When Frozen 2 came out six years after Frozen, time had also passed between the two stories. The characters of Arendelle experienced three years between the two stories, meaning that a few years worth of events had transpired for Elsa, Anna, and their friends. The first film saw so much success that a franchise was formed including extra material from short films, TV specials, books, and more. Some of these materials help to bridge the gap between the first and second film.
After the events of the first film, Queen Elsa declared that the gates of her kingdom will stay open and the doors in the castle will no longer be closed, allowing for visitors of all kinds and family festivities. This meant a return to the family dynamic that Anna and Elsa once enjoyed as children, as well as a regaining of all the traditions that Arendelle had once practiced. This not only helped strengthen her relationship with her sister, but with her subjects, who lived in fear of her through the first film but learned to adore their monarch through her newfound sociable nature. All of these parties, customs, and family togetherness help to flesh out the story of Frozen and what happened in the three years before Frozen 2.
There are many stories in the wide array of books, short films, and other media that Frozen inspired. The beloved characters of Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven spurred an abundance of tales of all kinds from ghost stories to slumber party episodes to LEGO adventures. Here are some of the key events that occurred between the two hit movies.
Christmas In Arendelle
For the first time since they lost their parents, Anna and Elsa planned a holiday celebration for the kingdom of Arendelle in the short film Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. They experienced great joy in installing and ringing the Christmas bell and planned a huge feast for people of the kingdom to join them, but after the bell ceremony was over, the people rushed off to participate in their private family traditions, some of which included Norwegian holiday pastimes like making lefse, a potato flat bread. Kristoff revealed his own holiday celebration: Flemmy the Fungus Troll. Elsa and Anna were crestfallen to realize they had no traditions of their own, so Olaf took it upon himself to race through the kingdom seeking out traditions in an effort to give Anna and Elsa a special way to celebrate. When Olaf got lost in the woods, Anna and Elsa went looking for him, and upon finding him they revealed that they used to exchange homemade gifts resembling Olaf when they couldn’t celebrate Christmas together, so it is in fact the snowman Olaf who is their tradition.
Olaf’s Perma-Frost
At the end of Frozen, Olaf started to melt in the sunlight, so Elsa cast a spell that floated a cloud over his head, dropping a flurry of snowflakes on him at all times. In Frozen 2, Olaf is first seen basking in the autumn sunlight on a blanket outside of town where Anna joined him. She remarked on his perma-frost, implying that Elsa somehow amended the spell so that Olaf no longer had a cloud following him around. Olaf had the freedom to rest in his beloved summer seasons in the sunlight without risking turning into a puddle of water with a carrot and some twigs floating around in it.
Trip To The Northern Lights
The gang went on a trip to see the Northern lights in a LEGO holiday special miniseries called Frozen: Northern Lights. Along the way, they ran from an avalanche, greeted Marshmallow and the little mini snowmen he watches over, and overcame several icy obstacles. Elsa’s powers were glitchy, causing accidents and mishaps, perhaps due to whatever is wrong with the lights. When they arrived at the place where the lights were visible, they found Grandpa Troll, who showed them how to use their mystical crystals to make the Northern lights happen.
Anna’s Birthday & Magical Flu
In the short film Frozen Fever, Elsa planned the perfect birthday for Anna with the help of Kristoff and Sven, the latter of which she had apparently met and accepted as one of the gang. Elsa worked to make the party a splendid one, but she was marred by having a cold. With each sneeze, little teeny snowmen were created called Snowgies or “little brothers.” The story was an interesting one in the Frozen canon, as it showed that Elsa can be vulnerable and human and what happens when a super-powered being gets a virus. The Snowgies ran around wreaking havoc as Kristoff tried to save the cake and decorations. Elsa blew the birthday bugle and unwittingly sent a giant snowball hurtling toward the Southern Isles where it hit a manure-shoveling villain Prince Hans squarely in the head. The prince was obviously paying penance for his misdeeds, and it was the icing on the cake to see him punished further by Elsa. After the party, Olaf led the Snowgies up to Marshmallow in his ice palace so the gentle giant won’t have to be alone. In a post-credit scene in Frozen 2, Marshmallow is shown living happily with all the little Snowgies.
Olaf’s Identity Crisis
In a cute little short called Once Upon A Snowman, the events between Olaf’s creation during “Let It Go” and his introduction to Anna are highlighted. Olaf stumbled into Oaken’s shop and told him that “Wandering Oaken” is an anagram for “Naked Norwegians.” Oaken tried to help him find a nose and introduced the concept of summer to him. Olaf heard little snippets of dialogue from Frozen as he wandered through the woods like Kristoff’s song “Reindeers Are Better Than People,” and his question to Anna, “You got engaged to someone you just met that day?” When he is licked by a friendly wolf, he said that it feels like a warm hug, and the memory of his initial creation comes rushing back to him, and he remembered his name. “I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs.”
The Midsummer Parade and The Ice Games
Just like with Christmas, Elsa reinstated some festivals long missing from Arendelle’s list of pastimes in the book Frozen Spring Fever. When Elsa was a little girl she led the midsummer parade atop a pony called Mister Waffles. The parade had not occurred since then, ending after the castle walls closed up to guard Elsa’s secret. Anna was looking forward to seeing Elsa take the lead once more, but Elsa elected Anna as Midsummer Princess, which meant finding a suitable horse. None of the horses like Lady Crystalbrook Shinytoes the Fourth or Dauntless quite worked out, but then Kristoff suggested Anna ride Sven in the parade. Anna and Sven were a huge hit. Another such celebration was the Ice Games, reinstated with the help of Kristoff, who had always wanted to participate in them. On the winter solstice, ice harvesters and their families gathered on a glacier to hold competitions and celebrate with activities like ice skating. Elsa organizes the games once more, and she and Anna join Kristoff’s team to his delight. The Ice Games are briefly referenced in Frozen 2 in the memory scene in Ahtohallan with a glimpse of Anna and Elsa ice skating together and laughing.
Voyages to Other Kingdoms
As part of her queenly duties, Elsa was compelled to take a ship to visit the neighboring kingdoms of Arendelle, places like Zaria, Chathro, and Vakretta. She took Anna along with her in the book Across the Sea, and the sisters saw far-away lands together and greeted royals and dignitaries of all sorts. In each kingdom, Elsa was asked to demonstrate her magical powers, but she is too anxious to do so, having only just reconciled with them herself. Anna made it her goal to help Elsa overcome her insecurities, and, as the journey continued, Elsa learned to be more accepting of what makes her unique.
Sickness Strikes Arendelle
In the middle-grade novel Frozen II: Forest of Shadows, author Kamilla Benko wrote of the years between films one and two when a mysterious illness struck Arendelle. Following Elsa’s coronation, Anna wanted nothing more than to be an asset to her older sister. Queen Elsa, however, seemed more than capable of running things on her own, and made plans to set sail for a grand world tour without Anna. Before she was able to leave, an unknown sickness invaded the land, and the world tour is delayed, allowing Anna to discover her purpose. Anna came across a secret room in the castle and attempted a magic spell in hope that it would aid her in curing the disease. Instead, a far more insidious curse was given life. The story introduced some Scandinavian folklore elements including a Nattmara, a spirit that embodies one’s deepest fears, and Huldrefólk, creatures who live in mines and collect lost treasures. In the book, the themes of fear from Frozen and myth from Frozen 2 are tied together.
What Frozen 2 Implies
Many things that weren’t covered in Frozen apparently took place in the three-year span between the two full-length films. It was clear that at some point, Elsa met Sven and took him into her inner circle for the sake of her sister’s odd yet lovable boyfriend Kristoff. It was also implied that Elsa was hearing the haunting voice of the forest spirit for some time. The gang relied on each other through many adventures, demonstrating their strengthening friendship that is allowed to flourish once Elsa accepted herself and her ice powers. The second film explored this character arc even further, giving Elsa a purpose that suited her as the leader of the indigenous people the Northuldra. Elsa’s willingness to open the gates and reaffirm the importance of tradition warmed the people of Arendelle to her, and they accepted her not only as a monarch but as a benefactress. Her newfound graciousness and affability were illustrated through the books and short films in between Frozen and Frozen 2.
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