a million other things.
    I think that is very important for girls to be told they are beautiful, but that should not be the only thing we praise our daughters for. Girls need to hear, especially from their daddys, that they are beautiful so that they will feel beautiful, but they should also be told they are smart and funny and full of spunk and kind. We have to teach our daughters that her beauty is more than just about her appearance, her whole person makes her beautiful.

4. There is no one standard of beauty.
    This is something that needs to be instilled in our daughters early on and every single day. Our daughters are bombarded by a cultural standard of beauty that is impossible to attain. We need to be teaching our daughters that there is no one standard of beauty and they are beautiful just as they are.

5. Love is not instant and it is not all gumdrops and rainbows.
     Love takes time. You do not fall in real love with someone when your eyes meet across a crowded room. Your interest might be piqued, and you may feel serious attraction to a person in a first meeting, but real, true love takes time. It requires getting to know a person for who they really are and being vulnerable to let him get to know you. Love is a daily choice, not a flighty emotion. I wake up every day and decide to love my husband, and some days that choice is easier than others. Love requires hard work and a serious commitment and sometimes love is not pleasant.

6. Love does not mean "happily ever after."
    This point goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. Just because you are in love with someone does not mean that you will live happily ever after. Our daughters need to be told that the man she loves will disappoint her and he will let her down, and she will do the same to him. There will be times, in love, when our daughters will feel like giving up, and that is where our example as parents comes into play. Our daughters need to see that her parents struggle and get frustrated, but she also needs to see her parents work it out and make the effort. Our daughters will form her view of what love is really like by first watching us, the parents.

7. Drama is not an appropriate response.
    Our daughters need to be taught how to handle disappointment from an early age. Our daughters need to hear us say no and then we need to teach them how to respond appropriately to that no. My 3 year old daughter does not like being told no, and she often times will throw quite the fit when she does not get the answer she wants. When my little princess goes into drama mode, she is sent to her room until she can respond appropriately. Once she has calmed down, she can come out and we can talk. I tell her very clearly when I send her to her room that this behavior is not okay and it will not be tolerated. Our daughters need to learn early that life is not about getting everything we want and sometimes life is not fair. Throwing yourself down on the floor and sobbing will get you nothing in life.

8. God did not create you to be a helpless damsel in distress.
    I am a strong supporter of gender roles, which is another topic for another time, however, I do not believe that this means our daughters should not know how to take care of themselves. I believe that girls should know how to change a flat tire, swing a hammer, and unclog a toilet. There is no guarantee that a man will always be around to "rescue" our daughters. Our daughters need to be told that they are smart and strong and capable of "rescuing" themselves.

9. Obsession is not romantic.
   So often, love in the movies is portrayed with one or both of the people involved being completely obsessed with the other. Take Ariel for example, she is so obsessed with Prince Eric that she is willing to give up her family and possibly her life for the chance to be with him. Prince Eric is so obsessed with the mystery girl who saved him, that he is oblivious to the fact she is standing in front of him. Our daughters need to be taught that being obsessed with a guy does show her passion and true devotion to him, it shows she is a stalker. Romance is not stifling, obsession is. Obsession leads to distrust, loneliness, and a whole lot of drama. Teach your daughter the difference between obsession and romance.

10. Fairy tales are just that, tales.
    Our daughters need to be able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Fairy tales are fantasy and they do not exist in the real world. Yes, there are beautiful loves stories out there, but even the most wonderful couples have gone through tough times, and if they say it was all rainbows and roses, they are lying. Our daughters need to realize that Prince Charming is not perfect and that life doesn't work out like in the fairy tales. Once again, our example will speak volumes. We shouldn't shelter our daughters from real life, let them see the struggles and the mess and let them see how to handle it. Don't lie to our daughters and make them think life is a fairy tale.

   We do not need to shelter our daughters from all the horrible lessons out there, we simply need to build a strong foundation for them to stand on so they will not be easily swayed.

Part One: What Lessons are the Disney Princesses Teaching Our Daughters

    I am going to do a two part series on Disney princesses. In part one I am going to talk about some of the things that Disney princesses teach our daughters that can be detrimental and then in part two I am going to talk about the things we should be teaching our daughters in light of the Disney princesses.
   Let me preface by saying, I love Disney princesses and Disney in general. I cannot even begin to count how many Disney movies we own. My kids love the Disney shows that are on Netflix. We are going to Disney World in February and we are super excited about it. My three year old daughter has many princess dress-up costumes and we watch at least one princess movie a day while her brother is at school. So this blog is not meant to be a call to boycott Disney movies or to plead with you to never let your daughters watch Disney princess movies. On the contrary, I simply want you to watch these movies with your daughter with your eyes open.
      Movies can have a huge, subconscious impact on the way we see the world, especially when we are young. Often times we don't even realize that our worldview is being shaped by what we watch, but it is. I do not believe in sheltering my children to the point they never watch any television unless it is all about Jesus. I don't watch TV like that and I don't expect my children to watch TV like that. Also, I am not naive enough to believe that my children will never watch something questionable. Instead, my hope and prayer is to be in constant dialogue with my children so that when something questionable comes over our television, they have a strong foundation of Christ honoring to stand on.

      For the purpose of this series, I am going to focus on the five "big" princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Ariel (The Little Mermaid), and Belle (Beauty and the Beast). I am going to be talking about some of the general things that I see across all five of these movies, and I am going to talk about two of these movies in particular.
      Before I jump into the detrimental things that I see Disney princesses teaching my daughter, I want to talk about some of the good things I see in Disney princesses. Almost all of the Disney princesses are kind and compassionate and hard-working. You see young women who think of others and truly care about the feelings of those around them. They also work hard, even when the work is unfair.
       I also see great examples of how to be respectful, even when the situation is less than desirable. Cinderella is never hateful towards her stepmother or stepsisters, even though she would be justified. Aurora is very unhappy about being a princess and not getting to see her boy from the woods again, yet she goes with the fairy godmothers and doesn't whine or complain. Belle is treated very poorly by the people in her village, yet she never lashes out at them or treats them with disrespect. This is a very important life lesson, that even when you don't like it, you still have to be respectful.
    Finally, all of these movies portray marriage in a favorable light, which I truly appreciate. I believe in marriage and I do hope that my daughter will grow up to value marriage. All of these movies show a man and a woman fall in love and get married and then live life together. The traditional view of marriage is there and even glorified. This post is not about marriage and what is right and wrong and if you disagree with my stance, then fine, send me an email and we will talk. However, I appreciate that these movies portray marriage in a way that is in line with how Aaron and I wish to raise our children.
     Now onto the not so great lessons these movies are teaching my daughter:

1. Beauty is something of great value and much of your worth lies in your looks.
     Every single Disney princess has the flawless skin, big red lips, teeny tiny waists, and classic beauty. Not a one of the "big" Disney princess is awkward or has acne or is large, they are all in line with what society deems as beautiful. Also, many times throughout each of these movies the beauty of the princess is mentioned in regards to someone loving her for that beauty or being jealous of her for that beauty. Much of a princess' worth is found in her appearance. This a dangerous lesson.

2. Love at first sight.
    This one aggravates me every time. Snow White is singing into a well, Prince Charming rides by and is automatically in love with her, without a word ever being spoken between them. Cinderella goes to a ball, Prince Charming sees her across the room, and they fall in love during their first dance. Aurora is singing in the forest, Prince Philip hears her, the sing and dance together for a little while and they are in love. Ariel sees Eric on his ship during his birthday party, they never speak and he never even sees her, yet she loves him. Belle is the only princess who actually spends some time with the prince before they fall in love. Love at first sight is not real and that initial infatuation definitely does not last. Love takes time and actually conversing with a person.

3. How a girl "in love" acts.
   Another thing that really gets to me. I remember falling in love with my husband. Did I think about him a lot, sure. Did I smile when I thought of him, probably. But I did not float around, humming to myself, lost in a dream world. I did not forget how to act like a normal person or how to perform daily duties. Falling in love, while a great and wonderful feeling, does not mean you act like a person with absolutely no sense. Grown-ups fall in love and still have to be grown-ups, they can't just sit around singing and dreaming about their true love.

4. The DRAMA!
    If you have ever watched a Disney princess movie you have seen at least one scene where the princess throws herself down onto a bed or a rock or a bench and sobs over the events of her life. Now I will grant Belle a little drama as her sobbing scene comes after agreeing to be the Beast's prisoner in exchange for the release of her father and she believes she will never see her father again. In that situation, I too would probably be a basket case. But in the other movies, the princess is just being dramatic. I have a three old daughter, and she has mastered the princess drama. If she doesn't get her chocolate milk the moment she wakes up, she will throw herself down on the floor and start to cry. These movies portray girls as hyper-emotional and they clearly have no control over themselves. Sweetheart, life is hard and sometimes life ain't fair, but you cannot throw a fit every time things don't go your way.

5. All you need is a husband to be happy.
    In most of the Disney princess movies, the princess spends all of her downtime dreaming about her perfect man who will whisk her away and they will live happily every after. This is not the way it works, and this a hard lesson that I myself had to learn. Getting married to a wonderful guy does not necessarily mean you are going to be happy. Happiness takes work and happiness is fickle. If all you aspire to have in life is a husband, than your life will be very empty and probably not all that happy. There is nothing wrong with wanting to meet Mr. Right and get married and be a wife, the problem comes when the search for your husband becomes all-consuming and your identity is found in whether or not you got a man. Girls should have many dreams, not just finding Prince Charming.

   Now that I have discussed some of the generalities I have seen in the Disney princess movies, I want to rant for a moment on one princess in particular: Ariel. Ariel is a selfish, egocentric brat. She is disobedient, and not because she is being mistreated or abused, but because she wants to be human, and even that is for selfish reasons. In her mind, humans have all the freedom they want and fathers don't reprimand their daughters (because discipline is bad) and if she becomes a human she will finally have everything she wants. She falls in love with a guy she has never met and justifies her blatant disrespect and disobedience of her father with the line, "but Daddy, I love him". Really, you love him, what's his last name? She is impulsive and makes naive, selfish choices just to get what she wants. Finally, she never really learns a lesson because in the end her father gives her everything she wants. With that being said, I do not forbid my daughter from watching The Little Mermaid. I do enjoy the music of The Little Mermaid and on the surface it is a cute movie, but I am very open in my comments that Ariel's behavior is not how my little princess should behave.
   Before you start to think that I believe all Disney princesses are out to teach my daughter horrible lessons, I want to talk about Belle. We actually rewatched Beauty and the Beast yesterday, and I must say, she is now my favorite princess. While yes she is beautiful, she more than just a pretty face. She is smart and loves to read. She loves her father very much and is willing to defend and protect him, even at the risk of ridicule by the villagers. Belle does not just dream of having a husband; she wants adventure and to learn all she can, and if a guy comes along who shares in her dream, than cool. Most Disney princesses are portrayed as helpless damsels in distress, but not Belle, she is brave and willing to sacrifice her life to save her father and she is not afraid to stand up to the Beast. I love that this movie does not have a "love at first sight" moment. Mrs. Pots says, "love takes time," and we actually watch Belle and Beast spend time together, begin to simply like each other, and then fall in love. Finally I love how this movie shows that love sometimes means sacrifice. The Beast sacrifices his chance at being human again so that Belle can go be with her sick father. So while there are a few little things that I don't love, in all I think this movie is a great one to watch.
     I know that for some of you I have burst your bubble on Disney princesses and others are thinking, well great I can never watch these movies again, but please do not despair. As I said earlier, my goal is not to have you stop watching Disney princess movies. In tomorrow's post I will talk about the lessons and values we should be instilling in our daughters, so that when they watch the Disney princess movies, they will have a strong foundation and not believe the lies they are being told.