Frozen is about much more than a magical snow queen who accidentally puts the kingdom into a deep freeze. It’s about two sisters whose relationship grows cold. As a younger sibling myself, I can relate.
Growing up, Princesses Elsa and Anna are best friends until Elsa’s powers injure her little sister. Elsa shuts Anna out of her life in fear that she could hurt her again.
Okay, their story isn’t exactly relatable – not too many of us have dangerous uncontrollable magical powers to worry about and, as the singer Lorde puts it, “We’ll never be royals.” But, an older sibling shutting out the younger “pesky” one? That hits home.
Recently, Frozen director Chris Buck conducted the first-ever “Sister Summit” for Disney Animation employees and their siblings to discuss the roller-coaster ride that is being a family.
“It was funny because with the Sister Summit we thought we’ve got to have all these questions, you know, about stuff,” Buck says, “and then one woman started talking and we realized we didn’t need any questions. It was just whirrrrr, everyone shared all their experiences.”
Soon, those with brothers had just as much to say. Frozen writer-codirector Jennifer Lee (whose sis put in her two cents at the Summit) says Elsa and Anna’s complicated relationship will resonate with siblings and even those who have a friend so close they might as well be family.
“You can understand how messy it can be, and yet, you still try. Or you make choices that are bad, and then, at the end of the day, you find a way to come together.”
Besides Frozen, here are three movies to see with your family:
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. As Katniss and Peeta must fight in the arena for a second time, the movie gets more into Katniss’ head than the first, showing that one can’t just snap out of the trauma of taking another’s life. For kids who are at least in sixth grade.
Free Birds. Time-traveling turkeys travel back to the first Thanksgiving. Seriously, if you’re going to see this animated film, now is the time.
Thor: The Dark World. Interestingly, Thor 2 explores a similar idea as Frozen: how do you know when to trust a destructive sibling? However, Thor has a much higher body count.
Find out what kids think about these movies at KidsPickFlicks.com, where all kids are movie critics.
