Frozen hearts

I have watched Frozen roughly 2.5 million times in the last year, though probably never straight through. So it does give me a skewed perspective. But as possibly the only adult in the world whose favorite Disney movie it is, i feel i should share why I like it more every time I see it. (You already know I'm crazy...)

1) Penny calls it "Nana and Selsa!"

2) Kaylen will randomly decide "It's Coronation Day!"

3) There is a good storyline. I really, really like that they chose to work with two heroines instead of one. There are relationships between the sisters as well as between Anna and Hans and Kristoff, which i think adds much more depth. 

4) The first time I saw Frozen, i liked Hans and then started to really like Kristoff and wondered how on earth it was going to be resolved...and then felt a bit betrayed when Hans turned out to be a betrayer. Too convenient. But it's not. We're seeing things from Anna's perspective: she's been lonely for a long time and, warm-hearted and social creature that she is, it's perfectly naturally she would fall in love immediately with a charming guy who turns out to be, well, a douchebag. I want my girls to learn young that the sweet-talker might not be as good a guy really as the one who helps you and even tells you the truth ("Wait, you mean to tell me you got engaged to a guy you just met?!"). 

5) i get angry at the girls' parents every time i watch this. (Is it ok to judge fictional parents?) Their whole "conceal, don't feel" advice to Elsa didn't help her - it gave her no real power to control her magic or feelings. And this is how a lot of our just-do-it-right self-help goes. It completely failed her and in the end she had to flee her kingdom. 

6) But this is where it begins to get much deeper, imo. "Let It Go" is all about newly-found freedom for Elsa, and how she exalts in being able to use her powers without fear. You feel her joy. But it's still not enough to fix things, as it turns out. When Anna comes to her and asks her to return, Elsa gets angry and afraid again and this time hurts her sister more seriously than she had when they were kids. Her freedom to create whatever she wants still hasn't driven away the fear and lack of self-control in her heart. And although Anna is the one who is told that "only an act of true love can cure a frozen heart," you begin to realize Elsa is in need of a heart cure, too. 

7) Self-sacrifice portrayed really well. Anna thinks she needs a kiss from Kristoff to save her (since Hans was a big liar), but as she is literally almost out of time she sees her sister is in danger. The sister who rejected her more than once and in fact placed the curse on her. Yet she turns to save her and as she freezes, Hans' sword hits her and shatters. 

8) And as the Frozen storybook we have says, "And Elsa became queen again - a good queen, who had learned that LOVE was the key to controlling her powers."

9) And Anna and Kristoff end up together. Awww.