As many people do, we went to the movies the day after Thanksgiving. Choosing a movie that everyone would enjoy required some negotiation. Sawyer wanted to see something that I don’t think he is old enough to see. Starving Artist already saw the movie that SuperTween wanted to see. RenTeen and Dad wanted whatever made everyone else happy. We went to see Frozen.

Without being too spoilery, Frozen is one of Disney’s best movies. Disney is finally creating self-rescuing Princesses. They are doing away with tropes like ‘true love’s kiss’ and ‘happily ever after’ and replacing them with possibilities and potential. Syrupy sweetness is becoming sincere compassion and love. Yes, the songs are catchy and there’s a cartoon character to over-merchandise. This is still a movie for children to watch. It’s also a movie that teens and young adults are going to embrace and use as their own anthem. They should. The sister in the movie who can sing is presented just vague enough to make her an icon for anyone shaking off the weight of expectations and acceptance of reality. The prison that is inflicted upon you and the prison that you inflict upon yourself are deeply introspective concepts, yet Frozen remains hopeful. Optimism, the defining characteristic of the main character, is what this generation needs. It’s what we all need. This is the Princess movie that you want your children to cherish. It’s also the movie that will remind you some things you already knew, but needed to hear anyway.

After the movie, we walked across Gay Street to Krutch Park. The city’s tree was freshly lit, a choir was singing and SuperTween smiled an earlobe to earlobe grin. “It’s like we walked into Frozen.” We drank Cheerwine punch, ate Krispy Kreme donuts and wandered toward Market Square. A band played before an audience of people dancing and laughing. Small children pointed at an old man with a white beard and whispered, “Santa.” The man winked and smiled. It was impossible to watch with a dry eye.

Sometimes, everything is so perfect that you want to freeze the sights, sounds, smells and feelings in your memories forever. This was one of those times.