Frozen Two Crushed It Also: I Did a Photo Sesh With My Kids

Frozen Two, the movie, just blew my mind. I was so not prepared. What started out as a snow day for the kids morphed into a photoshoot in our favorite spot, Elizabeth Park. After I joyfully processed the images, my daughter and I headed to the movies to see Frozen Two. On the way I asked her to remind me of the plot, since it was about 5 or 6 years ago that I saw Frozen and despite really enjoying the film I completely forgot what it was about. She filled me in on the five minute drive and I was ready to mildly enjoy the movie mostly because I was spending some quality time with my daughter doing something she really wanted to do.

First off, the animation literally knocked my ankle socks right off! Despite the really weird noses and ginormous eyes on the characters, as an artist I was awe struck with how beautiful everything was. The scenery, the red ferns in the white birch forest, the WATER HORSE?!?! the costumes, the seasonal changes and OH MY GOD THE LIGHT! These artists that produced this movie understood light so well, each scene made me wish it was real so I could photograph within it. Each transition from a light source was magical and perfect, and left me gasping and mumbling in my seat in reverence. I literally have dreams about stumbling into a scene as beautiful as these but like, my camera battery is dead or I have no memory card or only a fish eye lens, so I can’t photograph it, I just have to experience it. OK, so more like nightmares for a photographer! Frozen Two visually had my heart from the moment it started to the moment it ended. If you hate the story and the music? Who cares! Just watch it on mute it’s so visually engaging!

Flash back a few hours to this afternoon when I did my little snow day inspired photo session with my son Jackson, his girlfriend Sasha and my daughter Georgie. We got dumped on with snow and I didn’t realize it until I looked outside and saw the snow sticking perfectly to the trees. I felt inspired immediately. Each storm my kids endure me asking them to ‘please please please just do a little photo shoot with their Mammy’. I don’t know how but they always say yes and it makes me so happy. We get to create these fun memories together and I always leave feeling so super inspired. Today for sure, was no exception.

See below:

Oh you noticed that blue dress did you? Not realizing we were even going to be seeing Frozen Two on this very day, we made many references to Frozen while Georgie frolicked in the snow in her gown. Thank you Frugal Fannies and Monique Lhullier! It is perfection on Georgie and to be able to photograph her in it felt so inspiring for me. When my photography season slows down and I am not literally connected to my camera, I tend to feel not as creatively inspired and charged up. My kids inspire me beyond just taking iPhone snaps and for this I am so happy. I realize not everyone’s children are as willing to do this for their photographer parents, and for this I am beyond grateful. Again, see below:

If she were a stranger I would be so excited with these images. To know that she is my DAUGHTER, my muse, my heart. Boop. It makes my heart go Boop, many many times. Like. I MADE her! See below:

This kid. Oy. I will only not wax too poetic right now because: crying. See below:

My cutie pie boy and his cutie pie gf, Sasha. They are so cute together.

Now another reason Frozen Two melted my heart: the sibling relationship that Elsa and Anna have. Can we just please start a slow clap for this? I love seeing siblings get along and not have that whole jealous sister BS not be perpetuated any more than it has to be. Elsa and Anna’s overwhelming love and loyalty for one another is so inspiring to see. Much like my kids’ relationship. They have literally gotten along their entire lives.  Those two just loved each other, they were kind, and respectful. They are friends. This is Jack’s default setting, so honestly I think Georgie just followed his lead and that was that. Kindness. That story line of sibling kindness just plucked at my heart strings like I was being serenaded with my favorite song at an Italian restaurant by a weathered musician and made that movie a solid win in my heart. See below:

Just give me a break please!!

Jackson is such a goof.

Another few points about Frozen Two that I love love LOVED.

1.The strong female characters aren’t led by their romantic interests. Love that! Live your life ladies and let love be where you are, don’t let it define you so that you don’t have a life.

2. It’s OK if you want to lead a life differently than what others think you should. Like when Elsa is chilling at the kingdom and like all is well, yet she still doesn’t feel quite fulfilled. I loved that she pushed through that discomfort to explore the adventure that awaited for her even if she didn’t know what it was or where it would lead her. Major props, homegirl.

3. There were people of color in this movie!!! It took my breath away. There were older characters, and women as tribe leaders and just, shit was all mixed up in the best way. It was the NORM, guys, and I am HERE for it!

No I am not a move professional, I simply like what I like. If I am being honest I am pretty easy to please with a movie. So if I don’t like it (I’m talking to YOU Ma and La La Land) then you done did something awful. So, there’s that. Don’t @ me about plot holes and BS. I was entertained, transported. So to me, in the sage words of Borat, it was a ‘great success!’

Because of all of these wonderful parts of the movie I was like a chatty old lady in church oooing and ahhhing and commentating and AMEN-ing to all of it! Thank God there were bunches of chatty little kids and their parents who could care less because they were chatty too! It was a chat fest celebrating the normalcy of a lead female character in a Disney animated film NOT having a romantic lead, and seeing black characters and women in positions of power and men singing about being lost in the woods like an 80’s music video and I was laughing and crying and it was a great way to spend a Tuesday! Go see it, for real. And no, you do not have to see Frozen first.