I could see his little eyes shining with excitement, even in the dark.
He clutched my arm, and pointed at the cinema screen with his other hand.
“We ARE going to see that, aren’t we?” he asked, desperately.
I panicked, and assured him we would, while cursing myself for not checking which trailers would be showing before the film we’d come to. And so, I promised my son that of course we’d watch Frozen 2, as soon as possible.
I didn’t mean to lie. I’m still not sure I definitely did lie. But there’s a good chance I might have, and that I will have to explain why we’re not going to see Frozen 2. Because the more I think about it, the more I worry that taking my boy to see Frozen 2 might be child abuse.
At a rough guestimate, I’d say Albie has watched Frozen more than seven hundred gazillion times. He could sing Let It Go before he could talk.
He has an Elsa dress he wears regularly, and the first request on an early draft of his letter to Santa is “a Anna dres”. He quotes Olaf in times of trouble. Frozen is, without being overdramatic, his life.
So it’s fair to say that his expectations for Frozen 2 are pretty high. It has to be better than the best movie ever made in the history of cinema, or he’s going to be gutted.
And let’s just review the list of sequels that have been better, or even as good, as the original: Toy Story 3. The End.
The stakes couldn’t be higher, and likewise, the odds stacked against him. Why would I want to subject my son, who I am pretty fond of mostly, to that?
And yes, of course I’m bringing my personal baggage to this, even though you’re not meant to when you’re a parent.
Sex and the City 2. The finale of Lost. Will beating Gareth. There are exceptions of course – Breaking Bad – but mostly big entertainment events that you look forward to for ages only ever let you down.
But maybe that’s the point.
Maybe if I shelter my son from this reality, from disappointment, I’m not actually doing him any favours. Maybe the lesson is about picking himself up, dusting himself off, and opening his heart again, ever hopeful that it will be different this time.
And maybe this lesson can extend out, past TV and movies, into something wider that he can learn about life.
Ha! Kidding obviously. Who cares about that?
The downside to this realisation is that five-year-olds aren’t allowed to go to the cinema on their own. My personal hopes for Frozen 2 are much less complicated than Albie’s. Never mind being better than the original, I’ll just be happy if it’s shorter.
