‘Frozen’ becomes franchise, fans simply cannot ‘let it go’

It starts with a simple question: Do you want to build a snowman? Then all of a sudden, a frenzy of people sing, “Come out, let’s go and play!” This scenario is quite real thanks to Disney’s Frozen. It is almost the anniversary of the billion dollar film, and just when we thought Olaf was melting in the Texas summer heat, the people at Disney bring us a Frozen surprise.

The LA Times reported that Disney is set to release a short film entitled “Frozen Fever” spring 2015.The short brings back all of our favorite characters and even a new song. It is time to dust off the hairbrushes and practice hitting our high notes.

There are probably a lot of people trolling around with their anti-Frozen eye rolls, but Frozen was one of the most important animated films of this generation.

The film teaches girls that it’s okay to be different and embrace the quirks that make us all human. There was no Prince Charming to save the day. There was no marrying a guy you just met, though love was certainly an open door. There wasn’t even an evil queen. Now for the latter, whether or not that is a pro or con, you decide.

Beyond the women’s empowerment that is evident throughout the film, Frozen has also shown us that it is possible for animated films to relate across generations. Both the young and old find themselves humming along to “Summer Time,” because who actually knows the words to that song? In a world filled with twerkers and Trojan commercials at 2 p.m., it is nice to know that family friendly has not gone extinct.

There is speculation that the short may be added to the upcoming Cinderella reboot, which actually could work well. It seems like Disney is in a transition of empowering its female characters and giving its old princesses a modern and more progressive spin.

Maleficent is one of the first re-tellings of a princesses’ story. In the original Sleeping Beauty, the princess saw a random prince, went to sleep, and was woken up by the prince who turned out to be her true love. Maleficent showed us the strength and fearlessness we wanted in Princess Aurora, unlike the original film which portrayed her as a ditsy girl.

If the new Cinderella reboot focuses more on the hardworking aspect of Cinderella and gives her a Princess Tatiana flair, then the new Frozen short will be a nice pairing.

Although this Frozen short probably won’t live up to the hype as the original movie, it is hopefully a tease for more to come. To all the people hoping that Frozen 2 will never see a release date, let it go.