CAMPFIRE SCENE - Definitive Edition
I already made some posts in the past listing curiosities or differences involving the “campfire scene” between Elsa and Honeymaren, but since I hadn't made a post yet gathering everything in one place and we are in Lesbian Visibility Week, I decided to do it.
THE ORIGINAL CAMPFIRE SCENE THAT WAS FEATURED IN THE MOVIE “FROZEN 2″
(the original text is from the Novelization, but I adapted it to match 100% with the movie)
Honeymaren and Elsa are sitting by a fire, a baby reindeer is lying next to Elsa getting a cuddle, Iduna's scarf is draped over Elsa's thighs. Honeymaren just tasted the soup from the wooden bowl.
“I want to show you something. May I?” Honeymaren asked. Elsa nodded. Honeymaren reached for one end of the beautiful burgundy scarf that had belonged to Elsa’s mother and gesture to the snowflakes on it. She identified the symbols on the points of one snowflake. “You know air, fire, water, earth.”
“Yes,” Elsa said. “But look.” Honeymaren touched a diamond in the center of the snowflake, a symbol Elsa had never noticed before. “There’s a fifth spirit.” Honeymaren smiled at the surprised expression on Elsa’s face. “Said to be a bridge between us and the magic of nature.”
Elsa was shocked. “A fifth spirit?”
“Some say they head it call out the day the forest fell,” Honeymaren said. She had Elsas full attention.
“My father heard it,” said Elsa. “Do you think that’s who’s calling me?” Elsa asked.
“Maybe.” Honeymaren smiled. “Alas, only Ahtohallan knows”.
Elsa smiled back, recalling that her mother had said the same thing to Anna and herself when they were children. “Ahtohallan-” With the scarf over her thighs, Elsa remembered the words of her mother's lullaby that she had sung to her and Anna when they were little. She half sang and half spoke the words aloud.
“Dive down deep
into her song”
Honeymaren smiled again, recognizing the song and singing along with Elsa.
“But not too far
or you’ll be downed”
“Why do lullabies always have to have some terrible warning in them?” Honeymaren asked once they had finished.
“I wonder that all the time,” Elsa said.
Suddenly, the ground shook from a distant boom like thunder. But no lightning followed to electrify the sky.
“Earth Giants,” Honeymaren said.
CAMPFIRE SCENE WAS ALSO ONE OF THE MOMENTS THAT HAD CUTS
The “campfire scene” for anyone who watched the “Frozen 2” documentary or saw this tweet knows that it was one of the moments in the film that were changed.
And that at least three shots were cut.
We don't have confirmation of what they were and honestly I don't even believe that one day we will, and although I like fanfics imagining they were important I believe in the justifications given in the documentary for the cuts in the film: making the plot more dynamic for all audiences although I don't know how some phrases could be considered non-dynamic, but whatever.
VARIATION OF THE CAMPFIRE SCENE 1 - Novelization
The official book of the film states that this scene has only 3 differences: it does not specify in the book if Honeymaren was eating the soup or not, the position of the scarf in the book is on the shoulders while in the film it is on the thighs (this change in the position of the scarf happens almost everywhere from the movie to the books), and there are no lyrics for the duet though it does happen.
Honeymaren and Elsa walked over to the logs around a campfire and sat down. A baby reindeer ran up, nuzzling and rubbing its head on them. Elsa stroked the little reindeer’s back as she thought about everything that had happened since they’d entered the forest.
“I want to show you something. May I?” Honeymaren asked. Elsa nodded. Honeymaren reached for one end of the beautiful burgundy scarf that had belonged to Elsa’s mother and gesture to the snowflakes on it. She identified the symbols on the points of one snowflake. “You know air, fire, water, earth.”
“Yes,” Elsa said.
“But look.” Honeymaren touched a diamond in the center of the snowflake, a symbol Elsa had never noticed before. “There’s a fifth spirit.” Honeymaren smiled at the surprised expression on Elsa’s face. “Said to be a bridge between us and the magic of nature.”
Elsa was shocked. “A fifth spirit?”
“Some say they head it call out the day the forest fell,” Honeymaren said. She had Elsas full attention.
“My father heard it,” said Elsa. “Do you think that’s who’s calling me?” Elsa asked.
“Maybe.” Honeymaren smiled. “Alas, only Ahtohallan knows”.
Elsa smiled back, recalling that her mother had said the same thing to Anna and herself when they were children. “Ahtohallan-“ She drew the scarf tightly around her shoulders, remembering the words to the words to the lullaby her mother had soothed them with. She half sang and half spoke the words aloud.
Honeymaren smiled again, recognizing the song and singing along with Elsa.
“Why do lullabies always have to have some terrible warning in them?” Honeymaren asked once they had finished.
“I wonder that all the time,” Elsa said.
Suddenly, the ground shook from a distant boom like thunder. But no lightning followed to electrify the sky.
“Earth Giants,” Honeymaren said.
VARIATION OF THE CAMPFIRE SCENE 2 - The Enchanted Forest
Although small this book is one of the most interesting versions of the film having several differences or additions to the plot of “Frozen 2″ and obviously the “campfire scene” is one of those moments. Could those extra phrases shared between Elsa and Honeymaren be among the cut moments? Well, this book could be an early script for the movie, but anyway, I don't logically believe that it would be every moment for the descriptions.
Anna smile she glanced up when Elsa walked by talking with Honeymaren.
The campfire cracked and pop as Honeymaren and Elsa sat here it’s warm glow.
“Tell me about the voice.” Honeymaren said as she petted a baby reindeer that had wandered over looking for attention. “What makes you so sure they have the answers?”
“Because they speak to a part of me that no one’s ever been able to reach,” Elsa resonded, holding her hand out for the reindeer to sniff.
Honeymaren looked intrigued. “What part is that?” she asked.
“The part of me that’s magic,” Elsa said.
Honeymaren throught for a moment, “I want to show you something. May I?”
The queen nodded. Honeymaren showed her a part of her mother's scarf. She pointed to the snowflakes that adorned it. She showed Elsa the symbols on the flakes.
“You know air, fire, water, earth,” observed Honeymaren, then pointed to the diamond in the center that connected them all. “But look. There’s a fifth spirit. Said to be a bridge between us and the magic of nature.”
“A fifth spirit?” Elsa asked, intrigued.
“Some say they head it call out the day the forest fell”.
The queen's eyes sparkled.
“Do you think that’s who’s calling me?”
“Maybe. Alas, only Ahtohallan knows”.
“Ahtohallan”, Elsa repeated with a smile. She remembered her mother saying the same thing when she and her sister were children, asking a thousand questions: Only Ahtohallan knows.
When she put them to sleep at night, Anna and Elsa's mother would sing them a lullaby about Ahtohallan. It was about a mysterious river that had all the answers about the past.
As a child, Elsa wanted to find the river and ask questions. For as long as she could remember, she wanted to learn more about herself and her magic. Why does she have powers? Were there others like her? And if so, would Ahtohallan know them? At that moment, in front of the bonfire, she realized that... it was strange, but being in the Enchanted Forest made her think that she would soon get some of the answers she so desired.
She brought the scarf up to her chest and squeezed it tight. She could almost hear her mother's lullaby. She started to sing and Honeymaren joined in with a smile. The Northuldra woman was surprised that Elsa knew the melody.
“Why do lullabies always have to have some terrible warning in them?” Honeymaren asked.
“I wonder that all the time,” admitted Elsa with a giggle.
Suddenly, a BOOM was heard in the distance which interrupted their laughter and caused the queen to shudder.
“What was this?” Elsa asked.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The ground under everyone's feet began to shake violently with each bang.
Honeymaren paled, she rose quickly and said:
“Earth Giants”.
REPRESENTATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF THE CAMPFIRE SCENE 1 - Comic
Another representation of the “campfire scene” that skips the duet moment.
REPRESENTATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF THE CAMPFIRE SCENE 2 - Manga
The differences with the manga are one of the most interesting for including a feeling in the scene that the original didn't explicitly have.
Arina Tanemura at various points in this manga included or expanded on the feelings of certain scenes. That's not to say it didn't exist in the original, Elsa very well could have those feelings at the beginning of the duet with "All is Found", but the film prefers to express a more fun and joking feeling that happens at the end of the lyrics as the manga addresses the feelings that are at the beginning. But as I said Arina Tanemura really liked to make the moments more sentimental like Elsa at the end giving a sign to Honeymaren and Ryder that in the manga it really seems that Honeymaren has an expression of being in love or at least enchanted with the Snow Queen.
REPRESENTATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF THE CAMPFIRE SCENE 3 - Descriptions
There are at least four descriptions that I know of the “campfire scene” where they put the image and some text. The fourth description is not included here, the only difference being that it refers to Honeymaren only as "Northuldra woman".
Elsa and Honeymaren become friends. They talk about the spirits.
At the campfire, Honeymaren showed Elsa the spirits of nature symbolized on her mother’s scarf. Elsa was surprised to learn about a fifth spirit called the bridge. It was said to connect the magic of nature to humans and it disappeared when people stopped listening.
A young Northuldra woman named Honeymaren showed Elsa the spirits of nature on Elsa’s mother’s scarf. Elsa was surprised to discover there was a fifth spirit: ‘the bridge’. It was said to connect the magic of nature to humans, but it had disappeared when people stopped listening.
REPRESENTATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF THE CAMPFIRE SCENE 4 - Toys
And the “campfire scene” was technically split into two parts: "Forest Expedition" which has Honeymaren and "Campfire Friend" which has everything else in the Campfire Scene including another Elsa. So if you recreate this scene you have to buy two sets instead of one.
REPRESENTATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF THE CAMPFIRE SCENE 5 - Frozen 2 as told by Emoji Disney
There is no “campfire scene”, as this is one of the skipped moments and after the conversation with Yelana already placing the Earth Giants moment. But I include more here to show this adaptation of the visual, and that at the end they put together “You Belong Up Here” with the moment of Elsa riding the Nokk and waving to the Nattura brothers.
BONUS 1 - The Campfire Scene Prologue
This is completely speculative, but this theory makes so much sense to me that I can't help but talk about it.
I believe this concept art by Jim Kim is also part of the “campfire scene”, or as theorized in a fanfic, is the reason for it to happen. But this is purely theory as there is other concept art imagining moments of interactions between the Arendelle delegation and the Northuldras that are more difficult to fit into the passage of time. But of all the post-Bruni conversations, Elsa and Honeymaren's campfire conversation is the only one that doesn't actually have a prior introduction or reason for happening. You can even mention that Honeymaren talked about the scarf and that was the motivation, but to be honest the reason the women approach doesn't seem to have anything to do with the scarf, the conversation about the scarf happened on Honeymaren's idea. If Elsa wanted information about the Northuldras, Iduna or the scarf she probably would have gone to talk to Yelana, but in the movie she seems to have only decided to sit down with Honeymaren because she wanted to talk to her alone and the conversation about the scarf happened by accident, if Anna had gotten scarf the conversation about Fifth Spirt would not have happened and the two women would have just talked about other things.
Now, the reason why my theory about concept art is the connection point: Honeymaren is officially called a big fan of magic due to having some knowledge on the subject, so in my opinion, she asked Elsa to show a little bit of her magic and the Snow Queen, seeing how enthralled she was by it (Jim Kim's concept art) decided to go sit down with her to have a private conversation, whether or not it was about magic. I'm a self-confessed ElsaMaren shipper, but I can't help thinking that there must have been one more reason why a serious and focused person like Elsa decided to talk to Honeymaren instead of the tribe leader who was the person she was talking to earlier and who probably has a lot more knowledge.
A beautiful recreation of this scene by Kelly Erosen (https://twitter.com/kellyerosen/status/1645807089481297925).
BONUS 2 – The Campfire Scene was maybe recreated in “Raya and the Last Dragon”
It may or may not be a coincidence, but:
Two girls sitting close together with something between them
A meal near them
A pet close to women
Their conversation involves interacting with items that have stories related to the plot of the movie.
And if you want to consider this too: there are many similar camera angles with Namaari playing Honeymaren and Raya playing Elsa
The only big difference is that there isn't a duet moment between the girls, but even the pace of the conversation is pretty similar with the more relaxed air. Peter Del Vecho and Kim Hazel herself, who was responsible for the “campfire scene”, also worked on this film, so this theory of inspiration being confirmed would be no surprise.
If you have any more items to add, please add them.
54 notes
·
View notes