Frozen “Frozen Heart” (2013)

Of all the ways I thought Frozen would begin, I didn’t expect it to be with a group of ice harvesters hauling up huge blocks of ice. However, in retrospect, this opening absolutely works because it lays out the major themes of the film before we’ve even met any of the main characters (sure we do see young Kristoff and Sven but we don’t know who they are yet).

In “Frozen Heart,” the harvesters are sawing away on top of a frozen lake and singing about the dangers of a frozen heart:

Born of cold and winter air
And mountain rain combining
This icy force both foul and fair
Has a frozen heart worth mining

So cut through the heart, cold and clear
Strike for love and strike for fear
See the beauty, sharp and sheer
Split the ice apart!
And break the frozen heart

Hyup! Ho! Watch your step! Let it go!
Hyup! Ho! Watch your step! Let it go!

Beautiful!
Powerful!
Dangerous!
Cold!

Ice has a magic, can’t be controlled
Stronger than one! Stronger than ten!
Stronger than a hundred men!

Hyup!

Born of cold and winter air
And mountain rain combining!
This icy force both foul and fair
Has a frozen heart worth mining

Cut through the heart, cold and clear
Strike for love and strike for fear
There’s beauty and there’s danger here
Split the ice apart!
Beware the frozen heart…

It’s immediately clear that this song is referring to Elsa and her ice powers, which are both beautiful and dangerous. The power of ice is stronger than a hundred men and should be feared. However, looking back after the film, some of the lines can also be interpreted as referring to Hans, who most definitely has a “frozen heart” given how he used Anna and left her to die in an attempt to usurp Arendelle’s throne for himself.

While listening to this song, something about it felt familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. Then I learned that “Frozen Heart” is a tribute to Dumbo’s “Song of the Roustabouts” and it all made sense: the heavy cadence, the rhythmic singing, both songs are performed the same way (albeit with wildly different subject matter). Also, like the song in Dumbo, “Frozen Heart” is performed in the evening, with low light. This really is the kind of musical performance that sucks you right into the story.

“Frozen Heart” is a great prologue/introduction to the film and is the first of several great songs in Frozen. Let me know what you think of “Frozen Heart” in the comments below and have a great day!