Weezer's Music Video for "Lost in the Woods" Is Peak Creepy-Man-at-a-Children's-Movie Energy
It makes me want to get up in the morning.
The Frozen 2 soundtrack features beloved acts such as Kacey Musgraves and Panic! at the Disco, but Weezer's version of "Lost in the Woods" is an unholy force of 80s power ballads and 90s nostalgia.
An icon of 90s alt rock, Weezer is emblematic of nerd rock for many millennials, but to the upcoming Generation Alpha (those born from 2010-2024) they may become Disney stars. In Weezer's music video, frontman River Cuomo re-enacts, scene for scene, Kristoff (Jonathan Graff)'s performance of the 80s-inspired power ballad (including Kristen Bell dressed in full Anna gear!). Frozen's Academy Award-winning songwriters, Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, say they took inspiration from Bryan Adams and their youth so they could tackle the big emotional questions addressed in the song (questioning whether or not an established relationship is still right for you) while also having fun.
Above all, seeing Cuomo, 49, and bandmates (ages 48 to 54 years old) standing in a knock-off Enchanted Forest in an homage to the most popular children's movie in the world is hilariously cringey. I want to watch this video first thing in the morning when I'm questioning why anyone bothers to get dressed and leave the house, while I'm on the train surrounded by screaming children and two businessmen aggressively bantering over my head, and after work while I'm too tired to believe there will be a future, and so maybe I won't have to do it all again tomorrow. Maybe it's the earnest yearning of the song matched by Cuomo's lost eyes. Maybe it's the purple backlighting on the sound stage. Maybe it's Frozen 2's not so hidden messaging about climate change and the fact that climate crisis is imminent.
We're all lost in the woods, motherf*ckers–and we're all creepy people wearing adult costumes, stalking around the wilderness, looking for connection that isn't there.