A couple of months ago my family sat down at home and watched Disney’s new hit movie “Frozen.” It landed in stores not long ago in March and made a splash for its divergence from the standard prince-saves-princess romantic story line everyone has come to expect in Disney princess films. Nadia Ali writes in an interesting article at the Washington Post online “What Disney’s Frozen Can Teach Us About Mental Illness“:
I also love the updated themes of today’s Disney movie: The message of empowerment and the healing power of love for others. The focus on sibling love rather than romantic love. Unlike those in “Cinderella” and fairy tales, several characters in this movie actively advocate against getting engaged to someone you’ve just met. And finally, of course, the strength of the princess saving the day herself rather than waiting for a man to do it for her.
Many Christians are applauding the movie’s more realistic depiction of love and the serious attempt it makes to contribute to cultural moral discussions. There are also very obvious redemptive themes in the movie. Trevin Wax writes at TGC blogs:
It’s not hard to see the redemptive sketches in this movie. If you believe that love is more than just a feeling, that true love is expressed in self-sacrifice (which flows ultimately from Christ’s willingness to give His life for the world), and that true change can only take place through redemption not self-discovery, then you will find this movie delightful. More importantly, you will find ways to connect this movie’s theme to the gospel. We loved it.
For example, one song is titled “Fixer-Upper.” The idea of the song is that everyone has flaws and love is the only real medicine that can change them:
Everyone’s a bit of a fixer upper
That’s what it’s all about
Father, sister, brother
We need each other
To raise us up and round us out
Everyone’s a bit of a fixer upper
But when push comes to shove
The only fixer upper fixer
That can fix a fixer upper is
True
True
True
True
Love
But even more stunning for me is the picture of just how deep our depravity as humans goes and our utter powerlessness over it. Elsa, the queen and older sister of Anna in the movie, has magical powers to freeze things. The problem is that she cannot control these powers; and the more intensely she feels emotion, the more violently and destructively they are unleashed–even on those she loves most. In effort to deal with her problems she isolates herself in the middle of nowhere, builds and ice castle, and tries to convince herself that everything is okay. The theme song of the movie, “Let it go” is sung by Elsa in the movie right in the midst of her vain attempts to deal with her uncontrollable problems:
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
This is truly a picture of our fallen, sinful nature which we are all born into. Our sins are so deep, and such a part of our core being that there is no human device which can shake them loose, in fact, most often our attempts only deepen the hurt for ourselves and those closest to us. It is only when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ that true and lasting healing can take place. Just as the song above, “Fixer Upper” suggests, only love, God’s love can truly fix us up.
