Admiral Robert Papp Frozen
As U.S. special representative to the Arctic, Papp 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.”
And what was 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.” Meghan DeMaria