Norse and pagan background in Frozen 2
I have just watched the movie (a bit late, I know) and i couldnât help but notice all the references to the scandinavian myths and culture. Almost everyone knows by now that Disney took inspiration from Snow Queen fairy tale, so obviously the movie had to have some references to its cultural roots. However, I felt like the first installment lacked some representation. I mean, except for the fjords surrounding Arendelle, the clothing, the trolls and some younger futhark runes that appeared for like half a frame, thereâs not really that much elements. The movie looked like, dare I say, your generic classic tale about some European princess that happens to live in the cold. I like to think that Disney is aware of that and they decided to dive deep into the norse setting of the story in the sequel.
The major force that drives the plot forward is the voice that calls for Elsa throughout the movie and in the song Into the Unknown. The concept of that voice is based on the âkulningâ practice, which is a traditional herding call used by scandinavian farmers to call for livestock from the top of the pastures. Kulning has a deep cultural and musical importance, as it has inspired the famous norwegian composer Edvard Grieg to write some of his classical compositions.
Now letâs talk about the spirits. The most iconic one for me was the water one, and itâs based on shapeshifting water spirits from germanic mythology. In their scandinavian rendition, they have many names, and can be called nĂžkk, nĂ€cken or nĂ€kki. Being shapeshifters, they could take on many forms, and when they transformed into animals, the most common form was of a brook horse, called bĂ€ckahĂ€st or bĂŠkhest. The horses would appear near rivers during foggy weather, and would try to drown anyone who tried riding on them, but they could be harnessed if the rider had the ability to do so. This is exactly what Elsa does! Fun fact: the modern name of the nĂžkk comes from the old norse word nykr, which means âriver horseâ.
And then we have the earth giants, which are an obvious reference to the well known Jötnar! In norse myths, giants come in all sizes and types, and Frozen 2 decided to go for the ones who are in fact giant, and bound to the earth element instead of fire and ice. Giants in norse lore are known for being very intelligent and wise, so apparently the movie decided to take another route and resort to the âstone man who canât talkâ trope. Anyway, itâs an interesting design, and I loved their role in the story. It was really rewarding seeing Anna come that far and sacrificing everything for the sake of her people.
And of course, we have the cute salamander that was totally not made to increase the profit from plushies selling. Jokes aside, salamanders and lizards are said to be fire elementals in traditional witchcraft beliefs, and they also happen to be part of norse mythology in the form of serpents and dragons, like the famous NĂĂ°höggr, the Midgard serpent Jörmungandr and the former dwarf turned dragon FĂĄfnir.
Thereâs also the air spirit, which probably was inspired by the sylphs, air elementals that also come from traditional witchcraft beliefs.
I liked Frozen 2 way more than the first one, and the more darker and mature themes, along with all the cultural and mythological references were the main reason. You can see the producers really put their hearts on that movie, and every little aspect of it was very well thought so it could have a solid background and was able to fit well into the narrative. While the first movie was about coming to terms with who you really are, the sequel is about accepting change. Just like the world is bound to be reborn after the Ragnarök, our fate also is to change. Anna and Elsa embrace it, and even though it may seem bad at first, they do it because itâs necessary.
My headcanon is that Frozen 2 is an obvious allegory of the impeding doom of the Ragnarök (Arendelleâs destruction by the flood) and the rebirth of the world after it (the kingdom being ruled by Anna and Kristoff), and I really find that beautiful.
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