People have been asking me to explore this movie for two months now and thanks to a busy schedule and a new baby, I only got to watch it this past weekend. People said it was really good, but I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially with that goofy snowman in the trailers. I am happy to say, they were all right. This is a beautiful film. Though my feelings for Olaf haven’t changed much. I’m happy to see Disney is back in the game with a line of successful, and good, animated films in a row (Tangled, Wreck it Ralph and this).
The story opens in Arendelle, a kingdom with two princesses, Elsa, the older and Anna, the younger. Elsa was born with an unusual ability. She can cause things to freeze and make ice and snow. When she accidentally freezes Anna’s head, the troll leader puts a spell on Anna so that she can no longer remember that Elsa has this ability and then recommends that they keep Elsa hidden from the world, lest her powers bring down the whole kingdom.
Though this isn’t quite the same thing, we were born with something that has made it so that we are hidden away from holy things. We are born with sin, because we are under the Fall. Though Elsa’s ability is called a curse, it has some redeeming qualities. Sin on the other hand is all bad. But the parallel is, we were born with it, and because of it, our lives are cursed, just like Elsa’s.
When it’s time for Elsa to become queen of the Kingdom, her curse is revealed to everyone, and she runs away, but not before freezing everything in Arendelle. Anna chased after her, all the way to the North Mountain. There, Elsa tells her to leave her alone, and in the argument, blasts Anna in the heart with her power. We learn that this blast is a fatal blow, slowly leading to Anna’s death.
When we look at humanity, we see a similar story. Our sin causes us to run away from God. But God, in His love will always chase us down. Christ left Heaven’s comfort to find us, and searched us out to Skull Mountain (Golgotha). Where we, like Elsa said we didn’t want to go with Him, and struck a fatal blow at the Cross.
Even though her sister had caused her death, Anna still loved Elsa. The love that she had for her sister was so strong that, when the choice came down to saving herself with a kiss from Kristoff, or saving her sister from the sword of Hans, Anna saved Elsa.
We know that Jesus had a choice. He said that He was the one laying down His life, because no one could take it from Him. When Jesus died on the Cross, it was Him choosing to give up His life so that we could be saved.
Of course, Anna was restored to life in a similar way that Jesus was (though the nature of resurrection and revivification are quite different). Elsa’s learns from Anna’s sacrifice that the key to controlling her abilities is love. Love keeps her coldness in check. As for our sin, we know that love covers a multitude of sins. That love is Christ’s love; the love that would not leave us alone on a mountain, but pursues us to the point of death, without giving up.
Discussion Questions:
- Elsa was born with what the chief troll called a curse, the ability to create coldness, ice and snow. How is this both a bad thing and a good thing for her? We were all born with a curse, too. Our curse is called sin, and there’s nothing good about it. It is our bad nature, and it keeps us away from God. (Psalm 51:5, Habakkuk 1:13)
- Because of her curse, Elsa runs away to the North Mountain, but Anna leaves Arendelle and chases after her, knowing it will be a dangerous and painful journey. We have all run away from God, but because He loves us, Jesus came to find us. He left the comfort of Heaven, and the presence of His Father to come to Earth for us. (Philippians 2:5-7)
- When Anna reaches Elsa, she doesn’t want to return to Arendelle. She even blasts Anna’s heart with an icy frost that will eventually kill her. In a similar way, humanity did not want Jesus to bring us back to God. We are the cause of His death at the Cross. Every person who has lived is responsible for Christ’s death. But just as Anna still loved Elsa, Jesus still loved us. (Isaiah 53:5)
- In Anna’s final moment, she had a chance to be saved. She could kiss Kristoff and live, but she saw that Elsa was about to be killed by Hans with a sword. Anna gives up her chance at life to save her sister’s life. Jesus didn’t have to die on the Cross. He told his Disciples that he could stop people from killing him by calling angels to his rescue, but He knew that if he saved his life, we would all remain cursed with sin. (Matthew 26:53, John 10:17-18)
- Elsa learns that the key to controlling her ability is love. Love keeps the cold from taking her over. Love is what keeps our sin in check. The Bible says that love covers a whole lot of sins. Anna’s great love for her sister reminds us of Jesus’ great love for us. (1 Peter 4:8, 1 John 4:19)