It’s been more than two years since Frozen hit theaters, but mania for the Disney film is still sky-high; retailers are refusing to let Frozen-themed products go, as it were. There is still much cash to be wrung from the parents of children who refuse to travel via any means but their Disney Frozen Safe Start 3 Wheel Electric Scooter, or sleep anywhere but their Playhut Disney Frozen Castle Play Tent, or make snow cones with anything else but their Olaf-Shaped Snow Cone Maker — all of which are very real products available at Toys R Us, along with 430 other Frozen-related items, should you be masochistic enough to run out and buy them for your offspring.
Over in the UK, though, where lines are a bit blurrier and children a bit drunker, retailers have taken Frozen fandom a step too far. According to The Sun, a discount store called Home Bargains is selling a Frozen-themed item that has enraged and offended parents country-wide: Disney Frozen Non-Alcoholic Party Drink (6 x 750 ML). A “delicious sparkling white grape fruit drink,” the Non-Alcoholic Party Drink looks suspiciously like a tiny bottle of Champagne, replete with a poppable cork and illustrations of the clearly wasted cast of Frozen.
The drink’s very existence presumes that children, surrounded by belligerently drunk adults at all times, are often left feeling alienated, wishing that they, too, could forget themselves with the help of a glass or five. “Little princes and princesses across the land who want to be more sophisticated can now have a grown-up alternative to juice and pop at parties…perfect at birthdays, family events, BBQs or after a long day building snowmen with Olaf,” reads the product description.”With a champagne style cork pop, your little one is sure to feel part of every celebration.”
It’s finally your turn to take a load off, kids of the UK. It’s been a rough day, what with your snowman-building and those strained family BBQs you’ve been attending, sipping flat pop, for each of the 10 years of your life. If only your parents weren’t being so uncool about it: The Sun writes that “furious campaigners” who believe the Champagne-style drink will tempt youngsters into trying alcohol have forced Disney and Home Bargains to pull the bottle from the shelves.
The “furious campaigners” include Dr. Sarah Jarvis, medical advisor to charity Drinkaware and total buzzkill, who told the outlet, “Selling products which not only normalise but glamorise alcohol could increase the risk of young people wanting to experiment with alcohol. Young people’s brains may be more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than those of adults, even at levels within the recommended limits for adults.” Alison Douglas, the chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland who doesn’t think kids deserve to relax, added: “Young children should not be targeted with champagne-style drinks to make them feel ‘sophisticated and grown-up.’ Our children are already growing up surrounded by positive messages about drinking and this Disney product just adds to the perception that drinking is normal and risk-free.”
And though Home Bargains’ valiantly tried to defend the rights of UK kids to sip fizzy grape juice that reminds them of their moms getting sauced — “The Frozen party drink is clearly labelled as a non-alcoholic soft drink,” said operations director Joe Morris — Disney has made the decision to halt production of the drink. Via a Disney spokesperson: “We have recently been made aware of the Vitpress Disney Frozen Non-Alcoholic Party Drink, a licensed product that originates in Poland. As we set very high standards for the quality of products bearing the Disney name and characters, we have informed the manufacturer that we will no longer license Disney images to a product that is packaged to look like alcohol. We can also confirm that this particular product will no longer be produced from April 2016. We have also put in place additional procedures to ensure this does not happen again.”
Sorry, kids.
