Script To Screen: “Frozen”
A scene from the 2013 animated movie Frozen, screenplay by Jennifer Lee, inspired by the story “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen, story by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee & Shane Morris, additional story by Dean Wellins.
Plot Summary: Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna’s sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.
Here Elsa’s secret is exposed.
EXT. COURTYARD — NIGHT
Elsa bursts out of the castle door. The CITIZENS CHEER!
CROWD
There she is. Your Majesty! Long
live the Queen! Queen Elsa….
Come drink with us.
Elsa ducks through the crowd, holding her bare hand.
BOWING TOWNSMAN
Queen Elsa.
TOWNSWOMAN WITH BABY
Your Majesty? Are you all right?
Elsa backs away from the baby. She knocks into the fountain,
grabs its edge. The waters freeze at her touch.
GASPS of shock and fear sweep over the crowd. The Duke and
thugs come out the door.
DUKE
There she is! Stop her!
ELSA (to the Duke)
Please, just stay away from me.
Stay away!
Magic accidentally shoots from her hand and turns the staircase
into ice. The thugs and the Duke fall.
DUKE
Monster…. Monster!
The crowd panics. A snowstorm begins. Elsa flees. Anna runs out of
the palace doors, carrying the glove.
ANNA
Elsa!
Hans follows closely behind her.
GATES TO THE KINGDOM: Elsa runs out of the gates and down to the
water’s edge. The shoreline freezes under her feet.
Anna calls to her from the gates.
ANNA
Elsa! Wait, please!
Elsa glances back at Anna, but turns away. She tentatively steps out
onto the fjord. It freezes instantly. She breaks into a run, as the
water freezes over with each step.
ANNA
Elsa, stop!
Anna rushes out onto the fjord ice, slips, falls.
HANS
Anna!
Hans rushes to Anna’s side.
Elsa reaches the far shore. She doesn’t look back. She just scrambles into
the mountains.
ANNA
No.
HANS
(shocked)
Look…. The fjord.
The ice spreads out until the entire fjord is frozen,
locking the ships in place.
INT. CASTLE COURTYARD — NIGHT
Snow falls. Hans and Anna move through the panicking crowd.
CROWD WALLAH
Snow? It’s…snow…in July.
HANS
…Are you all right?
ANNA
(in shock)
No.
Nearby, the Duke flutters about in fright.
DUKE
Look! It’s snowing! It’s snowing!
The Queen has cursed this land! She
must be stopped!
(to his thugs)
You have to go after her.
Anna rushes up to the Duke.
ANNA
Wait, no!
The Duke hides behind his thugs and points out at Anna.
DUKE
You! Is there sorcery in you, too?
Are you a monster, too?
ANNA
No. No. I’m completely ordinary.
HANS
That’s right she is…
(realizing how that sounds)
…in the best way.
ANNA
…And my sister’s not a monster.
DUKE
She nearly killed me.
HANS
You slipped on ice.
DUKE
Her ice!
ANNA
It was an accident. She was scared.
She didn’t mean it. She didn’t mean
any of this…. Tonight was my fault.
I pushed her. So I’m the one that
needs to go after her.
DUKE
Yes. Fine. Do.
HANS
What?
ANNA
(to the Royal Handler)
Bring me my horse, please.
HANS
Anna, no. It’s too dangerous.
ANNA
Elsa’s not dangerous. I’ll bring
her back, and I’ll make this right.
The Royal Handler brings Anna her horse and a cloak.
HANS
I’m coming with you.
ANNA
No, I need you here to take care of
Arendelle.
He sees the desperation in her eyes.
HANS
…On my honor.
She throws on the cloak and hops right onto the horse,
coronation dress and all.
ANNA
(to the crowd)
I leave Prince Hans in charge!
HANS
(before letting her go)
Are you sure you can trust her? I don’t
want you getting hurt.
ANNA
She’s my sister; she would never
hurt me.
She snaps the reins and rides out. Hans watches after her.
The snow picks up and overtakes our view.
Here is the movie version of the scene:
This represents a major plot point. Notice how quickly the plot twist occurs: The revelation, then Anna’s choice. Also note how visual the scene is. Both are key to good cinema.
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
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