Let It Gay? Subversive Messages from Disney’s Frozen

Over Christmas break I visited my parents to find not only my younger siblings but also my conservative evangelical mother obsessing over Frozen. I was shocked. I had to ask myself—did they even watch the same movie? Did they not see the messages I did? Did they hear the same lyrics? How could they see Frozen and not realize that it was about self acceptance and freedom from others’ expectations—and moral standards?

It seems at least one blogger did pick up on some of those themes:

The gay agenda to normalize homosexuality is woven into Disney’s movie Frozen not just as an underlying message – it is the movie. In a liberal culture tenacious at normalizing immorality, stripping those of faith from their ability to speak out in opposition, this needs to be taken seriously. It’s one thing that we’ve all donated to the cause by making Frozen a record-breaking hit at the box office (myself included), but that’s as far it’s going, for me, personally.

She goes on:

In the making of Disney’s movie, Frozen, it is apparent that the very best talent, within the industry, was called upon for every facet of producing and bringing it to the big screen: illustrators; animators; writers; composers; singing artist; actors; etc., in order to woo its intended audience, parents, into a frozen-state, which would then allow liberalism to indoctrinate children.

The fact is, that not one of us would allow a person, contrary to our values, to come into our homes and teach our family many of the principles advocated in the movie Frozen – such as rebellion/disobedience – as good. Yet, when the same element cunningly creates a medium within to share the same doctrine, which intensely overwhelms the senses, we are blinded – and rather than put on glasses, we allow ourselves to be mesmerized by the overall experience – focusing only on the good that we see, or perceive, highlighted for our viewing pleasure.

She then explains in detail the way the ways the movie works to “normalize homosexual behavior.” She goes a bit over the top in some of her interpretations, and she reads way too much into common plot themes. But to be honest, she is onto something key—on some level, she is right. Quite frankly, I’m surprised more conservatives have not condemned the movie.

A couple of weeks ago I watched this remake of Frozen’s main song, “Let It Go”:

I knew when I watched this video that there was something familiar about its lead male singer. Curious, I looked him up. Sure enough, the lead male singer was Alex Boye, the famous Mormon singer who starred in this viral modesty video last year:

Once again, I was shocked—why would a conservative Mormon singer and an LDS children’s choir remake this song, with the lyrics completely unchanged? Could they not read the lyrics, or hear the same messages? How could they miss what I saw so clearly?

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I’m the queen

The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in, Heaven knows I tried

Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Well, now they know

Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway

It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all
It’s time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I’m free

Let it go, let it go
I’m one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You’ll never see me cry
Here I stand and here I’ll stay
Let the storm rage on

My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I’m never going back, the past is in the past

Let it go, let it go
And I’ll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand in the light of day
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway

The first time I watched “Let It Go” on youtube, before seeing the movie in theaters, I completely choked up at the line “no right no wrong, no rules for me.” Tears started streaming down my cheeks. It was beautiful. I grew up in a conservative evangelicalism that I eventually found highly restrictive. As I began to extricate myself, my family and friends put me through a special kind of hell. But even through all of the pain and the tears, I entered into freedom when I left behind their rules, their expectations, their control. This song spoke to so many emotions. I’ve watched it again and again many times since that first time, and each time I’ve achieved some form of catharsis. This song is now my personal theme song.

And so as my mother and siblings gushed over Frozen, I marveled. How? How?

This song—and this movie—is for everyone who has worked past childhood trauma or abuse, for everyone who has experienced bullying, for everyone who has faced pain as a result of changing religious beliefs, for everyone who has left an abusive relationship—and, yes, for LGBTQ individual who has ever taken a deep breath, steeled themselves, and come out of the closet.

How this is not painfully obvious I am unsure.