Lessons I Hope my Daughters Learn from Frozen 2

*This post contains spoilers for Frozen 2*  Tread with caution.

I remember the exact moment “Frozen” touched my life.  When “Frozen” came out in 2014, LittleGray was two and half and at the height of loving princess movies.  Fast forward five years later to “Frozen 2”, now with two daughters in tow.  If there’s one thing I learned from Frozen, it’s that family moments are precious and fleeting.  Our family was treated by Disney to have the ultimate #Frozen2FamilyNightOut to celebrate the opening weekend of “Frozen 2”.

The kids are at that beautiful age where magic is real and they love to pretend they are royalty.  They were treated like queens at The Dry Bar and were gifted a Fuji Instax Frozen 2 Camera to document their day from #FrozenFanfest.  Like all good Arendellians, we had chocolate milk for lunch from Yard House before seeing “Frozen 2” together as a family at AMC theaters.  These moments are so precious to us because our princesses are rapidly growing into strong young women ready to take on their kingdom.

With my daughters being only 7 and 4, I feel like most of the lessons went over their head.  They were enthralled by the humor and beautiful imagery of the film.  I felt like “Frozen 2” had some pretty complex storylines and I left with a lot on my mind.  Here is what I hope my daughters learn from “Frozen 2”:

You don’t need to wear a dress to be a Princess.

It was not lost on me that Anna and Elsa wore pants for most of “Frozen 2”.  Even though they had their share of ball gowns, they dressed for adventure and sported comfortable pants.  Them wearing pants did not make them any less of a princess.

You don’t need a partner to be complete.

Something that has been going around the internet is Elsa’s speculated sexual attraction.  Many people were disappointed that “Show Yourself” was lot a pointedly LGTBQ+ song.  I read Elsa as a person who was not interested in finding a romantic partner, male or female.

When grief settles in and it seems that there is no way out, focus on doing the next right thing, one step, one breath, one action at a time.

I’ve been in the same place as Anna where grief is so strong that it’s easy to get lost within it.  The song “The Next Right Thing” is a great reminder on how to come out of feelings of depression.

Be proud of who you are: a lesson in being biracial.

*MAJOR SPOILER*, but Elsa and Anna find out that their parents are from different cultures.  For reasons not addressed, their mother did not feel comfortable sharing her culture with her children.  It wasn’t until they were adults until they were able to embrace who they really were.  My hope is that my children can identify with being both Chinese and Arizonan and can adopt traditions from both cultures.

If you do not feel “at home” where you are, it’s okay to move out and be your own person in your own space.  

Never be afraid to go into the unknown.

Always keep your family close and make family time a priority.

If there comes a time where you do not live in close proximity to your family, go out of your way to create moments to spend time together.  With our busy schedules, it can be hard to have dedicated family time.  Thank you Disney for our family night out!  Frozen 2 is in theaters now!

For more of our adventures, find us on Instagram @littlegraythread.