Babysat our nearly-three-year-old niece, who is at the age where large teddy bears, parks, LEGO, and Disney movies all hold roughly the same amount of magical appeal. She had never seen Frozen before, and knowing she would want to watch something, I cleared the movie with her parents a few days in advance of babysitting.
A couple hours into our day together, she plunked herself in front of our home theatre and asked if we could watch “a little something.” So I asked if she wanted to watch a movie about two princesses in the snow (not the best summary, but she’s two). Obviously, she was excited about two princesses.
We watched the film over two sessions, with a break in the middle for hide and seek, snacks, and a trip to the park, but I can confirm that watching this movie with a toddler greatly improves the experience. When “Let It Go” began, she suddenly sat perfectly still and leaned forward like she was witnessing the Messiah. When it was over, the leaned into me and said “Nathan… I really like this movie.”
When her parents came by later that evening to pick her up, she excitedly explained that she played with us all day, and jumped on the bed, and went to the park, and played with a bear, and watched Frozen — and oh no! We still had to finish Frozen>! So she raced down to our basement and plopped herself in the theatre and refused to engage with her parents until the credits ran.
During the film’s climactic sequence, she visibly started shivering and whispered, “Are they going be ok? Will he save her?” She’s two, so I spoiled it a little bit and said, “Yes, they’re going to be ok. Just keep watching. The sisters will save each other. Do you want to hold my hand?”
She took her eyes off the screen for a couple seconds to glare at me and said, as only a two year old can say: “No.”