A senior State Department official wants to spend tax dollars to use characters from Disney’s “Frozen” to teach school children about climate change.
“We’re continuing discussions with Disney,” Adm. Robert Papp, U.S. representative to the Arctic told an audience at the Brookings Institution Thursday. “It’s a very good company, and they put out a good product, and I’d like to have them help us raise awareness.”
Papp wants to use four of the movie’s characters in a public service announcement to teach climate change in the Arctic, which some scientists say is warming faster than the rest of the world, though that may be good news for Olaf, the summer-loving snowman from the movie.
Papp, who will chair the Arctic Council, an international forum, in April, wants to use the movie’s depiction of the polar region to exemplify the effects of global warming.
In addition to Olaf, the announcement would use Elsa, a princess with ice powers, her younger sister, Anna, and Sven the reindeer.
Even after news reports described a Disney executive’s hesitation, Papp continued to push the idea.
“As I continued to talk, I could see the executive getting more and more perplexed, and he said: ‘Admiral, you might not understand. Here at Disney, it’s in our culture to tell stories that project optimism and have happy endings.'”
The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported last September that the Antarctic’s sea ice covers the largest area since 1979.
The State Department did not respond immediately for comment.
