Finding the Voice of a Greater Power- Frozen II synopsis

Guest Blog Post By: Mary York

Disney studios has done it again. Frozen II is a cinematic delight that enchants all ages, and I know this because I took myself to see it at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night last week.

Snuggling up in the very back row of a completely empty theater, armed with chocolate and filled with anticipation, I was ready to watch two of my all-time favorite Disney princesses hit the screen again.

When we last left Anna and Elsa, they were saving each other and the kingdom of Arendelle, discovering Elsa’s powers and learning all about love, sacrifice, forgiveness and redemption.

With such strong themes – and such a magical setting – I had high hopes that this second installment of the story would be equally wholesome.

The movie itself is surreal, with breathtaking scenes, enthralling artistry and gorgeous music. Olaf is a continuous delight, Kristoff is an admirable supporting character, Elsa and Anna seem to have grown closer than ever and both the jokes and the tearful moments come in an endless stream.

However, the climax of the movie left a lot to be desired.

Throughout the course of the story, Kristoff, Anna and Elsa all confess that their individual relationships are a crucial part of how they center themselves. Kristoff calls Anna his “only landmark” and his path, that without her he is “lost in woods” – and all this singing while riding a herd of reindeer!

Anna refers to Elsa as the only star that guided her. She asks, “How to rise from the floor when it’s not you I’m rising for?”

And Elsa, as she rushes toward her destiny, chasing a voice she has heard calling her throughout the movie, sings, “Are you the one I've been looking for all of my life...are you the way?”

It is in this beautiful song – a song which I related to lyric for lyric until the end – that the movie takes a disappointing turn.

“All my life I've been torn

But I'm here for a reason

Could it be the reason I was born

I've always been so different

Normal rules did not apply

Is this the day

Are you the way

I finally find out why”

As a woman who recognizes that her life does not quite fit into a mold – do any of ours, really? – I felt this so deeply. As Elsa ran toward the voice that was calling her to find the being that would have the answers for her, that would explain her purpose and her reason, I raced with her. I could feel myself sliding through the halls of the glacial palace with her because I have raced through my own, running toward the voice of my Creator, hoping that he’ll have the answers I need so desperately, knowing that he will be able to fill me up with hope and strength and purpose.

But when Elsa gets to the center of the glacier, begging the voice to show itself, to find this person she says she has always sensed, “Like a friend I've always known,” it turns out that it is herself. She is the spirit. She is what she’s been looking for.

I literally felt my heart sink as I sat in that theater. How sad. How terrifying to seek out wisdom beyond your own only to find out that there is none. That would be like waking up one morning and finding out that you are God, but you still have your finite mind and limited knowledge, and now there is no divine being to guide you. You’re it, kid.

Like humanity for the entire course of history, beginning with Adam and Eve, Disney made the fatal mistake of claiming that we are gods. In their rush to show that Elsa has some great inner power and that we too can be strong like her, they strip her power of a source.

Aside from the logical fallacy of this development, it does something else tragic as well. If there is no greater power, no source that created us for a purpose, that has a plan for our lives and can bless us with both heartache and blessings, no foundation to build upon when the world around us shakes, then we must look for a foundation in weaker things.

Kristoff’s is Anna, who disappears and disappoints him. Anna’s is Elsa who abandons her and who is subject to failure and death. Elsa’s turns out to be herself, and yet she is still unable to save herself in the final moments of the climax.

How much better to have a source of power and comfort, a guide and stay that is unchangeable? One that will not leave nor forsake us, that will not disappoint us? One that is truly a source of all wisdom and knowledge and reveals it to us in his own infallible timing?

Don’t get me wrong, Frozen II is still a great movie and I plan to watch again, and again, and again. But I’m glad I’m not living in that story. I am glad I am in God’s story. I am glad that my strength has a source greater than anything I could ever conjure on my own.

Mary York is an award-winning San Diego-based journalist and writer. As one in a family of seven children, she is a firm believer in family values and the thoughtful critique of prevailing social commentary. She is currently finishing up her senior year with a Spanish major, linguistics minor at SDSU. She also loves adventure and tacos.