Summer Dreams

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I am a Disney kid. I grew up on the Disney Renaissance (Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), suffered through the lost years (Emperor's New Groove), and marvelled at the Disney Revival (Frozen, Inside Out, Wreck-It Ralph). It's not a stretch to say that if a Disney movie exists, I've watched it, memorised it, and carved its' music into the very strands of my DNA. And out of all my favourite Disney songs, nothing hits the feels quite like Frozen's In Summer.

This song. THIS SONG! This is my happy song. 

For the uninitiated into the Let it Go Movement (aka Frozen fans), In Summer is a song where a snowman (Olaf) expresses his desire to experience summer; having never experienced it before. Except, Olaf is utterly unaware that snow melts in the sun. He sings that he'd like to "find out what happens to solid water when it gets warm." In fact, there's a shot wherein Olaf sings "Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle; But put me in summer and I'll be a happy SNOWMAN!" while gazing upon his reflection in a puddle; what he will actually become. The irony in this one line kills me EVERY TIME. This irony, in fact, turns this happy song expressing the heartfelt dream of a character into a song about impossible expectations and the inevitability of denial. 

We, as the audience, know what awaits Olaf in Summer. We know that his dream is ridiculous and will get him killed. We know that it is impossible for him to experience summer. And yet, his sincerity compels us to silence. It compels us to hide the truth from him; to deny him this knowledge. Yet, later, we learn that Olaf always knew what would happen to him in summer. He always knew what happens to solid water when it gets warm. We this as he works to save Anna from the curse threatening her life. As he sacrifices himself, he says that "Some people are worth melting for." 

Olaf's dream was impractical and impossible. And yet he dreamed it anyway. He hoped anyway. It was, as he sang, the anchor that stayed him when life got rough. 

Often, I forget that dreams aren't supposed to be realistic. They're supposed to be dreams; wild fantasies unconcerned with reality and limitations. I forgot how to dream like Olaf, In Summer. And every time I listen to this song, it reminds me to dream and to hold onto those dreams. It reminds me that my dreams don't have to make sense to anyone else but me; that, as Lupita Nyon'go said, "my dreams are valid." 

If a fictional character with a death wish can believe this, then so can I. 

 

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