So many of my mom friends (especially those with girls) have written on facebook how much they, and their kids, love the movie "Frozen" that when I saw it was available at the library, I checked it out. The boys had seen the moose and snowman trailer, and were excited about watching it.
Our policy is that generally if the boys are going to watch a video they have not seen before, Mom or Dad needs to watch it with them. I figured, since it was a princess movie, we'd watch it once, I'd think it was cute, and the boys would go back to asking for "Planes" (good message about doing the right thing and helping others) or "Cars" (learning that winning is less important than good character) or "Mater's Tales" (how to tell a good story? That might be stretching it. Pun intended.)
But as it turns out, even boys like a cute princess story. But they like it in an entirely different way.
Let me explain. (Warning - may contain spoilers)
When we watched the movie, we talked about some of the things as they happened. Sometimes I asked a question or just added commentary, and I think we paused it at one point to discuss something. But this is usual when watching with mommy. If there is something frightening in it, I often stop and we talk about why it is scary, if it is reasonable to be afraid or if the scenario is silly or of someone's own making. Anyway. It got played multiple times over the next day, which was the last day of the library loan.
There were two things I was not expecting. The first was that they would like it so much. In my mind, the protagonists were both girls and were princesses, not things the boys are really that interested in. The other was all the questions. Reuel was usually the one asking the questions - but he was not the only one interested in the answers! One time, I had sent Cephas after something upstairs, and Reuel asked a question about the story line. I answered his question, only to have Cephas say, as he hop-stepped back downstairs, "Mom, can you say the answer to that question again? I didn't hear you."
Some of the questions are simply factual. "What did Anna mean when she said "The One" in that song?" "Why does Olaf come apart all the time?" "What are those stone people called?" "What was she talking about when she said she had a ball room with no balls?" (This one was totally out of the blue, no context, and it took me a bit to figure out what he was asking! He only know of a ball as being a round toy, and the idea of it being the name of a party where you dance was a totally new concept. Yes, they are boys!)
Some questions are pretty deep. "What are we supposed to learn from the video, mom?" "Why did Elsa say she couldn't stop the winter, but then she did?" "Why did that man not help Anna?"
And some, I chuckle about. "Why was his name Hans?" "Why didn't the snowman know he would melt in summer?"
Basically, they enjoy the video, but they seriously deconstruct, inspect, and evaluate everything about it. I have to admit, I hadn't really thought about how much they do this with other videos too, until we spent all afternoon talking about all the different aspects of it.
Then I realized . . . they've done the same thing with "Cars," "Planes," and "The Fox and the Hound." We recently watched "Monsters Inc." and had all kinds of discussions about how sometimes we are scared of things that aren't dangerous at all, and how silly that is. (And now we have monsters roaring at our house. . . nice.)
I like to see the boys run around, and play, and dig holes in the yard (well, okay, that last one can be dicey depending on what they are digging up and where they leave the holes. Generally, it's cool.) But if stories, videos in this case, get them thinking so much, I think maybe that is good for their intellectual and spiritual development too. I kinda think we'll keep that "first view with mom or dad" rule so they know we have seen the video and care enough to watch so we can talk about it with them.
But if they are asking these sorts of questions NOW, just think about the discussions we'll be having in 5 or 10 years!!! I really hope that their hearts will follow Truth, and not just information. I would love to see this translate into compassion for others, seeing the value of sacrificing for someone else. Maybe especially their brothers. I could do with a few less of the "Eli bit me" and "Cephas hit me" reports, and replace it with more hugs and laughter. Who knows, maybe the lessons in "Frozen" will lead to my sons showing some warmth toward one another!
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