State Department official wants to use Frozen to teach kids about climate change
Admiral Robert Papp, the U.S. special representative to the Arctic, said this week that he wants Frozen to teach the American public about the Arctic and climate change.
Papp told an audience at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Norway that he met with a Disney executive to discuss using Frozen characters to raise awareness for the Arctic. He suggested making PSAs about climate change, starring Frozen characters Anna and Elsa, about the Arctic's disappearing ice.
"I said, you've taught an entire generation about the Arctic," Papp said he told the Disney executive. "Unfortunately, the Arctic that you've taught them about is a fantasy kingdom in Norway where everything is nice. What we really need to do is educate the American youth about the plight of the polar bear, about the thawing tundra, about Alaskan villages that run the risk of falling into the sea because of the lack of sea ice protecting their shores."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As for Disney's response to Papp's proposal? The executive apparently said to him, "Admiral, you might not understand: Here at Disney, it's in our culture to tell stories that project optimism and have happy endings."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
2024: the year of extreme hurricanes
In the Spotlight An eagle eye at a deadly hurricane season
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Chocolate is the latest climate change victim, but scientists may have solutions
Under the radar Making the sweet treat sustainable
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cyclone
Speed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How would reaching net zero change our lives?
Today's Big Question Climate target could bring many benefits but global heating would continue
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinks
Speed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 ends
Speed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What are Trump's plans for the climate?
Today's big question Trump's America may be a lot less green
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The bacterial consequences of hurricanes
Under the radar Floodwaters are microbial hotbeds
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published