Disney tours in Norway even claim Bergen as the “storybook village” that was the “inspiration for Arendelle, the kingdom and home to Anna and her sister Elsa.” Architecture throughout Norway influenced the buildings in Arendelle.
(For an interesting video about the relationship between the Sami, Norway, and the making of Frozen 2, click here.) Anna and Elsa are not white either. They are Northuldra raised Arendellian, aka Native Raised Other. Regardless of where they end up by the end of the movie, they are and always will be Native women.
This is the land of the Sami, Norway's reindeer herding indigenous population. The filmmakers of Frozen 2 collaborated with the Sami on elements in the film that draw on their culture, including details for the Northuldra characters who Anna and Elsa meet in the enchanted forest.
Where is the kingdom where Anna and Elsa are from?
In the Disney film adaptation, Anna is depicted as the princess of Arendelle, a fictional Scandinavian kingdom, and the younger sister of Elsa (Idina Menzel), who is the heiress to the throne and possesses the elemental ability to create and control ice and snow.
Wait, so Anna and Elsa have indigenous ancestry now? It seems like it—they learn that their mother was a member of the Northuldra tribe, which is described as being true to the earth and guided by spirits.
Disney's animated film Frozen was inspired by Sámi culture, and for its sequel, Frozen 2, Walt Disney Animation Studios received consultation from a Sámi working group (“Verddet”) on elements within the film that are inspired by the Indigenous People's homelands.
(Note: Much of Frozen 2 appears to be a reaction to the reaction the first film received for not including many people of color and for “whitewashing.” The problem with how Frozen 2 handled this is that they really couldn't up and change the race of the lead characters, so instead they just had them retroactively ...
The Northuldra tribe is inspired by the real-life Sámi natives from the north of Europe, particularly Norway, which Frozen's fictional setting is based on.
Slate critic Inkoo Kang said that although Frozen II was obviously influenced by Sámi history, the Northuldra may also be interpreted as representing displaced Native Americans; Arendelle can be seen as representing the United States' colonial past, evocative of the embellished life of Pocahontas.
Frozen explicitly shows the audience that Iduna and Agnarr's ship has sunk, killing both of the young princesses' parents. It's later revealed in Frozen 2 that the king and queen were traveling to Ahtohallan, a magical glacier in the north, and Frozen's sequel again confirms that Anna and Elsa's parents died at sea.
On February 8, 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that Frozen 3 is in the works, along with Toy Story 5 and Zootopia 2. While news of a third Frozen film was a welcome one, we have yet to hear more details about the movie or see a trailer. Here's everything we know about Frozen 3.
Bergen. The historic city of Bergen, Norway's second-largest city, inspired the look and feel of the fictional Arendelle village in the Frozen franchise. The village of Arendelle is a typical fairytale setting, with a large castle set within a traditional village, surrounded by lush green forests and sparkling waters.
As the lies on which the Kingdom of Arendelle is founded start to unravel, we discover that Anna and Elsa's mother, Iduna, is from the Northuldra tribe – she was the mysterious saviour who rescued their father during battle.
The stunning backdrop to the town of Hallstatt in the Austrian mountains is thought to have inspired Disney's Frozen. Over a million tourists descend on the destination every year with many wanting to snap a selfie with the famous view.
Among the main criticisms of Frozen 2 are that a lot of the introduction feels like it's moving the characterization backward, it doesn't hit the emotional depths of the first, and while the story is ambitious, it doesn't quite work in execution.
It makes them think they can defy the will of a king! Runeard voicing his disapproval of magic. King Runeard is the posthumous main antagonist of Disney's 2019 animated feature film, Frozen II. He was the ruler of Arendelle, and the father of King Agnarr.
And even though Kristoff's Sámi heritage is not central to the story of Frozen, it is in part the music by Frode Fjellhiem, in addition to the reindeer and gakti, that should situate the film and the character in an inarguably Sámi—not Old Norse—context.
He appeared in the animated features Frozen (2013) and Frozen II (2019), and the animated short films Frozen Fever (2015) and Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017). He is voiced primarily by Jonathan Groff. Kristoff is a Sámi iceman who lives together with his reindeer companion Sven.
As for whether Elsa and Anna are white … the Northuldra are modeled on the Sami, an indigenous people scattered across northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia who have faced a great deal of discrimination, but there's a lot of disagreement about the genetic and linguistic origins of Sami to this day.
Elsa is never properly identified as asexual or aromantic, something that would help immensely to increase visibility and awareness. Considering Disney's record with LGBT characters (remember the underwhelming 'gay moment' in Beauty and the Beast?)
Honeymaren, a member of the Northuldra tribe who was trapped in the Enchanted Forest by the curse, could return for Frozen 3 as Elsa's girlfriend based on the two characters' shared chemistry.
There hasn't been any indication that Elsa will have a girlfriend in Frozen III. That said, some fans have theorized that Honeymaren, a member of the Northuldra tribe, will be Elsa's girlfriend in the next Frozen film. Honeymaren was introduced in Frozen II as a resident of the Enchanted Forest.
