Some of you may be wondering why I am writing about the Disney movie, Frozen, in the middle of July.  The movie came out in American theatres last November and is now a global phenomenon.  Frozen has been the number one movie in Japan for the last fifteen weeks.  Our good friends just put their son, Matt, and his family on a plane to Japan where they will serve as missionaries.  (Pray for the Elkins family!)  It is good to know that Matt’s two girls will have some familiar sights in their new home.  I saw that a local DJ, Bill Green, aka Billy the Kidd, made a video of him and his three year old daughter singing the hit song from Frozen, “Let it Go.”  The video has over 5 million hits and that number is rising.  I dare you to watch it without grinning from ear to ear!

Why is the movie such a hit with children?  One article gave several reasons:

• It is a throwback to the classic animated Disney movies
• The chatty snowman sidekick, Olaf, has really funny lines
• The songs are good  (again, just watch that video!)
• The villain isn’t scary and cruel.  One of the main characters is actually the person who must work hard to fight her own feelings so that her anger won’t cause harm
• Frozen is about families, and how an older sister can be misunderstood by the younger one
• Girls are strong and smart, but still needing help from others
• There are two Disney princesses in this movie and most little girls will want to be one or the other

{source}<iframe style=”float: right; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #C0C0C0; padding: 2px; margin: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;” width=”400″ height=”225″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/vkLozgvYvLs?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}My daughter-in-law, Candice, showed the movie to me.  I LOVED it.  In fact, I would like to see it again.  I am looking forward to my grand daughter, Axia, growing old enough to eat popcorn and watch it with me.  The hit song “Let it Go” illustrates the theme of the movie.  The main character must leave her family and her home in order to isolate herself in an ice castle.  The problem is, when she gets angry and loses her temper, bad things happen that she can’t control.  “Let it Go” is a song about her choice to stay alone in that castle, away from people, trying to forget all that she loves. She must let go of the past.

There are a lot of reasons this movie has made over one billion dollars and is the most popular Disney movie of all time.  I like to think that maybe this movie strikes a chord in children and parents alike.  All of us have flaws in our personalities and we know that we can cause hurt or harm to those we love.  In the movie, anger or stress is what brought harm to others, even when it wasn’t what the princess wanted to happen.  The movie has a good message for children, but I would add this message if Axia and I were ever talking about it.

Disney movies don’t often point children to God.  If there is a “power” in the story it usually belongs to a witch or evil character.  The power of the heroes is usually found in the heroes themselves.   It is good for children to understand they have strength and power to overcome, but it is important for them to realize the source of that power is the One who made them.  Disney doesn’t cause our children to seek God, because that is not Disney’s goal.  But it should be our goal.  Almost every movie or television show can be an opportunity to teach something about God.  

I hope you enjoy the video of “Let it Go.”  If you watch it with someone else, you might want to remind that person of what God taught us to “let go of.”  He said:  

What do you need to let go of today?  I hope a popular Disney song will help remind you that sometimes the best thing to do is just “let it go.”

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