Thursday, January 15, 2015

Frozen in time

"Let it gooooooooo!"

One day, Xena came back from school, singing this at the top of her voice. I was surprised. That song was not familiar to me. So I asked her to sing the whole thing.

"Let it gooooooooooooo!" She hollered. "Kyaanadaaaaa any more!"

"What anymore??"

"Kyaaaanadaaa."

"Canada??"

"Kyaaaanadaaa."

"What's that?"

"I don't know."

"Who taught you this song? What song is it?"

"Belle taught me. It's the Elsa song."

I know Belle is her best friend at school. But who on earth was Elsa?

"Who is Elsa??"

"She's Elsa." Explained Xena, as if that was enough.

And then I found out. Elsa was some kind of princess in some kind of animated movie called Frozen. I don't really keep track of English movies all that much, and I'm definitely not a fan of animated movies. (Except for Finding Nemo. Who can hate Nemo?)

But this Elsa seemed to be a global craze among little girls. So much so that the director of Frozen Jennifer Lee has publicly apologised to parents for the song 'Let it go", which ironically the girls can't seem to let go of, even though it's been a year.

Over the next few weeks, Elsa became more and more prominent in our household. I was amazed Xena was so into her, in spite of not having watched the movie or knowing anything about it. I googled to realise that her "kyaaanadaaaa" was 'can't hold it back'. She refused to believe me. I played the song on Youtube to prove my point, but she simply refused to acknowledge that that was the Elsa song. When I persisted in my attempts to correct her, she protested saying, "But Belle says 'kyaaanadaaaa anymore'." Oh. Ok. That's settled then.

In the last few weeks, we have attended numerous Elsa-themed events and parties. I have bought her an Elsa dress, Elsa hair clips and an Elsa bus card holder. (Well, actually, it was Santa who put the Elsa card holder inside the ladybug bag he gave her for Christmas, but don't tell her that.) She also got an Elsa stationery set as a Christmas gift from a friend of mine who remarked, "I figured I couldn't go wrong with Elsa". And of course, she has already asked for an Elsa cake for her 4th birthday.

Elsa is now a household name for us. She comes up randomly in all kinds of conversations. As does her sister Anna and some kind of snowman in the movie called Olaf. Sample these:

#1
Me - Xena, why is your bag on the floor?
Xena - Because I'm Elsa.
Me - ???

#2
Xena - Mama, Belle is not my best friend anymore.
Me - Oh no, what happened?
Xena - I told her I am Elsa and she is Anna. And she said she is Elsa and I am Anna.
Me - Oh dear.
Xena - So she is not my best friend anymore.

#3
Xena - Mama, I'm Elsa.
Me - Oh yeah?
Xena - Yes. And you're Anna.
Me - I'm Anna? Okay!
Xena - No no. Hmm... Daddy is Anna.
Me - Why is Daddy Anna?? Why can't I be Anna?
Xena - Because you are Olaf.
Me - ????!!!!!

When I try to discipline her jungle hair into a tidy ponytail or braid for school and she protests, I just tell her that Elsa always has her hair neatly tied in a braid, and it works most of the time. I don't know how long this craze will last, but I'm milking it for all its worth. The best thing that Elsa has done for me is what her teachers reported today -- she didn't want to eat lunch, and they told her that she needs to eat so she can be Elsa. And eat she did. (Note: This did not work at home. Of course. What was I thinking?)

Some day, when she is older, we will all sit down and watch the movie together. I wonder when that would be, and whether she'd still be as crazy about it.

Now if you'll excuse me, Olaf needs to go and shake the song out of its head.

Let it gooooooooo!
Kyaanadaaaaa any more!





12 comments:

Arun said...

LOL!

Dunno how Disney does it, but all the little girls here are also huge Frozen fans.

Arun said...

A Forbes article dryly notes:

(Parents of young kids may feel Frozen has been around since time immemorial. It was actually released on November 27th, 2013.)



http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/10/27/this-halloweens-hottest-costume-frozens-elsa-thankfully-not-ebola/

Anonymous said...

if i can quote my 4-year-old-niece "Frozen is totally age-appropriate for me chitthi"
yes she got an elsa dress for christmas...
you can see it now
its lovely old school disney but the songs are awful. and olav though is adorable.

Keirthana said...

Oh I love that movie and that song. I am an animation movie buff and Frozen is my all time favorite.

You got to be Olaf? That's actually very good :) I guess Xena has taken to the character too well and the way she keeps coming up with witty replies is adorable.

Anonymous said...

Lol at Xena’s responses! My suggestion – cave in this year and show her a screen. It won’t have the debilitating effect you expect.

Sayesha said...

Arun,
LOL! Yes, I've met many exasperated parents when it comes to Elsa. :D

50delhidates,
I already dislike the movie so much I can't get myself to watch it. :P

Keirthana,
So Olaf is a good character? Phew! :D

gargi,
A full-length movie? LOL! I took her to a Barney live show and she refused to sit after 10 mins. It's not about the debilitating effect. I just don't think she's ready for a full movie yet. :)

Varenya said...

lolzzz.....xena is a very witty gal!! and frozen is such a craze..have faced the same with two of my nieces who just cant let go this song !!!

Nobody said...

*Trying to picture the scene where a three-year old is narrating the story of a movie to another three-year old* ..Would love to hear this particular conversation :P

SK said...

Oh Gosh!!! I go through the same with my daughter at home! I am the queen and she is the princess. And she fights with her friends too about who gets to be Elsa. I also milk it, Elsa is clean, and neat, brush your teeth, take your shower, comb your hair ;--)

Ailya said...

haha
i usually dont comment on your blog (am a regular bewdri) but yeah elsa and all things frozen is the craze. Have a four year old girl who sings let it go on top of her voice every day all the time!
you did not mention, have you watched the movie?

Beena Venugopal said...

Hey Sayesha :)

A regular bewdi who doesn't comment a lot - but this requires one !

It's a heart-warming story that has touched adults (like me) as wekk - and very unlike Disney in its definition of true love.

I'd rather if you didn't hate it and did try to sneak a watch soon - it is adorable :)

Sayesha said...

Varenya,
And I heard there's a sequel in the works! :O

Nobody,
LOL meeee tooo! :D

SK,
High-five! :D
PS: She's finally given me Anna status! Her dad is Olaf now. :P

Aliya,
Nope, I haven't watched it. Will watch when she's ready to watch it. :)