I thought Frozen was an awesome film. I kinda preferred 'For The First Time' to 'Let It Go', but the whole soundtrack is terrific. The characters are intriguing and so many of the themes of the film are deep. I like how the movie undermines the normal Disney princess story: how you need romantic love to be free. In this film, the romance was an emotional sham and true love is seen in the self-sacrificial care of siblings.
I was both amused and shocked to read that some pastors went public accusing Frozen of being a piece of homosexual propaganda: 'Let It Go' is about coming out of the closet, and it was the true love of two girls… *sigh*
Now that's just dumb.
But it is worth pointing out that 'Let It Go' is hardly the moral of the film.
'Let It Go' is Not Totally Good
As a catchy Disney movie single, it can be easy to take Let It Go out of context – as a manifesto, an anthem, of just being yourself. This would be a foolish thing to do in real life, as this awesome YouTube spoof shows.
But even the film shows us this. Elsa isn't happy and free when she lets it go. She is isolated and destructive to herself and others. It's a turning point in the film, sure, but not a climax.
Trevin Wax makes this point well, here.
'Let It Go' is Not Totally Bad
But I don't want to push that too far either. Because that's how great Frozen is, as a movie. They are deep, full characters, who go on a broad character arc across the film.
'Let It Go' isn't the end of Elsa's journey, that's right. She has to come back down the mountain – learn to love, learn to trust and so learn to control her powers.
But 'Let It Go' it still is an important step in her growth and development. Conserative Christians shouldn't be so uptight about sin that we can't allow any sense of self-acceptance. It was not at all good and wholesome for Elsa to feel she had to spend her entire childhood in isolation.
There's a good kind of empowerment that comes from acknowleding who we are. And there's a good kind of empowerment that reject the abusive restriction laid on us by (perhaps well-meaning) authority figures.
So it's not totally good. But it's not totally bad either. And it's a good song either way.
