--- description: Apparently Disney didn't go for it title: Official Wants 'Frozen' to Teach Kids About Climate Change image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45367b335a7b77c7/69877a82e53abad79c4d718d/frozen-concept-art-17.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Environment](/tag/environment/) ## Environment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Official Wants _Frozen_ to Teach Kids About Climate Change  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 23, 2015 7:57 PM CUT  Arendelle ArendelleDisney  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 23, 2015 7:57 PM CUT The U.S. special representative to the Arctic said this week that he told a Disney executive educators should use _Frozen_ to teach kids about climate change—but the idea didn’t go over so well. Admiral Robert Papp told an audience at this week’s Arctic Frontiers conference that after realizing his granddaughters were obsessed with _Frozen,_ he approached Disney executives about making PSAs about climate change starring Anna and Elsa to raise awareness about the disappearing ice. “I said you’ve taught an entire generation about the Arctic,” Papp [said he told the executive](https://mediasite.uit.no/Mediasite/Play/9dfa14f3c278432cb5020a761920ef901d "undefined"). “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.” Papp said the executive was receptive, but skeptical. “‘Admiral you might not understand, here at Disney it’s in our culture to tell stories that project optimism and have happy endings,'” he told him. But who knows what’s in store for the rumored [_Frozen_ sequel](http://time.com/3611616/frozen-sequel-idina-menzel/ "undefined") that may or may-not be happening. \[h/t [_National Journal_](http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/state-department-official-wants-disney-s-frozen-to-teach-kids-about-climate-change-20150123 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3680495/frozen-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3680495/frozen-climate-change/"},"headline":"Official Wants Frozen to Teach Kids About Climate Change","datePublished":"2015-01-23T19:57:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:50:20.215Z","description":"Apparently Disney didn't go for it","url":"https://time.com/3680495/frozen-climate-change/","keywords":["Environment","climate change","global warming","Frozen","ICE","Elsa","arctic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45367b335a7b77c7/69877a82e53abad79c4d718d/frozen-concept-art-17.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45367b335a7b77c7/69877a82e53abad79c4d718d/frozen-concept-art-17.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FROZEN","caption":"FROZEN","creditText":"Disney","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3680495/frozen-climate-change/","name":"Official Wants Frozen to Teach Kids About Climate Change"}}]}] ```