Frozen: A Movie that Melts Fear

Photo: Timo Newton-Syms CC: BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

I figured Frozen would be just another Disney princess movie. Light and funny and with the prince and princess coming together and singing their way to romance at the end.

Was I ever wrong!

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, it's a very different kind of love story, that of two sisters, one frozen by fear from a childhood accident and the terror of nearly killing her sister.

Right now, my own sister is battling cancer and the two of us are terrified of losing each other. And she is afraid of losing her life.

As children we, like Anna and Elsa were best friends and playmates. Separated by 1300 miles, and both of us with busy lives, for a long time we didn't have "time" to call each other and check in. She was raising her daughters, and I was running several home businesses. It didn't help that my first husband did everything possible to alienate me from my family.

The diagnosis gave us reason to make time for each other. Where in years past there were times when a month might go by without us talking to each other, now we talk all the time. The other night I called her at 11 p.m. and stayed on the phone until three in the morning because she wanted to talk.

We know that every moment is precious. Whatever happens, we will not have wasted those.

An addition: Since this article was originally written, my sister has passed. Frozen was a huge help to me through the long and painful process.

The metaphor of Frozen is that ice equals fear. When Elsa nearly freezes her sister to death, she becomes terrified of her magical power to create ice and snow. She cripples herself, hiding away from those she cares about, and from the sister she holds most dear. But Anna won't allow that. She goes on a quest to find a way to understand and heal her sister.

With this movie, Disney has set a new standard of storytelling. All the characters are beautifully drawn, not just as cartoons, though those are gorgeous too. But as real people with living, beating, loving hearts and foibles and pain. Even the sidekicks, as one reviewer pointed out, are "not annoying," and what they do makes sense. Sven and Olaf are now my favorite Disney sidekicks ever.

Nor is this movie overloaded with gratuitous breaking into song. Oh, certainly there's a lot of singing, but unlike many of these movies it doesn't feel gratuitous. If anything, every time they break into song it feels natural and expected. The outpouring of full and sometimes fearful hearts. And the ending -- which I won't spoil for you -- was not what I expected at all, even well near the end.

The battle against cancer is not only a fight of the body, but one against fear itself. This movie helped me look at those fears and move through them. I'm certain that there will be more days of both hope and terror in the future. But I won't let myself be frozen by the scary parts.

Let it Go from Frozen. If this song doesn't inspire you and melt your heart, then you may i fact be frozen.

The trailer made me cry all over again. Now I'm going to have to watch this movie for a second time in less than 24 hours.

The quote that sums up the movie, "Some people are worth melting for."