Australian children’s author Scott Stuart, who wore a matching Elsa costume with his seven-year-old son, Colin, at Sydney’s recent ‘Frozen: The Musical’ premiere, has described the immense online support from strangers as “heartwarming” and “amazing”.
A TikTok video of Stuart describing his nerves before attending the December event went viral, getting more than two million views. The touching clip also showed him and Colin arriving at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in their matching blue dresses, an experience Stuart described as “the greatest time ever” despite his initial apprehension after “a lifetime of judgement to work through”.
“As we were walking to the theatre I was very ‘in my head’, thinking that everyone was looking at us, talking about us, and it was only when we got to the theatre and one of the ushers said really lovely things to us that I managed to get out of my head and become present,” Stuart told HuffPost Australia.
“And we had the greatest time ever. Everyone was super supportive of Colin in his dress and we got nothing but really positive comments all night.”
Colin first expressed his love for ‘Frozen’ character Elsa at age three before even watching the film.
“I don’t remember how he first saw her, but when he did he was instantly obsessed with her,” explained Stuart. “He started with an Elsa drink bottle, then an Elsa doll, and eventually Elsa costumes and dresses. He was always far more interested in Elsa than he was the movie.”
Last year Stuart and his wife joined their young son in dressing as the film’s protagonist for the ‘Frozen 2’ film premiere, but it wasn’t easy for the parents at first.
“When he first wanted to wear the dress, I honestly felt really uncomfortable. I was afraid of what people would think of him, and I was afraid of what people would think of us as his parents,” said Stuart.
Harry Styles’ posing on the cover of Vogue magazine in a dress, and said actor Billy Porter and stylist Deni Todorovic have also been strong role models for Colin.