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Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Frozen' Princesses And Character Deaths

NPR
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First of all: WOW. We did our live show at NPR HQ this week, and it was wonderful, and all of you who attended made a fantastic audience. You'll be hearing the live show in two segments over the holidays while we take a rest, but in the meantime, we've got a brand-new show to roll out.

Our first topic is the Disney film Frozen, which raises some of the same princess questions as Wreck-It Ralph, but in different ways. Glen has an unusual spin, let's say, on the movie's best-received song, and the guys in general find themselves a bit underwhelmed by the story. I, on the other hand, tell them they are emphatically wrong. Trey also makes a sloth reference that you should know if you don't already.

We also take the occasion of the death(ish) of a character on Family Guy to talk about character deaths, whether they arise from unexpected off-screen events or a decision to change direction. Now, BE WARNED, there are some old shows — including Buffy and Star Trek: TNG and MASH — where we discuss significant character deaths, because it's the only way to do the segment. But we stayed away from new stuff.

As always, we close the show with what's making us happy this week. Stephen cites his kids' wish lists (totally pop culture!) before citing a recent Deadspin piece you should definitely read as long as you enjoy swears. Trey mentions the comedy stylings of a favorite actress, and he also has a lot to say about squirrel trivia. Glen very much enjoyed a movie that didn't sound like it was made for him. I very much enjoyed a trailer that came before Frozen, and I also shouted out our new merch, which isn't online yet but is available for sale in the shop in the lobby at NPR HQ — which now includes glasses and shakers in addition to the awesomely soft shirts. [WAIT JUST KIDDING LATE UPDATE: The shirts are online. Yaaaay! And our pint glasses too!]

Find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter: me, Stephen, Glen, Trey, producer Lauren Migaki, and our esteemed producer emeritus and music director, Mike Katzif.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour. She began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture, and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living room space to DVD sets of The Wire, and never looked back.