WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Disney's Frozen 2, in theaters now.
The final act of Avengers: Infinity War was one of pop culture's most shocking conclusions ever. When Thanos snapped away half the universe, petrified fans were left guessing as to which of their favorite heroes would be dusted away on-screen. It was one of the few movies in the history of cinema where the villain won, and the Russo brothers certainly made an emphatic statement with this twist ending.
Now, another Disney-owned property swipes from this finale, with Frozen 2's most traumatizing scene mimicking the death of Peter Parker in the hands of Tony Stark/Iron Man.
In Infinity War, many familiar heroes withered away into ash across the galaxy, but the losses on the planet Titan were by far the most shocking. The Guardians of the Galaxy were dusted, as was Doctor Strange, and though it took a while, a teenage Spider-Man endured the same fate. No one would believe someone who only appeared in two MCU movies before could be killed off "permanently," but still, seeing it happen was so jarring.
Peter tried to fight the dusting, collapsing into Tony's arms, clearly heartbroken he never got to experience a lot more in life. And, as Tony struggled to find words to comfort the teen, the webhead crumbled in one of the film's most emotional sequences. It wasn't about heroes or friends dying in this exchange, it was about a father watching his son perish.
Frozen 2 follows the same route when Elsa leaves the Enchanted Forest and travels across the Dark Sea to the mystical realm of Ahtohallan. There, the princess discovers the secret of how her grandad, King Runeard, plotted against the Northuldra people, all because he wanted to stop the spread of magic to his kingdom. As she goes further and further into the realm, though, Elsa's energy is drained because water here requires her life essence to form these memories. By the time she realizes her ancestor was the true villain of the story and her mother, Iduna, was the one who saved her dad from death in the ensuing battle between both kingdoms, Elsa's depleted.
Elsa sends word of what needs to be done through the Wind Spirit, Gale, to her sister Anna, just before she's frozen alive. As this happens, however, the snowman Elsa created, Olaf, becomes the franchise's Peter, as his existence is connected to Elsa's magical ice powers.
Without her connection, Olaf also loses his life essence, basically telling Anna he doesn't feel well, which while it isn't the same as Peter's "I don't feel so good, Mr. Stark" line verbatim, it has the same effect. Anna cradles Olaf and as his voice lowers, he begins turning into snowflakes and blowing away in the wing. It's a drawn-out sequence just like Tony and Peter's final moments, with Olaf also indicating he doesn't want to go.
What makes it just as tear-jerking is that, throughout the film, Olaf keeps reiterating he's so young and has yet to see the world, a perspective Peter also shared in the MCU up until the point of his own demise. Olaf actually has an existential crisis from minute one, wondering if he'll make the most of his life or even understand all it has to offer, so when he's flaking away in Anna's hands, he simply thinks he was never meant to be.
It's not closure or acceptance, it's simply him innocently admitting he didn't have any real destiny in the kingdom of Arendelle, after all. He -- just like Peter -- wants to stay, but with his last breath, he realizes the world is a cold, cruel place and sometimes things just don't go your way. It's a dark, cynical moment not often affiliated with Disney's brand of animated family movies on the whole, but hey, at least Frozen 2 kept it real..?
Disney's Frozen 2 reunites directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck and producer Del Vecho with voice actors Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad. Returning musical talents include Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.