FAQ

Princess Anna (voice of Kristen Bell), accompanied by the peasant Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff), his trusty reindeer Sven, and a snowman named Olaf (voice of Josh Gad), goes in search of her sister Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), who has secluded herself in an icy castle after her magical powers trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in an endless winter.

Frozen was inspired by a fairy tale, The Snow Queen, written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875). The story and screenplay were written by American film-makers Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, and Shane Morris, with Lee and Buck also directing. A sequel, Frozen II (2019), has been announced.

When Pabbie, the troll leader, asks the king whether Elsa was born with her powers or cursed, Agdar replies that she was born with her powers. This is all the information the film specifically provides about how Elsa got her powers. Jennifer Lee's explanation involves a child being born 1,000 years after a planetary alignment.

There are a couple possible reasons why Anna was confined to the castle once she was estranged from Elsa in order to keep her from getting hurt: One theory goes that Anna's parents refused to let her go out, because if she did, it's possible that she would start asking her parents why Elsa couldn't go out with her, leading to her parents having to come up with a reason to keep Elsa in, and it would seem more and more suspicious if Anna was always allowed to go out while Elsa wasn't. Another theory is that Anna wasn't allowed to leave so as to cut down on rumors. It wouldn't be out-of-character for Anna to make remarks about Elsa never leaving her room, or occasionally seeing servants dispose of furniture with water damage. Alternately, Anna wouldn't spill, but someone else would tell her a story about someone cursed with uncontrollable ice powers, and it would be eerily familiar, enough for her to connect some dots. Elsa and their parents were paranoid, they wouldn't want even a chance that people would start to figure out her secret. In fact, not letting Anna leave the castle would cut down on suspicion towards Elsa specifically. If Anna frequently left the castle and Elsa always stayed indoors, people might start asking questions, which would be bad for Elsa because she was next in line for the throne, which might make people question if she was fit to rule. It's possible their parents' logic was that if they stayed in the palace 24/7, they could maintain the illusion that they were keeping their business to themselves.

Scriptwriter Jennifer Lee says that Kristoff does know but she doesn't go into specifics about how much he knows. From what we see in the film, it's clearly up to interpretation. Kristoff was a little kid when he witnessed the healing and he was far enough away that it was difficult to hear (since Bulda asks him to be quiet, so she can hear better.) He may not have initially realized that he was seeing the Royal Family. However, Kristoff grew up among the trolls. Even if Kristoff didn't recognize King Agdar or Queen Idun, chances are that while living with the trolls he would have asked about what he saw and learned the truth. If that is the case, he must have known all along that Elsa had ice powers. It's likely that Grand Pabbie, the troll leader, told him that it was important for them to keep the royal family's secret, because there is the potential that people might try to hurt Elsa if they found out about her powers. As an ice harvester and mountain man, Kristoff wasn't spending a lot of time in the villages so he wouldn't have had occasion to talk to people a lot and he doesn't seem the type who likes to gossip so the truth remained safe with him. When Anna is struck by Elsa's magic and her hair starts turning white, Kristoff realizes that he needs to get her to the trolls because he knows Grand Pabbie saved her life before.

With Anna's hair now completely white, her heart turning to ice, and her "true love" not true at all, Olaf reveals that it is Kristoff who is truly in love with her. When a gust of wind blows open the window, he sees Kristoff and Sven racing toward the castle. Anna and Olaf escape by jumping out a window and sliding down the snowbank. As Kristoff races to Anna, she notices that Hans is about to stab Elsa with his sword. Instead of running into Kristoff's arms, Anna puts herself between Hans and Elsa just as her body turns to ice and shatters Hans' sword to bits. Seeing that her sister has completely turned to ice, Elsa clings to her and cries. Suddenly, Anna's body begins to thaw and gain color, Anna having broken the spell upon herself by showing an act of true love for Elsa. Realizing that love is the remedy for a frozen heart, Elsa proceeds to thaw the village of Arendelle and bring back summer. Henceforth, Hans is returned to the Southern Isles to face charges of attempted regicide, all trade with Weasel town is severed, Olaf is given his own personal snow flurry cloud to keep him from melting, and Kristoff is outfitted with a brand new sled and named "official ice master." In the final scene, Elsa (having learned that love is the secret to controlling her powers) uses them to create a public ice rink in the castle.

It's revealed that Marshmallow survived the fall after Hans cut off his leg. Wandering through the empty ice palace, he finds the tiara that Elsa tossed away during "Let It Go", and puts it on his head, smiling to himself, and the spikes on his back quickly retract.

Yes. Many adaptations of the Snow Queen story often portray the titular queen as the main antagonist. Elsa was originally written as a cold-hearted villainess who led an entire army of snowman soldiers (a scene depicting this can be found in the film's blu ray release). Her character design, based on the likeness of late singer Amy Winehouse, was dark and Gothic as opposed to her current, friendlier design. However, she was eventually reworked into being a misunderstood hero who's tormented by fear. This major change in the character was heavily influenced by the iconic song "Let it Go", which filmmakers felt was too positive to be sung by a villain.

Olaf was meant to symbolize the relationship between the sisters. The film makers integrated elements of both sisters into his character. (1) He's artistic like Elsa; when we first meet him he's wondering what colors would go best with snow. (2) He longs for warm weather like Anna, (3) He likes animals like Anna; Olaf immediately makes a connection with Sven and earlier in the film we saw Anna playing with ducklings and scratching Hans' horse. (4) He's fascinated by the night sky just like a little girl named Anna used to be. (5) He immediately bonds with Anna and loves her dearly, just like Elsa does. (6) He's fearless and determined when it comes to helping those he loves just like Anna; he latches on to Marshmallow's leg to try to slow him down even though he knows it isn't likely to do much. (7) He doesn't listen to others, just like Anna; when Kristoff tells him to stay out of sight on their way into Arendelle, first thing he does is happily greet one of the residents. (8) He knows what love is just like Elsa; he knows that love is about putting others first and self sacrifice. (9) He's an optimist who doesn't consider the possible limitations he may have and just plows ahead exactly like Anna. (10) He loves the idea of summer and warmth and wants to experience those even if doing so is risky. (11) He loves people and a good party just like Anna; he immediately joins in when the trolls start dancing and singing. (12) Olaf physically comes apart during several scenes in the film and is in danger of melting just like Anna and Elsa's relationship is, but in the end, once the sisters are reunited, Elsa makes Olaf's ice permanent by giving him his own personal flurry.

Rapunzel (with her short brown hair) and Eugene from Tangled (2010) appear when the gates open. Mickey Mouse is shown on the shelf in Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna. It is also speculated that the wreck of the ship where Elsa's and Anna's parents perished is the same one that Ariel frequented in The Little Mermaid (1989).