My Idol

It is no question of who my idol is. It's Walt Disney. I am a huge Disney fan and I absolutely love both the classic and new movies. I even did a report on Disney in 8th grade. There are many reasons why he is my idol, but the biggest reason is because he had such a good and clean vision. 

He was such an amazing man. He wanted to have fun! Anyone could say that was his philosophy. He wanted people to forget the horribleness of the world and smile. Yes, he had that one nasty habit, but he made such a family friendly name for himself that it was never publicized. He wanted to be remembered in the best way possible. And in my opinion, I don't think he could have done a better job. 

Everyone has a dream. Walt Disney is one of few men (compared to the entirety of the world) who went after his dream and made it happen. He made it happen! He did not give up. He did not accept "no" as a final answer. He kept going and pushing and asking and persisting. Had he given up there would be no Walt Disney Studios, Disney/Pixar movies, nor Disneyland or Disneyworld. There wouldn't be great movies like Brave, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, etc. There wouldn't be amazing characters that you can meet in person! And I'm sure that the idea of being a princess wouldn't be quite so big if it weren't for Disney and what he's done with the princess image. He didn't give up on his dreams and look what we have! Look what he accomplished! Go almost anywhere in the world and you will find someone (if not MANY someones) who know who Walt Disney. 

Probably my favorite part about all of the Disney movies is that there is a lesson of some sort to be learned from every story. Just to name a few:

             -Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: Make the best of a bad situation.

             -The Little Mermaid: Don't give up a part of yourself to follow your dream. 

             -Pocahontas: Choose the right path over the easy one. 

             -Hercules: Life isn't about popularity. It's about love and sacrifice. 

There are obviously more movies and lessons/morals that I could list, but this blog post is already becoming long. If you look at every movie, you can find something to be learned. Even after Walt Disney died, everyone who has worked in the studios have made it an effort to keep his legacy living and to not blemish it, including the stories and lessons that are produced. 

So while the Disney company continues to uphold the legacy that Walt Disney set, I will always be a Disney fan. I will always want to see the next Disney film (especially the animated ones) and I will always dream of going back to Disneyland to live in the magic and happiness that is there. I will always believe in magic and fairies and happy endings. If I ever make a name for myself, my only wish is that the same good nature that is attached to the name "Disney" is applied to mine. I may never make animated movies (Heaven knows I can't draw). I may never create a wonderfully excited theme park. I may never be a visionary. BUT I will always have an imagination and be a kid at heart; and it's all because of Walt Disney. He is my idol. He is my hero. And he always will be. I only wish I could tell him that in person.

Frozen!

I love Frozen! And the main reason why I love it is because it's a Disney movie and I am a big Disney fan even though I'm 20-something years old. 

But I'm not talking about Disney (today). I'm talking about Frozen, which has gotten so much negative talk that it saddens me. It is such a fabulous story with such great messages. Yes, the song "Let It Go" has been played and redone way too much, but you can't hate and not see a movie just because of that. 

Speaking of that song, let's take a moment to talk about it. I love it beyond words! It has such a great message to it. "Let It Go" is about embracing what makes you different and not letting it or your fears stop you from being you. You have a limp? Let it go. You are short? Let it go. You have magical powers? Let it go! Don't let that stop you. Don't let the fear of being different stop you. Let it all go and just be yourself. If others are judging or making fun of you because you are being different, just let it go. They don't matter. 

A lot of people have said that Frozen is feminist and/or about the power of women. I do not agree. The main focus of the movie is on the female characters, but I don't think that makes it a feminist movie. All of the Disney princess movies focus on the princess but those haven't been called feminist. Elsa has magical powers and she is the queen, but I don't think that makes Frozen feminist. Anna thinks for herself and makes decisions all by herself, but that doesn't make Frozen feminist. It just means that those characters have strengths and weaknesses and know or learn how to work with them...and just happen to be females. 

Frozen has some of the most hilarious characters I have seen in a long time. Little Anna is absolutely adorable. I just love how she asks her sister, "Do you want to build a snowman?" It's like she knows without a shadow of a doubt that one simple question will for sure get her out of bed to play. Sven is even hilarious. I know that Kristoff is the one who gives Sven his voice, but the way that Sven acts while he is "talking" is funny and there is no way he could have been better created. Besides, who doesn't love a cuddly reindeer? Especially since we all know that "reindeer are better than people." And then there is the all time favorite Olaf. He loves warm hugs even though he's a snowman! He is also quite witty and ironic. One fact about Olaf that makes him amazing is that Josh Gad, who provided Olaf's voice, did a lot of improv and the cartoonists had to draw and create Olaf around what Josh Gad had recorded. The things that Josh Gad came up with on the spot while recording were absolutely hilarious, sweet, and made Olaf the best character in the world (according to me). 

And then there is all of the (other) humor! Sven loves Olaf.... or at least he loves and wants his carrot nose. Olaf wants to experience Summer. There are so many puns! Anna is a bit of a klutz and it gets her into trouble. Hans's horse almost drops Anna and Hans into the fjord while showing respect. The bust in the cake and making it look like a dress! It is absolutely hilarious! And it is funny because there is simple and complex humor in the story. 

One of my favorite things about Frozen is that it teaches about love. Love is more than a boy meeting a girl and it's love at first sight. This movie proves that love at first sight isn't always right. There is love in adoption shown between Kristoff and his family of trolls. There's the love from a boy and his pet reindeer. There's pure, innocent, child-like love that Olaf gives. There's sisterly love, even though they aren't always open to each other. There is the love that a ruler has for her people. I think the reason why Frozen has so many different kinds of love in it is because (as my amazing mother in law puts it) love is the key to life. The more love you have in your heart, the more joy you will get out of life. 

I love the movie Frozen without a doubt for the reasons I have already said, but the main and biggest reason is that it's a Disney movie. As long as Disney continues to create wholesome, family friendly, moral teaching movies, I will always be a fan. You really can't find a better movie making company.