Your Kids Are Singing a Villain Anthem

A few weeks ago, my family and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Happiest Place on Earth and I have officially decided I want a break from all things Frozen. Even though the movie came out well over a year ago, both parks were decked out with Frozen stuff everywhere. Now don't get me wrong, I expect to see Disney stuff when I go Disneyland, and I understand how popular Frozen is. I guess I just felt overwhelmed by how popular the music, merchandise, and characters were. It was everywhere! And I must've heard "Let it Go" at least ten times a day, whether blasted by load-speakers, sung by dolls or snowglobes, whistled by park goers, or covered by park musicians (we even heard a mariachi cover in California Adventure.) Although I've had that song totally memorized thanks to the radio at work this summer, it wasn't until I heard a big group of kids singing along to it at Disneyland that I really listened to the lyrics and thought about the message being chanted by kids around the globe.

And honestly, it kinda creeped me out.

Keep in mind that it's always important to be critical of media, regardless of how cute and fun it is. Politicians can get up on podiums and shout whatever they want, but it's the messages in entertainment and popular media which people actually listen to. Pop culture instills beliefs in people and children whether they realize it's happening or not.

So I'm assuming most of you are familiar with the plot of Frozen, and "Let it Go," but just in case, feel free to use this guy as a reference: "Let it Go" lyrics. Maybe it's just me, but there's something extremely unsettling about little children singing: "No right, no wrong. No rules for me!" Overall, the song is very anti-authority...borderline anarchist. It's definitely not a song about overcoming adversity; it's more about throwing out the rules and doing whatever you want.

Early Elsa concept art - definitely more villain than princess

Interesting factoid, the original script of Frozen stuck to Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale The Snow Queen a little closer than the final product did. In the first script, Elsa was supposed to be the main villain, not Hans. "Let it Go" was actually written as a villain song, along the lines of Scar's "Be Prepared" or Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Souls." But when the producers heard Idina Menzel's recording of the song, they thought it sounded empowering and uplifting...and had trouble not siding with Elsa. So they rearranged the song a little and completely re-wrote the plot so that Elsa could be a second protagonist. Those lyrics remained untouched, however. I wonder if the person who wrote that song for villain-Elsa had any idea of the insane popularity that it would gain with not only little girls, but people of all ages all over the world.

After knowing what I do about Elsa's past, I have no trouble picturing "Let it Go" as a villain song. Put it in minor key, have it sung blue-haired villain-Elsa, and the lyrics make perfect sense. It's a song about abandoning your good-girl image, throwing morality to wind, and doing whatever-the-frick you want. Stop caring about other people's feelings and let yourself go. That's the message that kids are chanting!

Don't get me wrong, I did love the movie and the song when it first came out. There's no denying how gorgeous the animation is, and how likable the characters are. Heck, everyone wants to be Elsa. Who can blame them? It's an attractive concept to unleash yourself and ignore the limits of morality. But we also have to remember that Satan was the most beautiful angel of all. Just because something's attractive, doesn't mean it's right. I'm not saying Disney is evil, or that this song is going to be the downfall of our culture. But it makes me uncomfortable to think that a whole generation of kids are idolizing a villain whose costume was changed to look more like a hero.

On a brighter note, here's the lyrics to one of my favorite Disney songs, whose message I think is way more inspiring. Thank you, 1997. "Go the Distance" lyrics