Frozen re watch notes | Analysis
Cover created by me
Since Frozen 3 is official, I thought I'd re-watch Frozen, Frozen Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Frozen Fever and Frozen 2, all in order in terms of canon. All the things that may not seem right I'll put the pieces together for you. An example being Frozen 2's highly controversial ending.
Warning - This is a long post given the notes from the main canon movies and things story wise, so do read in your own time if not now :)
Frozen II - the beginning:
• If you didn't know already, the flashback in Frozen 2 featuring young Elsa and Anna takes place the night before the incident in Frozen. They go to bed after a bedtime story from Agnarr and a lullaby from Iduna, but Anna gets up very early in the Morning while it's still dark and builds a snowman with Elsa. Just before Agnarr tells him about the story, Anna whispers to Elsa, “Let's make a big snowman later.”
• Most of you would probably know this by now, but I'm just going to say it anyways, Elsa making a fairy queen on a horse foreshadows herself in 12 years time, when she becomes the fifth spirit and rides in the Nøkk, but also to the title we, the fans know her as, the Snow Queen (which I hope the title will be actually be given to her or said in Frozen 3).
• The monster in the play scene is another foreshadow to Marshmallow, the giant snowman monster Elsa created in Frozen.
• The scene Elsa and Anna play with their snow figures, “The lost fairies cry out.. They wake the fairy queen who breaks the spell and saves everyone!”, also slightly foreshadow the events of Frozen 2 with the other spirits ("the lost fairies") crying out and causing Elsa to become the fifth spirit (or as young Elsa refers to as the “fairy queen”), saving everyone from her kingdom.
• (Young) Anna after says “... And they all get married!”, which is a foreshadow to Frozen 2 and possibly Frozen 3. After saving the forest and being reunited, Kristoff finally proposes to Anna. Their wedding, which is a must, will be in Frozen 3. Elsa could also find a love interest (which I prefer as Hans) and perhaps gets married in the same movie.
• Hate to break it to you guys but the story telling scene was the original family's last happy, normal moment together.
Frozen:
• The chant/ song at the very beginning of Frozen and when Elsa thaws Arendelle from the eternal winter, is actually from Northuldra as we see the Northuldrinas sing it in Frozen 2. Seeing Frozen after Frozen 2 is actually so cool!
• Kristoff was originally with mountain men, and from there we assumed his father is one too. But as he gets adopted by the trolls soon, it's unlikely Kristoff would just abandon his father for Trolls. But though it makes total sense for his father to be a mountain man, it could be that his father died while he was around Anna's age while his mother died sooner so he thought to stick with those he's familiar with, the mountain men, his father's friends. But the trolls adopted him and took care of him since the incident.
• This is the first time that the royal family has met the trolls. With how Grand Pabbie was asking if she was born or cursed and how Agnarr got out a book in the Trolls before visiting them, it seems it's the first interaction. That means Elsa, Anna and Kristoff and Sven have known the Trolls for the same amount of time.
• As we know that Elsa gets her powers and the spirits get their magical form from Ahotohallan, being the source of all magic, I wonder if the trolls are aware about Ahotohallan or even got their magic from there too.
• The line Pabbie uses to warn Elsa of the extent of her powers, “Fear will be your enemy”, is used as a lyric in another solo, 'Monster', for Elsa in the Broadway adaptation of Frozen. Elsa references the trolls as she sings “ "Fear will be your enemy and death its consequence", that's what they once said to me and it's starting to make sense”. It's such an amazing song to show Elsa's fear of her powers.
• Though the trolls erased the incident turning it into fun memories from Anna's mind, it was Agnarr who decided to keep Elsa from the outside world. But this was for her one benefit thinking she would be more able to focus on controlling her powers and not cause anymore accidents. Though I will agree that the isolation may have gotten to her making her want to be alone but that's solely so she herself can focus on controlling her powers and avoid hurting others unintentionally or even the very least, making them fear her.
• To Anna it seems Elsa hid away suddenly. Anna only remembers the happy memories they've shared. She doesn't remember the incident or her powers. And also because her parents are focused on Elsa, it gets Anna to make her own ways in life which is why she's so naive and wants to marry Hans the day they met.
• "Do you want to build a snowman?" shows Elsa and Anna being separated for 9 years. Another 3 years later, making it 12 years since the incident, their coronation is their reunion (not reconciliation).
• Now we know that Iduna and Agnarr actually crossed the dark sea and not the southern sea to go to Ahotohallan in search for answers to Elsa's powers, not knowing the risks it would bring to them.
• Moments before their death Iduna confesses that she was the one who saved her when they were younger. Their parents had closures from the mysteries in the life that were unsolved excluding that of Elsa's powers. Which is both heartwarming and heart breaking.
• Why didn't the Nøkk save them? I don't think Nøkk knew who they were parents too or even recognized Iduna. Besides, after the most sealed Northuldra, the spirits went quiet or you could say in hibernation. When Elsa hears the voice and ends up waking them up, that's when they go wild. Elsa had the power to tame and bond with him. Though Iduna had the bond with him and the other spirits, they were aware of her and weren't aware of what was going on anywhere. It could've been that actually the Nøkk did try though but all he managed to do was to bring their bodies to Arendelle so they could be buried, otherwise they would've have been missing.
• I'm not going into detail here about How Hans isn't faking the good side. @a13thprincefora13thprincess has such an incredible mind blowing analysis of it pinned on her blog profile! But what I will say is that let's remember that before "Let it go", Dela was going to be the villain and Hans was just another protagonist. It was after the song that Disney swapped the roles. So the point is he definitely wasn't faking the good act.
• The bishop knows about Elsa's powers. All the palace staff do too and they have worked at the castle for many years and since the gate closed no one has gone in or out of the castle so no one can retire or gain new staff. And the way he tells Elsa about the gloves and the way he looks at the sceptre and the orb then back at Elsa further proves he knows.
• I never really put this to mind but Elsa has been seen by Arendelle before when she was younger along with Anna, but they didn't tell the people about her powers. They kept that private way before the incident happened. Perhaps Agnarr and Iduna feared the people's reaction just like Elsa does.
• From what we know about Hans from other media around the franchise, we learn his brothers and father abuse him and look done on him because he's the youngest and last in line to the throne hence to them useless. So coming to Arendelle seeking room for love, room to fit in somewhere. Anna putting him in charge is his moment to prove to the citizens that he can treat them well. Then once he's king he can show the men in his family that he's capable of respect.
• Elsa didn't want to become Queen yet because the pressures of her powers are enough for her to focus on and control. Ruling a kingdom makes it 10 x harder for her to control herself.
• All Elsa thought she needed was to be alone so she can embrace her powers and learn to control it. That way she won't fear hurting anyone. That was her main motive behind being alone in her room and in the North mountain after the death of their parents. Elsa was just doing what she thought her father would want her to do.
• Kristoff saw Elsa's let it go sequence! He tells her yes to when she asks did it seem magical! And in the sledge he asks Anna what made the Queen go all ice crazy. These little things I didn't even notice the first plenty full of times we watched it!
• The way Kristoff says to Anna, “You almost set me on fire!”, and Anna replies “But I didn't”, a sweet hilarious parallel would be Elsa saying, “You almost killed me!”, and Hans replies “But I didn't.”
• Seeing how the horse ran back to Hans gets him believing that Anna's in danger when actually the horse is scared from falling snow (lol). And so Hans could've in theory let Anna hang in trouble and Elsa leave her kingdom but what does he do? He goes after Anna to save her.
• When Anna knocks on Elsa's ice palace door, it immediately opens making it a first to Anna. That's because the palace is built and acts on Elsa's subconscious. Elsa has longed to open the door but her powers and her trauma wouldn't allow her to do so but now learning it controls them, she has the freedom to do so.
• Elsa living in the North and Anna in Arendelle was a foreshadow in itself for their status after Frozen 2.
• I want another troll song in Frozen 3. They deserve more screen time, more story
• Okay so some might say Hans was indirectly trying to kill her moving the arrow upwards to hit the chandelier. But naturally that would be someone's quick act to save Elsa. You won't have time to think. Hans did specifically tell those two Weselton guards not to attack the Queen. Not because he wanted to kill himself. He just came here to talk and reason with her.
• But the key and most precious thing to notice after this scene is that in the dungeon while Elsa is unconscious, a blanket is put over her. Why would anyone put a blanket on the Queen of snow and ice and to one who froze her own kingdom? The Weselton guards definitely didn't put it on her. Doubt they Arendellian guards would either. Hans however would. Why would he do that? Well it's his act of kindness that even though she appears cold, inside lies warmth and I guess that's what he's trying to bring back by asking her to restore Arendelle's summer.
• Everyone thinks Elsa is capable of bringing back summer believing she has control over it but they don't know that Elsa doesn't and can't which gets Hans eventually seeing that death is the only way to save the lives of the innocent. Hans tried to reason with her talking to her twice but upon hearing Elsa hurt Anna when she told him she wouldn't and seeing her ability to break out of the chains got him to that ultimate decision which cost him the reputation and respect he was planning for.
• The Duke of Weselton doesn't believe Elsa can control it or doesn't think if anything really he just immediately judges her calling her a monster and having the first thought of killing her and he puts it more into Hans mind to kill her. So really the Duke is the real villain of Frozen.
• Hans marked Anna's words “She's my sister, she'd never hurt me”. He knows first hand what brothers love is like but he thought sisters were different. Seeing that it's not, surprises him but enrages him on the inside too.
• Hans takes those words personally, “If anything happens to the Princess, you are all Arendelle has left”. He goes into thinking mode and sighs seconds before Anna enters. From looking after the people, to looking for Anna, to reasoning twice with Elsa, to keeping the responsibility of just being in charge (thrown or no throne) all piles up for Hans.
• The moment he refuses the kiss and says his no sense original plan, he is thinking Anna deserves to die because she was the one who caused this mess in the first place (as Anna herself admitted when she left to search for Elsa), and he takes that as an opportunity to further prove his loyalty to the Kingdom and being in the spotlight.
• Or what if Hans refused the kiss fearing that Anna would not want to marry him anymore seeing the kiss not working not being her true love and knowing she was going to die anyways meaning his plan on being the king and making respect for himself would fail. Elsa is different to Anna and much more difficult to love.
• As the in the song "fixer upper", it says “People make bad choice if they're mad or scared or stressed", Hans is an example of this. He was stressed and user pressure which led to him doing bad things. Don't we often make mistakes feeling mad or scared or stressed?
• I don't know if you noticed or if it's just me but when Hans says death upon saying he has to sentence Elsa to death, his voice cracked. Proof enough he does not wish to be doing so and feels he has no choice.
• Elsa loves Arendelle. Yes I know she ran away from her home but that doesn't mean she doesn't love it. She ran away fearing the worst for it but stayed confronting the best for it - love. That's why she was able to thaw Arendelle.
• When Hans gets back in the boat, Elsa looks at him in a neutral way and when she sees Kristoff and Anna's reaction to them she seems confused. It just confirms that Anna was the one who told Elsa about Hans bad deeds and made her despise him.
Olaf's Frozen Adventure:
• This is their first Christmas together so it's 5 months after the events of Frozen. Not too long.
• "Ring in the season Season" has lyrics “It's the first Christmas in forever since we opened up the gates and it's the first Christmas I remember to date and it's already worth the wait”, which is a nod to Elsa and Anna's parts in "For the first time in forever" in Frozen.
• 5 months isn't too long so the trauma still hits Elsa which is why she feels guilty of stripping away Anna's many years of what could have been amazing memories. You could say this reflects Elsa's stages of closure from all of what has happened. This is her guilt stage. At times there will be acceptance.
• Olaf being the tradition is so cute! It's perfect. It's genius!
• As much as there are more scenes with Anna and Olaf then with Elsa and Olaf, in the franchise so far, in this short you can clearly see the mother son bond Elsa and Olaf have. It's so precious and I wish to see more of it in Frozen 3.
Frozen Fever:
• Now a month under a year since the events of Frozen and 6 months since their first Christmas. Elsa here hits the final stages of her grief from the years of being behind a locked door, going lengths to rectify it/ making it up and acceptance.
• I love how Elsa uses her magic to put colour and puffiness on Anna's dress and I really really hope she does it for her wedding dress!
• Anna's growth of love from assuming love happens within hours to learning it happens over a certain amount of time, such a year or so.
• And the big giant snowball that flies across the sea to the Southern Isles? Confidence? I think NOT! I'll explain soon.
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World of Frozen Disney Park Storyline:
• With the recently announced World of Frozen announcement at Disney Parks, we have gotten to know what went down after Frozen Fever and before Frozen 2 thanks to a snippet of a newspaper in the promo videos. It states that it is set a year after the events of Frozen and a month after Frozen Fever and so to celebrate Anna's sacrifice/ act of true love, Elsa and Anna call this Summer Snow Day. For this event, Elsa decided to call the Southern Isles to reconcile with them with trading and stuff. They sisters had no clue about the giant snowball reaching the Southern Isles until rumours were in that it caused Hans some injuries. So I guess you could say the sisters took advantage of Hans not being able to come to make amends with the Isle. I guess this is what gives Elsa the idea to make fun of Hans every time he is mentioned or seen.
Frozen II - The present:
• It has now been 15 years since the incident that had them separated, 6 years since their parents death and 3 years since they reunited and reconciled.
• After the 3 year leap to the coronation in Frozen, a woman tells her son, “The Queen has come of age”. This means much more when you watch Frozen 2. 21 is the youngest legal age to be crowned. 3 years later now, Anna is Queen. Is it really a coincidence that Anna was going to be Queen so soon (excluding the whole it's the writers decision excuse) ? In - universe, it's fate. That's why Elsa hasn't heard the voice before. If Elsa went through what she did, then Elsa would have to leave the throne in order to protect and provide Northuldra after its freedom is restored. Anna isn't old enough to be crowned yet. That would lead to others trying to get the crown while it's available.
• The phrase the next right thing didn't actually come from Mattias which inspires Anna but actually Grand Pabbie who says it first. I don't know why I didn't notice that.
• Again even though at the end of all, she lives in the forest, Elsa still deeply cares about Arendelle and not just for Anna. When Pabbie shows her the images of Arendelle in chaos, she takes a step closer and has fear in her eyes. So upon seeing this she urged to go to the forest to fix things.
• As Olaf says the enchanted forest is a place of transformation. It makes Kristoff a prince in waiting or a king consort rather, Anna a Queen, Elsa the fifth spirit, Sven a royal reindeer (?) and Olaf literally gets reborn.
• Grand Pabbie's advice to Anna gets Anna to be more sensitive about how Elsa is, making sure she's okay all the time. Elsa however, wants Anna to be safe fearing the consequences of her journey into the unknown.
• Originally the “That's my sister” line from the Frozen trailer was going to be in the movie but it got cut, but because it was so iconic they included it in the sequel.
• I think that Ryader and Honeymaren act as best friends for Elsa, Anna and Kristoff. We all know why Kristoff and Ryder get along. Honeymaren and Elsa share the knowledge seeking and sharing skills and Anna probably too.
• I love Kristoff's ballad and if Hans returns redeemed in Frozen 3 and I would love for him to have one too.
• People who say Kristoff was treated horribly in Frozen 2, chasing after love but I have to disagree. It would have been a problem if we didn't know much about Kristoff and who is without love, but we do as seen in Frozen. He loves Anna and is crazy to marry her and I don't blame him if he is seizing the moment to marry her because the same way the sisters worry for each other as they fear the unknown, the same way Kristoff does. Being after love isn't bad at all. He bonded with a Northuldrian who loves reindeers as much as him so that's also something.
• I love how Elsa steps in the middle of the four spirits symbol and it creates her Fifth Spirit symbol. Love it!
• Elsa saving Arendelle from the flood is so big for herself and for the people of Arendelle. Again when she regained consciousness, she went straight to Arendelle and saved it from the flood. If you look at it in a way, she did all this for Arendelle. She loves Arendelle. It's her home no matter where else she stays or goes.
• And grand Pabbie gives her a little nod. I love the roles madly and their bond with Frohana. I want to see more of it in Frozen 3!
• I have a theory that just like they marked the day Elsa thawed Arendelle/ Anna saved Elsa, Arendelle and Northuldra this time will mark the day Anna broke the damn and Elsa prevented the flood. Definitely big moments in history
• While Anna becomes Queen of Arendelle and Elsa lives in the Enchanted Forest, it's Anna who saves Northuldra, Elsa who saves Arendelle, symbolising their Arendellian and Northuldran background.
• Another similarity between both sides is that Northuldra and Arendelle both have magical beings. Arendelle has the Trolls and Northuldra has the spirits.
• Ever since day 1, Elsa has been focusing on two primary things to her, the mystery behind and growth of her powers and family or Anna specifically. This is most likely why Elsa hasn't been seen falling in love with anyone yet and why she didn't want to be Queen. Sometimes you need yourself to grow to that certain level, then love finds its way to you. Now that Anna's safe with Kristoff and she knows who she is, love might come to her in Frozen 3 if theories are to become real.
• Frozen focused in and about Arendelle while Frozen 2 was set in and about Northuldra. Perhaps Frozen 3 balances the two themes or goes somewhere else.
And that's that! All the things that went through my mind during the rewatch! I'll re-post these when I do a podcast re listen and Frozen 3 rewatch when they're out.
I have so many theories about Hans and I did promise posts on him - so don't worry they're coming!
