Next up on Christian parallels in the movies is Frozen. So, if you are a parent or grandparent from this decade, you probably have this movie memorized. Let me start by saying, up until this year I was proud of the fact that I hadn’t seen it. My boys were young when it came out in 2013 (my oldest girl was only a few months old). Now, my girls are 6, 5, and 3. I finally caved and watched the movie with them. My thoughts- It’s adorable! I’m not real sure why I boycotted the movie. Maybe it was due to all the hype and love around it. Now I understand the hype though. We have a Disney movie that finally shows true love is not necessarily romantic love.
The movie opens with young princesses Anna and Elsa playing happily in the snow. They seem to be good friends and enjoying each other. We also learn Elsa had ice powers that she does not know how to control. While playing, she accidently freezes her sister, Anna.
After getting advice from the trolls, Anna’s memories of her sister’s powers are erased. Elsa is given a new motto to control her powers, “Conceal it. Don’t feel it.” And the gates around the palace are locked so no one can get in or out.
What a perfect picture of how we treat our problems. Conceal it. Don’t feel it. And don’t let anyone in.
The result of this newfound lifestyle- loneliness.
Elsa is desperately trying to fix her own problems but doesn’t want anyone to know about her powers. She refuses help. She isolates herself from everyone, including her sister.
Anna is restless. She doesn’t understand why everyone has to be shut out. She has no idea why she and her sister have drifted apart. She longs for something more. And she thinks that something more will be found in “the one.”
So, she falls for the first man to give her any sign of affection.
Honestly, these are the two most common coping mechanisms I see people using in our fallen world. Look to self or look to others- specially a romantic other. Our hearts long for control. Our hearts long for love. We look for it in all the wrong places.
At Elsa’s coronation ceremony, the gates are finally opened, and Anna is eagerly awaiting social interaction. Anna ends up “falling in love” with Prince Hans, and they decide to get married. At first, he seems like a good guy. Even as the movie progresses, he seems like a good guy. He does a good job taking care of the country while Anna and Elsa are away, seemingly wanting to do things for the best interest of Anna.
Oh wait! I jumped ahead. Why are Anna and Elsa away?
Well, Anna and Hans tell Elsa the good news that they are getting married. And Elsa says, “You can’t marry a man you just met.” She refuses to bless their relationship and tries to walk away… isolate herself again. But her sister desperately wants a bond with her, and she really wants Elsa to also be part of her future. So, Anna confronts her sister and accidently takes off her glove. Well, she knew she had taken off the glove, she just didn’t realize it was a big deal.
Elsa’s powers are exposed. She shoots a freeze beam at her sister. Then she freezes all the kingdom and runs off to a castle she builds out of ice.
Anna can’t let her go. She has to follow her. And she has to get Elsa to unfreeze summer.
Anna decides to chase after Elsa up the mountain. Hans insists he is going too. But Anna asks him to care for the Kingdom. He does an excellent job taking care of the people in their frozen state. But we soon find out he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He doesn’t really care about Anna or Elsa. He is the youngest prince of 12 brothers who has no shot at getting the throne, so he is conspiring to get it through Arendale.
Anyways, back to the story. Anna is trying to get up the mountain, but she has no idea what she is doing. She meets Kristoff, who reluctantly agrees to help her. However, they are attacked by wolves which destroys Kristoff’s sled. Anna promises to replace his sled. So the two continue on foot up the mountain with Kristoff’s reindeer, Sven.
Then they meet Olaf. Olaf is a snowman that Anna and Elsa made as children. As Anna realizes that Elsa made Olaf again, she is filled with hope that her sister can fix this winter problem. Olaf, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven continue their journey to the top of the mountain to reach Elsa.
Meanwhile, Anna’s horse returns to Arendale and Hans decides to take a group of men to save her.
Anna and Kristoff finally arrive at Elsa’s ice castle. When Elsa learns that she has sent Arendale into a perpetual winter, she freaks out and reveals she can’t control her powers. She ends up using her powers to push her sister away. She creates a huge monster called Marshmallow.
Well, Elsa ends up blasting her sister and freezing her heart.
Kristoff, realizing what has happened, takes her to the trolls. The trolls have taken Kristoff and Sven in and raised them as family. However, they soon learn that Anna’s heart has been frozen and only an act of true love can save her.
Well obviously, this must mean she needs to get to Hans. He needs to kiss her. True love… right?
Well, Kristoff takes Anna to Arendale, trusting that this is what she needs. Truthfully- my human heart believes this should be considered an act of true love. Kristoff has developed a bond with Anna, and he cares for her. You can clearly see the hope of a romance between the two of them. Yet, he takes her to Hans not knowing if he will ever see her again. He loves her enough to let her go, because he is fully convinced this is for her best interest.
Well… I already told you how this turns out. Hans doesn’t love Anna is willing to let her die so he can be the hero.
But she doesn’t die. Once she realizes Han’s true colors, Olaf reveals that Kristoff loves her. She must get to Kristoff.
Well, she is on her way to get to Kristoff… literally freezing to death.
Hans convinces everyone that Anna is dead because of Elsa. He then goes to tell Elsa this news and kill her, but Anna jumps in front of the sword as she completely freezes over.
As Elsa cries at the death of her sister, Anna begins to melt. Anna sacrificing herself for her sister is an act of true love.
Suddenly Elsa realizes the way to control her power is love.
Christian Parallels
“Conceal it. Don’t feel it.” This was the motto Elsa lived by to try to protect people from her powers. But as she lived in this motto, she distanced herself from everyone, including the very person who would teach her how to control it- her sister.
We do the same thing. We sin. We fall short. We try to hide it. Sweep it under the rug. Pretend like it didn’t happen. But by doing this, we are isolating ourselves from everyone- including God.
Elsa couldn’t learn to control those powers until she learned to love. Sadly, the harder she tried to do it on her own, the worse she failed.
We can never be good enough. God doesn’t ask us to. He sent His Son to be the perfect lamb. The spotless lamb. The one who would sacrifice His life for us.
True love is sacrificial love. John 15: 12-13. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
That is what I love about this movie. True love wasn’t found in a romantic kiss. It wasn’t even found in the blossoming romance between Anna and Kristoff. It was found when Anna laid down her life for her sister.
We too often look for love in relationships. We expect our romantic partner to fulfill us. But guess what? It can’t!
Anna was looking for someone to show her true love to save her, but showing true love to another is what saved her.
Romantic love is selfish. We expect the other person to show us love, complete us,and give us purpose. We forget that we are equally as responsible at showing unconditional, true love. We forget, because of our sin nature. It has corrupted everything good.
True love is selfless.
We cannot truly grasp the concept of true love because we are sinful humans living in a fallen world. Even though I love my husband and children very much, I still show them flawed love.
The concept of unconditional love seems like a fairy tale. But it’s a true tale. A tale that has been embedded in our hearts. We were designed by a loving creator for a relationship with Him. That is what our hearts long for.
But man fell. Sin entered the world. Everything is corrupt. We buy into the mottos like conceal it, don’t feel it. Keep the walls up and people out.
Yet the answer is in our brokenness. How much different would the movie had been, if Elsa confided in Anna all along? “Protecting” Anna harmed Elsa much more than it helped Anna. She would never be able to learn that love controls the power without someone to love.
The bottom line- We cannot do it alone. We weren’t designed to. We were meant to. We need each other!
It’s a lie the enemy has been using since the beginning of time. Hide your sins. Look back at the beginning- Adam and Eve tried to hide and cover up there disobedience. One of the many results of their sin, was separation from God.
But God! Rich in mercy came to save us while we were still sinners. He knew our nature He knew we would mess up. But He still loved us so much that He sent His Son to save us!
The answer to all our problems is love. True love. Sacrificial love. The love that comes from a Good Father and His Son.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”