Demystifying a blockbuster hit (in pajamas)

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IMG_3779If you’ve had any interaction with a little girl who is around five years old, you know the fever: They’re very likely gaga for the animated Disney princess-film, Frozen, which has earned over a billion dollars since its release last year.

What is it about this movie that seeps into young impressionable minds so deeply that girls want to see it over, and over, and over again? Just how did Disney spike the Kool-Aid?

“I can’t have or go to another Frozen birthday party,” exclaimed my friend, the mother of two adorable, blonde, Frozen-crazy little girls, aged 7 and 4. “I’m tired of Frozen everything.

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Oh, the merch! Frozen-clad girls waiting to sing along at the El Capitan. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

In search of clues, I ventured to Hollywood for the second round of Frozen sing-alongs, where Frozen fans were encouraged to arrive in Frozen pajamas and sip Frozen hot chocolates with hundreds of other Frozen fans at a theater Disney bought specifically for events like these.

This fieldwork didn’t generate any hard-hitting revelations, but I did get to talk to some cute kids and rapt parents and one, umm, unlikely Frozen fan, as you can hear in this report: