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‘Frozen’: Why Kids Can’t ‘Let It Go’

(CNN) – You can’t escape Disney’s hit phenomena, “Frozen.” It is the highest grossing animated film of all time, and is now one of...
FROZEN

(CNN) – You can’t escape Disney’s hit phenomena, “Frozen.”

It is the highest grossing animated film of all time, and is now one of Disney’s top franchises.

It was the the most downloaded movie from Apple last year, and kids everywhere are still singing the movie’s anthem “Let it Go.”

Heck, it’s now probably stuck in your own head right now, even if you have never seen the film.

So why, you may ask, has the 2013 movie stuck around for so long for the under 5 set?

The experts say it is not just because you can find images of movie’s sister on everything. The Frozen sisters Elsa and Anna are on dresses, on scooters, and just in time for the Easter season, they’re even on jelly beans.

To truly understand the psychology behind Frozen Mania, CNN reached out to psychologists who are sisters, themselves: Yalda Uhls is regional director for Common Sense Media. Maryam Kia-Keating is an associate professor of clinical psychology at University of California, Santa Barbara. Here is our edited conversation.

CNN: Princess movies have been around since the beginning of time, but this has really resonated. What has made this one so unique?

Yalda Uhls: One of the things that really struck me, and I think struck little children, is that there is a really strong intergenerational, family themed message here. Despite the sisters Anna and Elsa being separated for so long, the story is ultimately about the bond between the two of them.

When you’re little, that is your zone, that’s your group, they define your world.

Highlighting that and making it feel important — your sister, your brother, your mom and dad — is something little kids can really identify with.

Maryam Kia-Keating: Kids can really understand the idea of their sister wanting to play with them, and sometimes not, but still having a strong family bond.

Ultimately, it’s about the love between the sisters. That’s a message that many little children understand. There are also good lessons about overcoming struggles and facing life challenges. But, what’s interesting about preschoolers, in particular, is there’s this loyalty and unrelenting interest to watch this movie over and over again.

Part of it is because it was so well done, but there are some themes that younger kids can really identify with.

My 4-year-old daughter told me that she also liked that it didn’t have a witch.

I wouldn’t have thought that until she said it, but it made me more thoughtful about all the other movies — great movies — that have scary witches and themes in them.

This was something that little kids under 5 aren’t going to have nightmares about.

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