Frozen Is Cool! Elsa the Snow Queen Rules!

In Encanto, there is a recurring element of butterflies, both as live animals and in image form. While there are designs of them shown in characters’ clothing and places within the Madrigal home, particularly on the magical candle, there are more moving images and live butterflies shown conspicuously during the second and third acts, including the moments with young Alma and Pedro (and even in Alma’s flashback story in the prologue). In many cultures, butterflies are known as symbols of spiritual rebirth, new beginnings, and transformation, all of which are meanings that apply to the movie’s motif of this animal.

Butterflies are particularly symbolic of transformation since they begin their lives in a completely different form as caterpillars. When a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis, it pupates into chrysalis inside a cocoon, then it hatches and begins a brand new life as a butterfly. Butterflies have also come to represent rebirth and new beginnings because they often hatch from their cocoons during the spring, which is the season of hope and new life.

The film’s theme of butterflies, and caterpillars becoming butterflies, is emphasized by the song “Dos Oruguitas”, the majority of which plays during the montage showing Alma and Pedro’s relationship. The song’s title translates to "Two Caterpillars," illustrating how Pedro and Alma, the said caterpillars, grow and evolve from two individual people to beginning a whole new life and future together as a fully-fledged family. Although their new family life together is tragically cut short when Pedro sacrifices himself to the soldiers chasing them and the townspeople accompanying them, his act imbues Alma’s candle with magic and the encanto is created. When this happens, Alma and everyone else is instantly shielded from the soldiers by the mountains, which literally cocoons them in safety. The creation of the encanto and casita presents a whole new beginning, and future, for Alma, her children, and the villagers, which is why butterflies fly around as it happens and why the candle contains a butterfly image.

Butterfly designs are featured within the casita, including on the walls of the kitchen, the main hall, and the nursery, possibly to allude to how the home serves as the Madrigals’ protective cocoon. But I think they also function to foreshadow how the family undergoes transformation with each other and their home. For much of the movie, the Madrigals consist of hierarchy as well as segregation and disconnection. Alma, the matriarch, favors most of her children and grandchildren because of their abilities. However, there are two members she treats as outsiders: Bruno, for the negative repercussions his gift caused the family and the community, and Mirabel, for having no gift at all. As a result, both Bruno and Mirabel feel disconnected from their relatives and are viewed as the black sheep. After the casita falls apart, a meaningful transformation and new beginning occurs for the Madrigals. Bruno reconciles with his relatives, including his mother, who also reconciles with Mirabel, causing the entire family to unite. The rebuilding of the casita also symbolizes the family reuniting and becoming a happier, stronger unit.

Out of all the places where butterfly images appear in the house, I am most interested in why they appear in the nursery. I think there is a more significant reason why they are featured in that location, and it’s because they allude to the inhabitants metaphorically growing from caterpillars to butterflies. What I mean by this is, the nursery is the room in which every Madrigal child lives until their fifth birthdays. On said birthday, the children receive their magical gifts and move out of the nursery into their new rooms. If any of the children are close in age, they share the nursery until it’s time for the older child to move out. But because Mirabel never received a gift, the nursery became her permanent room, and she shared it with Antonio until his fifth birthday.

One thing that has been on my mind regarding this animal theme is the significance of the yellow butterfly that appears during the second half of the movie (mainly the one in Bruno’s vision). Here are all the moments in which yellow butterflies, both in image form and in life, appear in Encanto:

Like all butterflies in general, yellow butterflies represent rebirth and new life. But in other cultures, they also represent the souls of the deceased, as well as hope and guidance. Yellow butterflies also signify a spiritual experience in which they are considered messengers. This meaning says that, when one sees a yellow butterfly, they will soon have an unforgettable spiritual experience, that someone will answer your prayers, and a miracle might happen that will change your life. Taking all these meanings in mind, I believe the yellow butterfly represents Pedro’s spirit watching over his family.

Pedro’s death and Alma's grief is the catalyst for the miracle, which is why a yellow butterfly appears on the candle after it becomes magical. After his death, he continues to guide and watches over his family through butterflies. This counts both the live butterflies that fly around the house as it takes shape and the designs of them in the house, including with the mosaic and Pedro’s portrait. In Bruno’s vision, I believe that the butterfly is Pedro guiding Mirabel and Bruno to the answer they need to save the miracle. The vision shows the butterfly landing on a grass blade, which is where a real butterfly lands when Mirabel and Alma are at the river following the destruction of the casita. The appearance of the butterfly there would indicate that it is Pedro continuing to guide Mirabel in the right direction of mending things with Alma. It is there that Alma apologizes to Mirabel for being so hard on her and explains her realization at why she became the way she is. Finally understanding the pain and loss her grandmother had suffered. Mirabel assures Alma that it is because of her that they were granted a miracle and that they are a family, so nothing is broken that they cannot fix together. Touched by her granddaughter’s words, Alma says that she asked Pedro for help, and tells Mirabel that she was the answer to her prayers. Such words seem to be affirmed when a swarm of yellow butterflies circle around the two before flying away into the distance. While this happens, the last set of lyrics of “Dos Oruguitas” plays, in which the caterpillars are now referred to as butterflies, referencing how they grew and changed.

Another thing I noticed regarding the butterfly motif is that, unlike the other Madrigals (sans Agustin and Félix), whose clothes contain pictures of things that relate to their respective gifts, Mirabel and Alma are the only family members whose clothing contains the butterfly motif. Mirabel prominently has butterflies embroidered in her skirt and shirt, including with one on her shoulder. Alma has butterflies pictured in the bottom part of her dress, her black shawl, and she wears a butterfly pendant on her waist. Other than (possibly) subtly representing the fact that neither of them has a magical power, I see that this grandmother and granddaughter have butterflies in their apparels because as characters, they evolve like butterflies over the course of the movie. They grow and transform as the result of a traumatic experience in their youths, and by the end, they learn to move on from those experiences and become much happier people. Mirabel and Alma’s character developments also affect the evolvement of their relationship, which goes from close and affectionate, to distant and cold, then to loving once again.

Though Mirabel was confused, humiliated, and traumatized after not receiving a gift as a five-year-old, she spent years living by the mantra "Make your family proud” (which Alma ironically said to Mirabel before her failed gift ceremony), and she strives to be helpful to her family and her town every day. But due to her lack of a magical power, Mirabel feels very insecure and disconnected from the rest of her family since she cannot contribute to them and the town the same way her relatives do with their powers. While the majority of her relatives get along with Mirabel and do not exclude her or treat her any differently from the rest of them, Alma shuns Mirabel and does not see or treat her as an equal to the rest of them. This makes Mirabel feel even more left out in the cold, so she particularly, and desperately, strives to regain her grandmother’s approval and acceptance. Over the course of the movie, Mirabel discovers how her relatives are feeling so stressed with the expectations they face with their gifts, and she helps them to be more open with their feelings and to see that their gifts alone don’t make them who they really are. Mirabel eventually comes to see that her presence in her family is the true Madrigal gift, and she finally learns to completely accept herself, even while being without a magical power.

Alma’s character evolvement is also the most distinct in Encanto. As a young woman, Alma became so riddled with grief after losing her home and witnessing Pedro’s murder. When she was given a second chance and a new home when the miracle happened, she vowed to preserve it and never lose her family the way she lost Pedro. Over time, though, Alma unintentionally took their miracle for granted by becoming a controlling perfectionist over her children and grandchildren with their gifts and how they affected the family and community. She reprimanded Pepa whenever the latter was in a bad mood because of the negative weather she would subsequently produce. She came to only see the worst in Bruno for the predictions he made. And most of all, she treated Mirabel very coldly for years just because Mirabel did not get a gift. As such, Alma lost sight of what was the real miracle: the family itself, not the gifts each of them possessed. Alma admits all of this to Mirabel after the casita is destroyed, and Mirabel is the one who helps Alma make peace with her tragic past, leading to the two reconciling at last. Alma then apologizes to and reconciles with the rest of the family, including Bruno, whom she, without hesitation, welcomes back to the family with open arms.

And so there you have it with the butterfly motif in Encanto! 😁🦋 As a closing remark, I also want to say that this analysis title of “The Butterfly Effect” has an additional meaning, and that is how Mirabel’s decision to save the miracle leads to her triggering a chain of events that affect other members of her family and what becomes of the house. True to this term, what initially seems like one change in the beginning that doesn’t seem like it will affect much becomes a catalyst that influences how other things change as the movie unfolds. 😉

In honor of the second anniversary of Frozen II, I decided to celebrate by writing an analysis, but one unlike any I have ever done before: an analysis that discusses the meanings of the pun titles for those I wrote about the movie (some of which also discuss the original Frozen)! Now how is THAT for an idea?!?! 😁😄

While I have almost sixty essays for Frozen II, only half of them actually have titles. Many of them are puns of movie, book, and song titles, and even terms, phrases, and idioms/expressions, which includes words that rhyme with or are spelled similar to words from the original sources that inspired the titles. The titles are also puns in at least one other way, as they are the key to and underscore what I discuss in the body of the text. And before any of you ask, yes, this analysis ALSO has a pun title, which is a reference to the film Analyze This! Since I’m analyzing the titles of my past essays, I can’t think of a better title to emphasize this concept! 😆

So here are the names and definitions of all my titled essays about Frozen II, and if you want to read them for yourself, I included their links for easy access as well. Enjoy! 😁

“The Color Purple”

“Identity Unknown”

“Two Songs, One Woman”

“Let Down Your Hair”

“Frozen in Time”

“King Runeard, the Lying Hater”

“The Last Word”

“Free Spirit”

“Born (to Be) Free”

“Mum of All Tears”

“The Truth Shall Set You Free”

“Girls in the Mist”

“Keep Your Hands to Yourself”

“Pride and Prejudice”

“A Royal Title”

“Kindred Spirits”

“Striking Resemblances”

“Going off the Deep End”

“Distant Relative”

“Family Ties”

“Split Decision”

“Raise Your Voice”

“Names of the North”

“Panic Attack”

“Go with the Wind”

“Bridge of Spirit”

“Three of a Kind”

“The Men with Two Faces”

“Princess Protection Program”

“Let It Show”

“Marry-Go-Round”

“Safety Worst”

“Family Matters”

“Canon Fodder” (a collab with my good friend @greatqueenanna )

“Reflections of a Mad Man”

“Hello, Goodbye Dolly”

“Middle Link”

“There Goes the Bride”

“Sinister of Magic”

Out of the 58 films from Walt Disney Animation Studios, approximately 13 of them feature at least one habitually barefoot character. The reasons, including symbolic ones, for these characters being without shoes varies, from them living in poverty to being purely innocent of something about their lives. Some characters have more than one reason for being barefoot, and in this analysis, I plan to explain my realizations.

Earthy Connection

One reason why some of the Disney characters go barefoot is because they are often shown to be close to nature and animals, which is because they live in places of nature, like jungles and forests. They tend to be deeply connected to animals (and may even have the ability to talk to them) and plants, and they are respectful of the land and the earth. Bare feet are probably used for this as people can literally feel the ground beneath them (therefore, you'll be "connected" to the earth), and they wouldn’t really have that feeling by wearing shoes or socks.

Social Isolation

A couple of Disney characters grow up in places where they are almost to entirely isolated from humans and society, leaving them with limited to no access to things like clothes and shoes.

Innocence/Ignorance

According to Wikipedia, bare feet have come to symbolize innocence or childhood in a glorifying perception of freedom from real-life requirements. A few Disney characters who are habitually barefoot are likely so because they contain a degree of innocence, if not ignorance, about themselves and their lives.

Poverty

A few Disney characters are almost always barefoot in their films because they are poor and simply cannot afford them.

Miscellaneous

Northuldra

By now, many Frozen fans like me know that the real-life Sámi people were the inspiration for the Northuldra people in Frozen II. But I believe that the Northuldra aren’t simply inspired by the Sámi people; rather, they ARE Sámi people, albeit a unique kind.

Similar to their indigenous inspiration, as shown by the concept art image of young Iduna, the Northuldra’s attire consists of gáktis, which resemble tunics and have a “skirt” part that differs in length between those worn by men (short) and women (long). The Northuldra also wear woven or leather belts around their gáktis, as well as boots with toe ends that are curled or pointed.

Besides their clothing, many Northuldran adults are shown with at least one knife, which are most likely Sámi knives, held in their belts. But the fact that they herd and keep reindeer as pets is what has fully convinced me that the Northuldra are Sámi people because reindeer herding is a major part of Sámi culture in real life.

As for the meaning behind their name, the first major half of it obviously refers to them residing so far north of (presumably) Norway. The second half derives from “huldra” or “hulder”, which is a seductive forest creature in Norwegian folklore whose name means "covered" or "secret". This definition reflects the Northuldra’s status as a hidden group of indigenous people living in the Enchanted Forest. Since the Northuldra live in the farthest northern regions of Norway, their full name means that they are, in a manner of speaking, "the huldra of the north". And despite not having their own magical abilities like the mythical creature after whom they are named, their name still references their deep connection to the magical spirits who live alongside them in the forest.

Ahtohallan

Now that I have explained the meaning behind the Northuldra peoples’ name, I want to also discuss the meaning of the name of the famous magical river Ahtohallan.

“Ahto” apparently derives from the identically-named king (or god) of the sea in Finnish mythology, who lives in his castle called Ahtola. "Ahto" is also a Finnish term that means "compressed" or "crammed", and a similar Finnish word called “ahtojää” means “pack ice”. It is possible that the word may even come from the Northern Sámi (which is exactly what I believe the Northuldra are 😉) term “áhčči”, which means “father”. As for the second half of Ahtohallan’s name, “halla” is the Finnish term for “frost” or “cold”, specifically for frost that occurs on the ground at night during the growing season(s) and can harm crops.

So combined with the meanings of these related terms, and its location being in the Dark Sea, the potential translations for Ahtohallan could be "Frost of the Sea", “Ice of the Sea”, “Compressed/Packed Ice of the Sea”, or even any of those listed with “Father” included at the end.

Conclusion

So to repeat myself, I believe that the Northuldra are a special, different group of Sámi people within the Frozen universe, partly because their clothing and keeping of reindeer is so much like those of the real people and their culture. But given the Norwegian/Scandinavian-related terms that define the latter half of their name AND the those that make up the name Ahtohallan, my exact thoughts are that the Northuldra are Sámi who differ from most, if not all, others in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia because they live so far north in a magical forest protected by spirits that represent the four elements of nature.

Before I forget, you may notice that the Northuldra’s clothing are very similar to those worn by Kristoff, who is also a Sámi person. But let me be clear: he is NOT a Northuldran. When he stands next to Ryder, you can see these similarities, but there are very clear and noticeable differences, too. In fact, I believe the Northuldra’s clothes are a bit less pronounced and distinctly different than those of Kristoff to display how they are set apart as a unique group of Sámi.

@oreoagod​ One reason I wrote this was for you, so I could explain to you the full extent on what made me believe the Northuldra are a special kind of Sámi when I first mentioned it in the analysis where I responded to your question about Anna and Elsa’s Northuldran roots possibly being foreshadowed by Anna’s Four Winds hat in Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. Hope you like this! 😁😄😉👍🏻

I already talked about it a little in a couple of my previous analyses, but I wanted to specifically discuss what I consider to be the most emotional part of the “Show Yourself” sequence: when Elsa sobs in utter joy and sings the final song lyrics along with the memory of Iduna. These moments are the ones that also bring me to tears, not merely because Elsa cries, but because I understand the real meaning of the lyrics that she and Iduna sing.

When Elsa steps onto the centerpiece located between the diamonds that represent the four elemental spirits, it lights up and subsequently reveals visual moments in time, including those from the distant past, making Elsa realize that SHE is the fifth spirit. Among the memories of which she takes notice includes the one of her parents as children, when a vocalizing Iduna (revealing that she, in this memory form, has been the one calling out to Elsa) rescues the unconscious Agnarr with Gale’s help.

As she smiles at what she sees before her with a few tears beginning to brim in her eyes, Elsa then hears a familiar voice and turns around to see another memory of Iduna, as an adult, singing (with an appearance of her looking straight down at Elsa as she sings), “Come my darling, homeward bound”. Upon seeing her mother, and before singing in response, Elsa brings her hands to her mouth and quivers slightly while the tears remain in her eyes.

Why? Because this is the first time in SIX years that Elsa has seen something of her mother, especially as a living representation! She begins to cry because she is stunned AND overjoyed to see Iduna again!!! 😭😂

But it’s not just seeing her mother again that makes Elsa so emotional; it’s what Iduna is actually saying to her daughter while she sings. Iduna is telling Elsa that she has “come home”, in a sense that she (Elsa) has discovered her true place in the world. And Elsa responds to that by singing, “I am found!”, by which she means that she realizes and understands her true calling, the true purpose of her existence, as the fifth spirit.

Then when Elsa’s dress transforms, she and Iduna sing together as Iduna looks down at Elsa with a big smile, which clearly displays the great pride she feels in her daughter as she embraces her true identity. After the dress transformation is complete, Iduna sings to Elsa, “You are the one you’ve been waiting for”. Elsa responds by laughing and continuing to shed tears before she finishes her mother’s sentence with “All of my life!”

To me, this moment of Elsa crying feels more emotional than the one from moments earlier. Again, why? Because while Elsa is still crying out of joy from seeing her mother here, she also grows more joyous at her comprehension of Iduna’s words.

As my dear buddy @foreverfrozensolid​ commented on this analysis, during the scene, Elsa sees the pride in her mother’s face as she is “coronated” as the fifth spirit. When Iduna sings, “You are the one you’ve been waiting for”, it’s the ultimate affirmation of self-acceptance for Elsa. And as she completes the sentence with “All of my life!”, Elsa begins shedding tears of joy at that realization!

These words makes 100% perfect sense, because finding out who/what she really is and learning why she was born with powers, especially after not knowing why and growing up feeling burdened by so many negative emotions about them and herself, IS what Elsa had been waiting for all of her life! 😁😄

I’ve said this before, but I just can’t help saying it again to make my point! By the time “Show Yourself” ends, Elsa has all of the answers at last. She has not only gained complete self-acceptance, but also self-discovery and self-realization. She now knows exactly who she is and what she is. She has finally discovered the purpose of her existence, her true calling in life, her destiny. She has learned that she was gifted her magical powers by the spirits to reward Iduna for rescuing Agnarr during the battle between their respective people. She realizes by now that her powers truly are a gift and a blessing, which makes her fully and wholeheartedly embrace them.

And because she now knows ALL of these things about herself, Elsa is at peace and has complete confidence in herself, so these are the other reasons why she sheds these tears of pure, absolute joy! 😁😂

More than five years ago, I wrote a short analysis about Anna and Elsa’s different hairstyles and how their respective personalities are symbolically represented by the ways in which they wear their hair. Since we now have Frozen II, I couldn’t resist noticing how there is more to discuss about the meaning of Elsa’s hairstyles when she changes it twice during the third act.

As a child, Elsa wears her hair in a braid, which symbolizes her carefree, happy, and playful demeanor. After harming and being separated from Anna, she is taught by her father to conceal her powers. Despite expressing primarily fear and anxiety after the accident with Anna, Elsa continues to wear a braid until she is twelve, which is when she refuses to touch anyone or be touched anymore. By the time she is eighteen, Elsa regularly wears her hair in a bun, which, like her clothes, represents her continued confinement and suppression of her powers, the discomforts and restrictions she has in doing so (as a person and would-be-queen), and her isolation from the outside world. Elsa maintains this hairstyle, and wardrobe, up until the day she is crowned queen at 21 years old.

However, after Elsa runs away from Arendelle and sings “Let It Go,” she pulls her hair down back into a braid. This hairstyle reflects that she is finally free and no longer has to hide her magic. She doesn’t care what people will say or think about her now (so she says). She has little to no restrictions at last. She is finally free to be her true self. She is more comfortable with her own identity. She accepts herself for who she really is, which especially includes embracing her powers once more.

At the same time, though, Elsa still is haunted by the painful memories of her past. She still sees herself as a freak of nature just for being born with magic. She wants people to love and accept her, even with her gift, but pessimistically (and to some degree, realistically) believes that that will never happen. So as she sings her song, Elsa has not entirely let go (so to speak 😉) of the past and still struggles with fully accepting herself and her gift. Her wearing the braid for the rest of the film shows that she has only BEGUN to become comfortable with herself, but not 100%.

By the events of Frozen II, Elsa has been the queen of Arendelle for three years and is loved by her people, so she no longer worries about what others think of her magic. In staying true to herself, Elsa has continued to wear her hair as a braid and wears it that way for the majority of the film. But like the first film, she still feels dissatisfied with herself. She still wonders why she was born with magic, a feeling that clearly never faded since childhood, and also wonders if ruling Arendelle is her true purpose in life.

When she goes off on her own to cross the Dark Sea and find Ahtohallan in order to find the answers about the past between Arendelle and the Northuldra of the Enchanted Forest, Elsa pulls her hair into a ponytail. Although it could be viewed that Elsa ties her hair back so it won’t get in her way when she tries to swim, what it really means is that she’s letting go of herself a bit more. She is determined and more confident in herself. She confidently decides what she needs to do, and she won’t let anything stop her.

And by the time she reaches Ahtohallan and sings “Show Yourself”, Elsa lets her hair down completely, not only as a reflection of her having ultimate freedom and self-acceptance, but also gaining self-discovery and self-realization. She learns that she was granted powers as a gift by the magic of nature because of her Northuldran mother’s heroic deed of saving her Arendellian father in the battle between their respective people when they were children. She learns that she is the fifth spirit, the connection between the elements, the bridge between nature and people.

After so many years of struggling with fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and self-loathing, Elsa now knows exactly WHO and WHAT she is. She now knows her true calling in the world, the purpose of her existence, her destiny. She has become completely comfortable and confident in her new, true identity. She now has no restrictions, no expectations, and she no longer cares what anyone thinks of her.

Elsa is finally at peace with herself and is overjoyed at it all, and this is why she cries as she sings in unison with the memory of her mother.

Kudos to my girl for finally gaining her confidence and finding all of the answers! I love you, Elsa! 😄❤️😄❤️😄❤️

I admit, I was a bit disappointed when I realized that the “dress” Elsa wears in part of the Frozen II trailer was actually a nightgown. But that’s only because I think that she would look awesome in this color since purple is known to be the traditional color worn by royalty, and we’ve only seen Elsa primarily wear blue and green. But seeing her in this nightgown, combined with the cape she wears during her coronation in the first film, finally gives me the excuse to write this analysis that I have wanted to do for ages!

According to Wikipedia, surveys in Europe and North America say that purple is the color most often associated with royalty, magic, mystery, rarity, and piety. Here’s how I break these down in how they best fit Elsa so that purple is another appropriate color for her:

So while blue may be her signature color, these qualities and traits show that purple is another color that best fits Elsa, and while she may only wear a purple nightgown in Frozen II, I think it’s just awesome to see Elsa wearing another color!

When I first saw “Married,” I was confused and somewhat dumbfounded with Arnold’s dream, because from the start, not only do he and Helga look like their normal child selves, except for being much taller, but they wear their wedding clothes during his entire dream, never anything else. However, it is just the opposite with Helga’s dream. She dreams that she and Arnold are grown up and look it very well, complete with Helga no longer sporting a unibrow and Arnold having his hair smoothed down, and they wear different clothes for the duration of her dream.

So what explanation is there on why Arnold’s dream features Helga and him looking so drastically different from Helga’s dream in terms of how they look and what they wear?

I think a lot of it relates to their personalities, including in what kind of imaginations they have and how much they think about the future. Helga and Arnold are both 9 years old, but Helga often acts a lot older than she really is, especially when it comes to her crush on Arnold. She loves Arnold to the extent that she wants to marry him. She sees him as a ticket to a better life, one where he loves her in return and they will live a successful, fancy, and happy life together. Since we know Helga wants to marry Arnold, she has lots of fantasies of what life would be like if they were together. She tends to imagine about how perfect and fancy her life with Arnold would be, so her dream is just an extension of her fantasies.

In Arnold’s case, however, it’s an entirely different story. Although the first season depicted Arnold as a heavy daydreamer, I don’t think he’s so much of a dreamer when it comes the future. Although Arnold acts mature for a 9-year-old, I think he is far more stuck on the present than Helga is. Because of this, he hasn’t really taken any time to think about who he will marry one day, how he will look as an adult (if he even thinks he and Helga will look very different from their current appearances), and what kinds of clothes he will wear. It may have just been a lot easier for Arnold to think he and Helga will be much taller than they are now while wearing the appropriate wedding clothes.

I think a lot of the dream differences also relates to Arnold and Helga’s respective personal lives and how they feel about it right now. In the case of Helga, she has a very dysfunctional family and unhappy home life, from which she is desperate to get away. So she dreams of a better life for herself, one with which she shares with Arnold because she believes she will have a happier life with him than she does with her family now. And of course, while Arnold’s family is dysfunctional and without his parents, he has a more stable and happier home life than Helga does. So I believe Arnold doesn’t think so much about the future because he is quite happy with his current life and doesn’t thoroughly consider about how much it will change for him one day.

Among other things, I have wondered if Arnold thinking he is still only 9 when his dream begins is a inside joke to the fact that characters never age more than year in a cartoon. In other words, since cartoon children never grow up, maybe Arnold thinks he will never grow up, either. 😉 Not to mention, cartoon characters seldom ever change their wardrobe, which also may explain why Arnold and Helga never change clothes for the duration of his dream.

I’ve been wanting to discuss this moment for the longest time but kept putting it off. To make a long story short, the expression Anna wears in this scene, which is just after Elsa flees from the ballroom after accidentally revealing her powers, tells me A LOT!!

After Elsa accidentally swings her arm out in front of her, she creates a barrier of sharp ice spikes. Everyone is unquestionably shocked, then they become terrified, but especially paranoid, hostile, and irrational in the case of the Duke. But while Anna is genuinely shocked at first, like everyone else, the look on her face in the first gif tells me that fear is the farthest emotion from her mind.

In my opinion, Anna is not only feeling shocked right now, but also a great deal of pain, sadness, and regret, and not for herself, but for Elsa.

I think by this point, upon seeing just what Elsa has been concealing for all these years, Anna finally gets it. She immediately realizes why Elsa had always pushed her away, because she (Elsa) worried what would happen if Anna, who no longer remembered that Elsa had powers, learned her secret.

In feeling pain, I think Anna has now completely forgotten about the fight (or at least feeling upset on her part during their fight) she and Elsa had only seconds earlier, and instead feels sorry for Elsa. She’s probably also sad that Elsa just took off and ran, because I know Anna just wants to talk about this.

And in terms of feeling regret, now that Anna knows that Elsa had been keeping such a big secret, she regrets arguing with her. She realizes that arguing just caused her to spur Elsa’s emotions, which subsequently made her sister lose control of her powers.

Now while you can determine how Anna is feeling in this moment, take a look at Hans next to her in the second gif. His expressions can tell a very different story.

If you remember this one analysis I made before, the first facial expression seen by Hans after Elsa accidentally reveals her magic made me suspicious of his character. Like everyone else in the room, he is no doubt shocked, though to maintain his charade, he remains calm, cool, and collected, very differently from the Duke. So much happens so quickly in the scene, but maybe Hans wonders if he has to change his plan again now that something even bigger and completely unexpected has occurred. He probably also realizes that this was why he could not get too close to Elsa. And of course, I’m sure he wonders if Anna knew about this and did not say anything just to protect Elsa. But the next major expression Hans makes is right after Elsa runs off. If he was thinking that Anna knew about Elsa’s powers and was secretly protecting her sister, all of his doubts seem to disappear based on the way the expression he makes when he glances towards Anna and notices HER face.

So while Anna and Hans’s expressions reflect their very different thoughts on this situation, we know that they also have very different ideas on what to do about it. Anna just wants to reach out to Elsa, to bring her back, to talk to her, to help her and assure her that she doesn't have to be afraid. But Hans just wants to let Elsa go (no pun intended XD) and not go after her since her own exile grants him another easy step towards taking control and becoming the ruler of Arendelle.

gifs belongs to arendellekingdom

In Frozen, the trolls can disguise themselves as rocks to camouflage in their valley. When the sun comes up, they turn to stone, but by sunset, they resume their normal troll forms. As a reference to them being made of rock, the three main trolls have names that are puns of or allude to rock-related terms.

Interestingly enough, Bulda and Cliff are instead identified as Hulda and Soren, respectively, in the novelization. No explanation has been given for the misspelling of Bulda's name or why their names differ from those in the film. Here are the meanings of those names:

And for another inside joke to their rock forms, when Kristoff introduces Anna to the trolls, he explains their peculiar behavior by saying, "I've learned to just roll with it." Roll, as in "rock and roll," get it? ;)

gifs belong to arendellekingdom

Whenever I watch the scene where Kristoff asks Anna questions on just how much she knows about Hans, since she claimed "Hans is not a stranger," it is hard for me not to laugh a little or roll my eyes because of the answers she gives.

When Anna says that Hans is not a stranger, she says it because after having grown up reading fairy tales, a prince who looks and acts like one right out of a fairy tale has come to reality. She falls for him because he does everything she had wanted to do with a prince, such as flirting, dancing, taking a moonlit walk, and singing a romantic duet with him. During their entire "date," Hans and Anna act so much like one another, including saying to each other that they are meant to be. And of course, Anna considers marriage to be the purest and strongest form of love, since it means that the man and woman will live happily ever after. So when Hans finally proposes, of course she says yes!

To Anna, her definition of love (and even that of Hans) is doing all of these things, and the fact that the attraction between her and Hans seems mutual also proves her point. In summary, because Anna has done everything with Hans that she had hoped to do with a man, it is why she believes they have true love. 

But here is the kicker: all of those things happened very quickly and easily and were fun to do because Anna was acting on a crazy romantic whim. She does not consider the fact that more serious matters can come into play into the relationship, including how well she knows Hans, especially since they just met only that day. Even though they had talked some, Hans and Anna did not communicate enough to get to know each other very well.

Referring back to when I mentioned that she says he is not a stranger because he is a prince right out of a fairy tale, a crucial flaw in Anna's relationship with Hans is that she assumes things about him. So then when Kristoff asks her how well she really knows Hans, her poor answers represent how little she communicated with Hans and assumes these things; she does not know truly know about him. For every individual answer she provides Kristoff, here are my interpretations:

Kristoff continues after this by asking Anna what if there were things about Hans that she hated, even asking if he would pick his nose. Again, Anna makes an assumption about Hans when she says, "Excuse me, sir. He is a prince," meaning that she thinks Hans would never do that just because he is a charming prince.

Despite Kristoff's inquisition, Anna firmly argues that she and Hans have true love. But again, she only believes this because they had done everything that she considers romantic, especially since they all happened so quickly and easily. Her idea of love has blurred her vision between reality and fantasy, so she does not act practical about this relationship.

And when Hans finally reveals his true colors, Anna gets a harsh reality check. Realizing just how well Hans had deceived her, she understands that she did not know him at all and that their engagement was a foolish mistake.

Though Frozen is a fairy tale, it delivers a good message about people. Even when you are all grown up, never rush into relationships, and never judge people by their appearances. Even the most handsome stranger can be the most dangerous foe.

Of the six main characters in Frozen, each of their names has an interpretation and/or an association of a similar sounding name in another language. Christianity is the largest religion in Norway, which is where the film takes place, as well as Denmark, which is south of Norway. This seems to come into play with names because the four human characters each have a name translated from or related to the said religion.

On the other hand, Olaf and Sven have names that are not associated with religion, but more so with their native country.

And always for fun, Hans, Kristoff, Anna, and Sven are named for author Hans Christian Andersen. Say the names quickly in sequence and hear the similarities.

Even before Hans's true nature is revealed, there are many subtle hints that show this over the course of the film. A few of these are some of his facial expressions, like I mentioned in this post. But this one includes two of which intrigue me a great deal.

The first gif shows his face after Elsa accidentally reveals her powers. Now even before I saw the movie, I did not read its synopsis, so I did not know about Hans. Still, when I watched this particular shot, it made me feel suspicious of him. Even now, I can't really explain it, but just the way he looks in her direction gave me the feeling he was someone who couldn't be trusted...

...and in the end, I turned out to be right!

Now the second gif is the scene where Hans visits Elsa in the dungeon. Since his previous plan to kill her had failed (which I will discuss some other time), he brought her back to Arendelle. He appears to be willing to spare her if she stops the winter. But when Elsa admits that she is unable to do so, Hans realizes there is only one thing he can do...

Look at how his eyes shift from looking at her to looking forward with a look of thought. Yes, in this moment, Hans makes the decision to kill Elsa to bring back summer.

However, Hans does not plan to do it right there and then. He knows that doing so would make it look suspicious, especially since he does not have a good enough reason to kill her. After Anna returns and "dies," it gives him the perfect excuse to sentence Elsa to death. By doing this act, even though Anna knows his true colors, Hans is able to continue covering his tracks from the dignitaries and people of Arendelle.

There almost always seems to be a meaning to any facial expression by anyone and everyone, and Hans is definitely one of those people. ;)