Frozen (the Disney movie)

So, yes, I too have been swept up in the wave of Disney's Frozen fans. And before I start I want to warn you that this paper will be stuffed with spoilers so, beware.

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Q: What can we learn from a movie with a queen, her sister, a comical snowman, an ice delivery man and a reindeer?

A: A lot. There's probably even more then the points I'm going to mention.

We're going to jump to different parts in the movies so, bear with me; but first, let's introduce the main characters:

~ Elsa, princess/queen of Arendelle, possesses special powers over winter elements.
~ Anna, princess of Arendelle, younger sister to Elsa. (Anna pronounced 'Onna' since they're in Norway.)
~ Hans, prince of the Southern Isles (Hans pronounced so that it rhymes with 'lawns')
~ Kristoff, an ice deliveryman.
~ Sven, Kristoff's best friend, a carrot-loving reindeer.
~ Olaf, a snowman who's eagerly awaiting summer.
~ Grand Pabbie, the troll king.

As said, or sung, in The Sound Of Music, "Let's start at the beginning, a very go place to start." How true.

So, the film starts with men getting ice from a frozen lake. While working, they sing a song titled "Frozen heart" where they sing about how ice is powerful and dangerous. They also warn us to beware the frozen heart.

Now we switch settings and we arrive at the palace where Anna is wide awake and she gets Elsa to accompany her down stairs to the throne room. (At least I think it might be the throne room.) There Elsa uses her powers to create an indoor winter wonderland, which include a snowman named Olaf who likes warm hugs. They both have a blast until Elsa starts making "tickle bumps" for Anna. Anna jumps from one to the next one. She's going too fast. Elsa warns her to stop but Anna is having too much fun. Elsa slips and Anna, unaware of her sister, keeps going. In an attempt to save Anna, Elsa sends a stream of ice/snow towards her sister but ends up hitting Anna in the forehead. Elsa runs to Anna. This is how Anna gets a white streak of hair ( kind of hard to explain). Something I noticed in this part of the movie, was when Elsa starts crying over Anna, the ice on the floor, which had been swirled with beautiful patterns, gradually turns into a boring, white color all over. I wonder if this is symbolic. But in what way?

The family then flees to the trolls where Grand Pabbie takes the ice out of Anna's head and changes Anna's memories so that she no longer remembers that her sister has powers. Grand P then tells warns Elsa of her gift and how fear will be her enemy. Now, at this point, something kind of weird happens. Maybe the king and queen weren't listening or maybe it's because Grand P is just a bit vague and doesn't stop the king and queen from their plan to keep Elsa safe, which they say right in front of him. Either way, Elsa is locked into her own room, the number of servants is reduced and all of Elsa's contact, besides her mom and dad, is cut off. This was obviously not the thing to do. This only makes Elsa more scared of herself. They also come up with a saying, "Conceal don't feel." I think this saying, along with every other change, reduces Elsa's confidence. Personally if it happened to me, I think I'd feel like a threat. Maybe I'd even run away because being locked up really doesn't help boost moral.

Moving on and changing subject; let's talk about Hans. Hans is an interesting character. He seems like a great, supportive, loving, caring sort of guy but he ends up being the guy whose real intention is to make Arendelle his own. He's got this idea in his head because he has twelve older brothers so he won't be able to be king of his own kingdom. So, he had to marry in somewhere. Anyhow, this kind of winds in with not marrying someone you've only known for a day (or a couple days) or a couple hours. (The only other movie that I've seen/noticed that they've talked about not marrying at love at first sight is Enchanted.) A scene in the movie explains this in a funnier way:
Kristoff: "What's his [Hans's] last name?"
Anna: "Of the Southern Isles"
Kristoff "What's his favorite food?"
Anna: "Sandwiches"
Kristoff: "Best friend's name?"
Anna: "Probably John."
Kristoff: "Eye color?"
Anna: "Dreamy."
Kristoff: "Foot size?"
Anna: "Foot size doesn't matter."
Kristoff: "Have you have a meal with him yet? What if you hate the way he eats? What if you hate the way he picks his nose?"
Anna: "Picks his nose?"
Kristoff: "And eats it."
Anna: "Excuse me, sir, he is a prince."
Kristoff: "All men do it. "
Anna: "Ew. Ah, look it doesn't matter, it's true love."
Kristoff: "It doesn't sound like true love."

Skipping around; there's a song that the trolls sing entitled, "Fixer Upper." It's really a very cute song, there's just one part that I disagree with. There's also a part that I do agree with. So, one of the lines says, "We're not saying you can change him, 'cuz people don't really change." That I do not agree with. People can change. That doesn't mean that they'll wake up one morning a different person but you can start changing in little ways and ultimately become a changed being. The line that I do agree with says, "We're just saying that love is a force that's powerful and strange." I don't know if it's strange exactly but it is powerful.

Elsa thinks that by running away she'll be free. I've heard/read this many times but the only place I can remember it in is in Gregor the Overlander: The Curse of the Warmbloods. Gregor's grandma says that even if you run away, whatever it is you're running away from will follow you.

Olaf is the loveable, huggable, summer loving snowman and comic relief. One of my favorite Olaf lines says, "Some people are worth melting for." This is said during a part of the movie where Olaf is talking to Anna in front of a fireplace. Anna warns Olaf that he'll melt but Olaf replies that "some people are worth melting for."

Something else I noticed was that both Frozen and Tangled were about two girls who were locked up and confined and found a way out.
There are many other things that I could list that stood out to me but I don't want to bore anyone or spoil it for those of you who might not have seen it yet.

Lord of the Rings

Just really quick, if you haven't seen or read The Lord of the Rings then some of this, especially when I refer to characters, won't make sense. (And I'm going by the plot in the movie because I haven't read the books...yet.)
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So, I watched Lord of the Rings The Two Towers a little while ago and I was really struck by Gollum.
Now, we all know Gollum as the possessed, evil, mad character; but there's a scene in The Two Towers where Gollum is fighting with himself. And it just really got to me that Gollum had a good side, he was just so possessed by his dark side. And then he changes, he becomes Smeagol, an actually loveable character.
It seems that Frodo looked past the overpowering Gollum and saw the terrified, lonely, abused Smeagol. If this can't teach us about judgment and seeing people's potential even when they can't see it for themselves, then I don't know what can.
Although Gollum ends up winning in the end, this just goes to show what a little trust and care can do. Frodo saw who Gollum/Smeagol could become. As it says in 1 Samuel 16:7 "the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf said that the "topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it! It’s that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters. I don’t know exactly how to articulate this point of not judging others with sufficient eloquence, passion, and persuasion to make it stick. I can quote scripture, I can try to expound doctrine, and I will even quote a bumper sticker I recently saw. It was attached to the back of a car whose driver appeared to be a little rough around the edges, but the words on the sticker taught an insightful lesson. It read, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.”"1

Isn't that great? If you find yourself judging someone else, stop it! 

Everyone has been judgmental but that doesn't mean we can't stop. We should stop. We need to stop.

Judging is a form of bullying, but we won't get into that topic because that's for another time.

This is also a great movie that can teach us about miscommunication.
When Faramir tricks Frodo into admitting that Gollum/Smeagol is his companion and Faramir captures Gollum/Smealgol, Gollum starts questioning Smeagol about Frodo's loyalty because they believe he tricked them.

In The Return of the King, Smeagol still seems to be doubting himself for a little while. And, again, even though it was a facade, Frodo refused to believe that Smeagol was in the wrong. This says a lot about how deep Frodo's trust in Smeagol was; which is why Smeagol's betrayal in the end is so terrible.

We all tend to be like Sam, we doubt and we see the outside appearance. (Sam is one of my favorite characters so don't get me wrong here.) We tend to judge and compare. And judging and comparing is normal, natural human behavior, we just have to make sure that it doesn't blind us of the things that are important.
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1 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-merciful-obtain-mercy?lang=eng

Answer it

"Answer what?"
That's probably what you're thinking.
The call. That's the answer. Answer the call.
Q: Are you the one in your household who answers the phone most often? Do you practically bound toward the phone? What if someone was calling you on the most important mission, or, for some, missions, of your life? Would you answer?
Q: Have you ever heard of the Hero Cycle? If you haven't, the Hero Cycle is the cycle of a hero's journey. It goes something like this:



This is the Hero Cycle. The basis of almost any book.
We're each all called to our own journey. In fact, some people can find where they are on the chart in life. I can't do that, I mean I could but...anyway, this is the route of the hero (or heroine).


1) Ordinary World - Whenever you start a book or a series, you meet the hero dealing with or living their normal life. We get a taste for their lifestyle and likes/dislikes.
2) Call to Adventure - Next, the soon-to-be hero is called to adventure or in other words, they receive their call.
3) Refusal of the Call - This is the part where the hero refuses to go or accept their role. Example: Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit; Bilbo had no desire whatsoever to leave his comfortable life in the shire.
4) Meeting the Mentor - Examples: Luke Skywalker and Yoda, Harry Potter and Dumbledore, Bilbo and Gandalf, Percy Jackson and Chiron, etc.
5) Crossing the Threshold - Where the journey begins.
6) Tests, Allies and Enemies - All stories need these things to make a successful and realistic story.
7) Approach - Where the setbacks are introduced.
8) Ordeal, Death and Rebirth -
9) Reward, Seizing the Sword -
10) The Road Back
11) Resurrection -
12) Return with Elixir - The afterwards/the journey home.

So, as you can see I tried to explain all the steps in the hero cycle. ...Yeah, not the best. But then again, the names of each step aren't very  clear. Anyway, I found a great PDF on the Hero Cycle as it applies to Finding Nemo.1 It's pretty good.

Everyone has their own story. Everyone has and can get their own 'happily ever after' as you might say. 
Also, your call could be a super big thing or it could be small things. And really, you've probably already gotten numerous calls; whether or not you answered, that's a different matter.

Quick recap, everyone has their own journey and everyone goes through the Hero Cycle; like I said, you're probably in one of the stages right now. And always remember, you and everyone else can have a 'happily ever after.'
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P.S. The Hero Cycle diagram I used was one of the simplest ones I could find; there are loads more, some with additional stages.

 1 http://www.fornstrom.tjcomputermagnet.com/Lessons/SWE2/FindingNemoStages.pdf

A great article to read about our stories and "happily ever afters" is Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk, Your Happily Ever After. (In his address he's talking pacifically to young women but it applies to everyone.)