The Arendelle Castle Yule Log on Disney Plus
Need a little Holiday Spirit but don’t have a fireplace of your own? Not to worry! You can share one with Anna, Elsa, Hans, and Olaf. Just head on over to Disney Plus and search for the Arendelle Castle Yule Log. Spoiler Alert! Here is what you get:
You’ll be transported right into the room in the castle where our favorite characters often gather for Family Game Night. You can see the addition of presents on the right side of the hearth and a beautifully blue glowing tree on the left. Perhaps it is an enchanted ice creation of Elsa’s. Five stockings are carefully hung, presumably Elsa’s, Anna’s, Sven’s, Kristoff’s, and Olaf’s. Wait, do snowmen wear stockings? For three straight hours you and your family can cozy up in front of this roaring cartoon fire complete with crackling sound effects. That is all. So….
What Would Juliana Do?
I really do love all things Frozen, but I have to admit, I was disappointed. Here are my issues:
The fire is so tiny. I get that it matches the actual Arendelle fireplace, and I very much respect that. But this is the Arendelle Castle Yule Log. It’s supposed to glow on my television and fill the room with faux warmth. While I appreciate the adorable holiday touches surrounding the hearth, I think the fire itself should be just a little bit bigger. They didn’t have to make the whole fireplace any bigger, but the fire could at least fill the whole fireplace.
Where is the Disney touch? I do love the touch of the enchanted ice Christmas tree on the table to left of the hearth. At least I think that’s what that is. But I want more details. More nods to the entire Frozen franchise. Which stockings are whose, for example? Maybe some carrots stuffed into one could denote Sven’s. Or some chocolate in Anna’s. There are beautiful details including the Arendelle crest and a sweet wooden reindeer on the mantle, but I want something more like an Easter Egg….or a Candy Cane if you will, to keep with the Winter Holiday theme. Maybe I am missing something? Can you see any in the photo above? Let me know in the comments.
There is no music. None at all. A fireplace is lovely, but nothing gets us into the Winter Holiday spirit like music. I understand. Perhaps Disney wanted to keep it non-specific. Perhaps there are copyright issues. I would have settled for the joyful music to which Anna dances with the Duke of Wesselton, or even festive violin instrumental versions of the original score.
Nothing Happens. I mean nothing. I watched (okay, fast forwarded) through the entire three hours hoping that something besides a crackling fire would appear. Nothing. No enchanted snowfall in the snowglobe. No voices celebrating in a nearby room. No Olaf dancing across the hearth. Nothing.
Now, I understand that this is just a Yule Log and not a feature film, and therefore surely carried a much smaller budget of both time and money. But this is the Arendelle Castle Yule Log. And I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. So what would Juliana do? If it were up to me, I would at the very least have filled the fireplace with the fire. And the rest of it would have been nice too.
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