Toddlers - Disney movies - Please vote

[Frozenprincess]

NC for this - I am fuming!

So, I have a DS that goes to a gymnastics class for 3-4 year olds with parents present.

The instructor asked the kids last time who is the princess that likes snow and some kids replied “Elsa” . Then the instructor asked “And what Elsa does to things with the snow? They make them…” and then she expected the kids to say “Freeze”. She did all of that to teach them how to “freeze” and stop moving.

My point is that Frozen and many other Disney movies are not recommended by Disney to be watched by kids less than 5 years old and they should be watched with parental supervision up until 8 years old as there are some upsetting scenes.

For this reason our 3 year old DS has never watched Frozen, Moana etc. He just watched Peppa Pig, Bluey, Paw Patrol, Hollie & Ben etc.

Was it appropriate for the instructor to expect the 3 year olds kids to have watched Disney movies in order to participate in the class?

I honestly felt so sorry for our DS during the class! He is a very reserved and shy boy when in public and this whole thing just made it all even worse.

What do you all think?

YABU - Frozen is fine for 3 year olds
YANBU - Frozen is not fine until 5 year old as advised by Disney

This.
(Also this is my new favourite phrase)

Thought you'd never watched Frozen? 😉

But also... Firstly how the hell is Peppa Pig fat and ugly... It's just a cartoon pig.

And I have a thin, blonde, blue eyed child - why isn't it okay for her to see people who look like her? (We also watch and read things with many people who do not look like her, before you suggest she exists in a bubble.)

Well I had to watch the movie after 8 pages of comments in this thread with people against me!

I had to see what is all about and all I understood is that there is a poor second sister Anna that loves her sister unconditionally while Elsa is a manipulative , selfish character that can’t control her feelings and attacks against her! How nice for a kid to admire such behaviours and replicate them later in life…

And of course there are thin, blond, blue eyed kids out there, but that was not my point regarding “models” and how that affects self-esteem for many kids.

And I prefer rudeness than physical and emotional abuse.

Who else wouldn’t?

I think you are way overthinking this. My 18m old loves Elsa and frozen, because she loves the songs. My 5yo DS also loves frozen, has done since he was 2/3ish, also because he loves her songs and she has magical powers. It is just a film, it's really not that deep.

OK love. Time to let the thread die. It was already on its way out.

Yeah you really didn’t get the movie at all - Frozen 2 answers some of that.

the themes really are about accepting who you are and the differences between people and I guess feeds into your idea about self esteem

“The Advice”. Whose?!

To accept someone how he is , it doesn’t mean that there is tolerance in violence either emotional or physical.

Anyway, as you said I have to watch Frozen 2 to get the whole picture, but the message that comes across from Frozen 1 is not good…

Or...she locks herself away to protect her sister, she runs away to protect her people, goes back to try to save her sister, and then learns to control herself in the end.

I'm not really sure what your point is regarding models and self esteem, tbh. You're just determined to find fault with it.

@takealettermsjones Correct! Every coin has two sides, it’s down to the kid on how to interpret it in their little mind

I saw a TV programme about Frozen where Jo Whiley talked very movingly about how Frozen helped her kids to understand the behaviour of their aunt, Jo Whiley's sister, who has a learning disability and has angry outbursts.
They said "oh she's like Elsa!" and it was really good for their relationship.

Peppa is... a pig. She isn't thin or fat, she's a pig.

I still recommend Moana.

It is quite a telling insight into someone's own attitudes to body image that they would describe Peppa as a 'fat ugly pig' rather than the crudely drawn 2D cartoon character that she is.

I don’t like Frozen at all but I have a 3 year old boy and I don’t know a single 3 year old girl in his nursery/friendship group who isn’t obsessed with it. He actually got invited to attend a Frozen themed dance class for 3-5yos at the local leisure centre next week.

Hahahaha

Get a grip!!!

Yes and the child’s mind will have no preconceived notions or biases.

you clearly saw in the movie what you wanted to see your confirmation bias saw what you wanted to see and interpreted it. In a way that I can see makes sense but isn’t necessarily the message the movie wanted to or was conveying and certainly not the one children will see.

You need to unclench, OP.

Also, I was born in the 80s and the Disney films I watched back then were far more disturbing than anything made in recent years. I recently rewatched Pinocchio and it was fucking terrifying. But I don't remember being traumatised by it as a young child. Kids let this stuff just wash over them a lot of the time.

DD turned 3 last week, she basically knows frozen off by heart! You are definitely being unreasonable and also very ridiculous

Peppa is a cartoon pig and Elsa is a cartoon human. It would be quite odd if they were portrayed the same way, no?

I think the real issue here is nothing to do about age suitability or the artistic merits of Frozen, but what to do when a child encounters something that’s outside their frame of reference. Which will happen all the time throughout their childhood and adult lives.

@Frozenprincess

i’ve watched this a fair few times. I have taken a lot of positive messages from the film such as courage, determination, selflessness and what true love is. It is certainly better than the early princess Disney films.

I feel you are stigmatising mental health struggles by criticising Elsa ‘not being able to control her feelings’

I also don’t think you need to have watched the film to know who Elsa and Anna are.

I doubt all of the gymnastics group have watched Frozen and maybe your anger towards this film has other root causes.

You must know you are acting unreasonably

Good points.

Compare and contrast with Snow White (another one I watched recently).

Snow White dreams of nothing more than "some day my prince will come". When he does show up in the middle of her song, she is so shocked she cries, "Oh!" and runs away. This is the only word she says to him in the entire film.

Apart from waiting for her prince and talking to woodland creatures, the only thing she does is clean house. When the dwarves go off to work, they tell her literally one thing, which is not to let any strangers in the house. Five minutes later a stranger shows up and offers her a magic wishing apple and she's so fucking stupid that she lets the stranger into the house immediately and eats the apple.

When her prince does come and find her to administer true love's kiss, she is either dead or unconscious. The kiss wakes her up (because of course it does) and off they ride into the sunset. Since the couple have never spoken a word to each other, their love is based entirely on her looks and the fact that he's a prince.

I wouldn't want my DD to watch Snow White, but I'd be fine with her watching Frozen, or even better, Brave.

You are fucking mental! 🤣