Disney’s Frozen

Can you believe it’s been four years already since the greatest grossing animated movie was released by Disney?

It was on television last night, and I just had to watch it again to see if it still packed the punch of a frozen slushball.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about it:

Frozen is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 53rd Disney animated feature film. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen”, the film tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on a journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer, and a naïve snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

Archetypes

The sisters are very different. Elsa is cool, almost frigid, in her approach to others. Anna is warm, emotionally open, and vulnerable to rejection.

When juxtaposed, they show the range of emotional response that all individuals have, although some are more prone to one or the other, but mostly a mix of both.

The rest of the characters are incidental to the story. The sisters are the heart and soul.

Warm vs Cold

I live in a town in Central Ontario, Canada. In Summer, the weather is hot; in Winter it’s cold. We get a great deal of variety because of those two extremes. The Spring is warm; the Autumn is cool.

But we wouldn’t have it any other way, because whatever the weather, we feel alive!

So, what has this to do with Frozen? It’s the extremes that show us what matters.

Fear vs Love

Elsa is the Snow Queen because she is afraid of her reactions. She wants to stay away from everyone in order to keep them safe.

Anna is full of love, especially for her estranged sister. In her world, everything will work out, no matter what the obstacles.

Conclusion

Children the world over were given a beautiful story in this film. And the reconciliation of the two sisters helps to tell us that love is stronger than fear.