The Snow Queen versus Disney’s Frozen: The Book Versus The Movie

Introduction and Overview:

Before beginning to teach The Snow Queen alongside Disney’s Frozen, read these notes and overview. This will give you a clear understanding of the movie Frozen based on the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. This Introduction to Homeschooling with Disney’s Frozen Movie is designed to give you a clear understanding of the differences between the movie and the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale entitled The Snow Queen. Furthermore, this is designed to be used with Elements of Fun Learning Curriculum found here! Additionally, I answer the question: The Snow Queen versus Disney’s Frozen – the book or the movie – which is better?

• The fairytale was published in 1844 by Hans Christian Andersen
• There are a few of the same elements in the book and the movie
• Disney took a story and once again turned it into a classic that is loved by old and young alike
• Although both involve the frozen tundra, there are huge differences in the navigation of that landscape.
• It is important to note, that Andersen’s story has been repeatedly reprinted in storybook editions with wonderful illustrations.
• While both storylines involve trolls, the use of those trolls is so different.
• Of course, frozen hearts appear in both versions
• Both are set in a similar region of the world
• True love thaws a frozen heart in both versions

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SNOW QUEEN VERSUS DISNEY’S FROZEN:

First off there are huge differences between the movie and the story. Some of the obvious differences are as follows:

In the Hans Christian Andersen story:

• There are seven short stories that make up The Snow Queen
• In the first story, the devil made a looking glass that didn’t reflect good and magnified evil.
• The devil – evil troll runs a troll school
• The evil troll takes his troll pupils around the world distorting everyone and everything.
• Finally, he flies up to heaven to try to take the mirror to the angels, but the mirror falls to the earth and broke into millions of tiny pieces.
• Then, these pieces flew into people’s eyes and hearts. It would distort vision and would cause hearts to become frozen.
• In the second story, there are two little children who are neighbors. Kay is a young boy and Gerda is a young girl.
• White snow bees are like snowflakes, and Kay’s old grandmother points them out to the kids. She tells them that the Snow Queen rules over them.
• A key element is that Kay and Gerda love roses and love each other. Furthermore, roses play an important part of the storyline.
• Kay is struck by a piece of the mirror in his eye and heart. This causes him to become mean and destroy things.
• The Snow Queen takes Kay to her castle. She kisses him to make him forget Gerda.

As the Snow Queen continues there are plenty of plot twists

• In story three, Gerda is heartbroken and thinks Kay is dead.
• She goes looking for Kay and finds out he is still alive. She goes on a long journey to find him.
• We begin and end story number four with Gerda continuing to look for Kay.
• In story number five, Gerda meets a reindeer who agrees to take her to the North Pole to the Snow Queen’s palace.
• In story six, Gerda meets a woman from Lapland and a woman from Finland. She eventually gets to the Snow Queen’s palace.
• Finally, Gerda arrives at the Snow Queen’s frozen palace in story seven.
• Gerda comes in and finds Kay. She cries and causes Kay to cry. The splinter of glass floats out of his eye. He recognizes her, and they eventually leave.
• Finally, the story ends with a grown Kay and Gerda back home, and grandmother is reading Matthew 18:3. This is a quiet and calm ending.

In the Disney movie:

• First, the story is set in the 1800s.
• Arendelle is the name of the fictitious Norwegian land.
• The King and Queen have two daughters, Elsa and three years later, Anna
• Elsa has super magical powers of controlling ice and snow.
• Elsa accidentally freezes her sister’s head when they are young.
• The king and queen rush Anna to the trolls where Anna is restored. They are told that if it had touched her heart, they would not be able to do anything. Additionally, her memory of the event and her sister’s powers are erased.
• The king seals the castle off to protect Elsa and Anna.
• Elsa hides in her room, refusing to play with her sister.
• The King and Queen are lost at sea and presumed dead.
• Three years later, Elsa’s coronation day arrives.
• Anna is excited to finally meet people after being locked behind the gates of the castle most of her life.
• When Anna meets Hans, a visiting prince from far off, they immediately become engaged.
• This causes Elsa to become angry with her sister and accidentally exposes her powers. The townspeople are scared and Elsa runs away causing everywhere she walks to become engulfed in a frozen wintery existence.
• Anna goes after her sister, leaving Hans to rule the kingdom.
• Anna meets Sven and Kristoff who help her reach the snow castle that Elsa is living in.
• Elsa wants to be left alone and accidentally hits Anna with snowy frost. The only thing that can save Anna is true love.
• Kristoff rushes Anna back to the castle so Hans can kiss her and save her life. However, Hans is evil and does not save Anna. But leads the townspeople to believe that he and Anna were married before she died.
• Anna saves Elsa right before she turns to ice completely. It is this act of true love that thaws a frozen heart.
• Finally, the town celebrates the restored kingdom. This occurs with much fanfare.

GENERAL NOTES About Disney’s Frozen

The Walt Disney movie was released in 2013. It was an instant hit, and parents soon grew tired of hearing Let It Go over and over. This caused endless parodies to pop up. One of the more famous hilarious parodies was performed by a Cincinnati Traffic Reporter. 

Additionally, Disney realized the extent of “Frozen Fever” and changed rides and attractions to incorporate more of Frozen into the theme park. Frozen 2 is being released in November 2019, but there have been 

Frozen Movie Review:

First up, Disney’s movie was originally released in November 2013.  It is a musical starring Kristen Bell who plays Anna, Princess of Arendelle and Elsa’s younger sister. Idina Menzel played 21-year old Elsa, the frozen queen. Josh Gad played the funny and witty snowman that was a creation of Elsa and Anna when they were children. See above for the basic plot summary.

It is only loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Snow Queen. In fact, I believe the word “inspired by” is used. One of the areas that they deviate from is that there really is no male lead. Instead of having a male, Disney being strong on female empowerment has the females save themselves. They don’t need a man saving them! However, had they stuck to the original story of the Snow Queen, Elsa and Anna would have been saving Kristoff!

In this movie, the imagery is stunning. The frozen castle with the chandelier is amazing. Additionally, there are many, many funny moments. Olaf, the snowman is witty and cute. Kristoff and Sven are a great pair, and even the Duke of Wesseltown is an unforgettable character.

Potentially Objectionable Moments:

It seems to me that most parents would not object to Frozen, however, this movie is rated PG, and may scare some children. However, there may be some elements that are overwhelming for small children. For instance, there is a tremendous snow monster that may be a little scary. Some parents may have problems with the movie from a spiritual aspect – Elsa’s powers. Elsa is born with this ability, and we are not told exactly where they came from.

Additionally, Anna literally falls in love with the first man she meets! And that man turns out to be evil.  This can actually be a great teachable moment for children. Even if you think you love someone, it is probably wise to take some time to get to know them before you become engaged.

Yes, I would recommend Disney’s Frozen!

Keep in mind, that if I select a movie to use for teaching, there is definitely some merit in the movie. Disney’s Frozen is no different. While there are many teachable moments in this film, one of the moments that I found the most fascinating actually comes right at the beginning of the film and involves early ice cutters. 

Who did it better – The Snow Queen versus Disney’s Frozen – The Book or the Movie

My personal opinion: If I had to choose between The Snow Queen versus Disney’s Frozen, I would have to pick the movie. However, it is rare that I like a movie better than a book, but almost without fail, Disney hits it out of the park. Furthermore, while there are many movie and theater productions of The Snow Queen, Disney had the hit songs, the adorable characters, and the stunning graphics to thaw even the coldest heart!