#KINSHIP: Royal Family of Arendelle

[wazafam]

In Frozen 2, there are some callbacks to hit predecessor Frozen, some of them done in the form of crystalline memories Elsa sees in the Ahtohallan. The film reunites the voice talents of the first movie, including Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff, and contains little nods to jokes and story elements from Frozen. In one scene, Elsa sees actual visions of moments from her past with the help of a magical river, the Ahtohallan.

The second film introduces new story elements, expanding the mythical design of the Frozen universe to include a tale the princesses' parents told them as children. Their mother sings them a song about a magical place "Where the North wind meets the sea, there's a river full of memory," and their father tells them of the indigenous people to the north, the Northuldrans, who live in an enchanted forest beyond the borders of Arendelle. King Runeard, the girls' grandfather, made a treaty with the tribe by offering to build a dam. A fight occurs for unknown reasons, and the king is killed, leaving the kingdom to his son, who is rescued from the fray. Years later, Elsa goes on a quest to discover what happened to anger the forest spirits, and she eventually comes to the very river full of memory that her mother spoke of, a place called Ahtohallan.

RELATED: Frozen 2's Best Elsa Song Was Almost Cut Months Before Release

In recent years, the Disney company has utilized self-referential humor and meta-jokes in an effort to move into the future while protecting their brand from the past. Jokes in Frozen like, "You got engaged to a man you just met?" and "If you start singing, I'm gonna throw up," in Moana act as a recollection for older fans, reinventing and critiquing all at once. The scene in the enchanted river Ahtohallan acts in a similar way, connecting the old with the new in an inventive plot device that rounds out the story with revelations while at the same time effectively using nostalgia to remind fans of the moments from the first film that made the story and characters memorable.

The giant snow monster Marshmallow was created when Anna and Kristoff attempt to appeal to Elsa in her ice palace. After her sister and her friend refuse to leave, Elsa erupts in anger, summoning a giant snowman to chase them away. Marshmallow tosses them from the palace and pursues them down a cliff, telling them not to come back. Marshmallow mirrors Elsa's then-frozen emotional state and desire to be isolated from the world. The beast is not wicked but obeys Elsa's wishes to her detriment. He proves himself a gentle giant in the end with a post-credits scene that illustrates his softer side. In the river, an all-ice version of Marshmallow appears to Elsa, smiling placidly and humming to himself, signifying that she has reconciled with the dark moments of her past.

One of the first visions Elsa sees in Ahtohallan is the childhood moment when she first creates Olaf the snowman. She and Anna are children playing, and Elsa conjures the little snowman out of thin air. Elsa crouches behind Olaf, making his arms reach out to Anna, saying "I like warm hugs," a phrase he repeats later in both Frozen and Frozen 2 once Elsa gives him life. The memory is one of the last Elsa has of her and Anna's childhood together before things were complicated by her parents' fear of her powers. When Elsa recreates a sentient Olaf the Snowman during "Let It Go," it is, in a way, her inner child emerging to remind her of her connection with her sister.

A little Kristoff and his trusty reindeer friend Sven are two of the first characters seen in Frozen, crouching in the dark as the men harvest the ice. In the river, Elsa sees crystalline versions of them sliding through the snow. This is an interesting one as Elsa never met Kristoff as a child, so the memory isn't necessarily hers. Kristoff, however, saw both Anna and Elsa when they went to the trolls for counsel, an important moment in his life, as it was the moment a motherly troll took him and Sven in as her own. He alone in the kingdom of Arendelle knows of Elsa's powers, but as a commoner, he has no connection to the royal family and grows up to seemingly forget the incident. He does, however, retain his kinship with the trolls, and it turns out to be a helpful relationship when Anna is hit with Elsa's dangerous curse.

RELATED: Frozen 3 Theory: Kristoff's Parents Are Still Alive

Elsa sees a frozen vision of herself strutting by and belting out her famous solo, "Let It Go." She shudders and shields her eyes as though embarrassed. The scene in the first film was a formative one, a moment that allowed her to address all the things about herself that she had been suppressing. The culmination of this growth is arrived at in Frozen 2 when Elsa learns more about her powers and her destiny and how they were gifted to her from the spirits of the forest. It is perhaps because she has learned more about what to do with her gifts that she finds her past rebellion cringeworthy, such as when an adult looks back on old pictures of them as a teenager and shakes their head.

The scene from Frozen in which the Duke of Weselton dances awkwardly around Anna appears to Elsa as she wanders through the magical river. The hapless Duke at first provided the comic relief that allowed the sisters to share a laugh for the first time in years. He bows to them, his toupee flipping forward to reveal a bald spot, and then proceeds to take Anna to the dance floor, flopping around energetically. The Duke is a treacherous man easily incited to violence when Elsa demonstrates her powers, but he ends up being little more than a fly in the ointment once Elsa discovers the real villain that is Prince Hans and his attempts to unravel the kingdom of Arendelle. The Duke is returned to his own kingdom sans a treaty after his misdeeds.

Anna meets Hans in the first film in a typical meet-cute when she accidentally stumbles into his boat. Hans marked an important learning moment for both sisters, first for Anna when she learned how real romantic love truly develops, and second for Elsa when she learns that Anna is more important to her than all the independence in the world. Hans' treachery brings the two sisters closer together than any romantic bond, and the villain Hans is the one memory avatar that Elsa casts aside with a dismissive flick of her wrist, illustrating that he is a sad annoyance not to be given any weight. Once again, it shows Elsa has grown.

Not much is divulged about Anna and Elsa's parents in the first film, but the second allows them to learn more about the love that Iduna and Agnarr shared. In the river, Iduna appears before Elsa, talking to her husband with great sincerity, telling him that she needs to explain more things about herself to him. There seems to be a lot in common between Elsa and her mother, as they both guard difficult secrets they must eventually reveal to the ones they love.

RELATED: Frozen 2 Theory: The 4 Elemental Spirits Killed Anna & Elsa's Parents

One fun thing both Elsa and audiences got to see was the burgeoning friendship between the two ill-fated royals of Arendelle. A short scene between the phantom-like memories shows that Iduna is every bit as playful as her daughter Anna, while the young Agnarr is poised and thoughtful just like his daughter Elsa. In the memory, Iduna dangles from a tree, making Agnarr laugh. "What are you reading, your majesty?" she asks curiously. "Some new Danish author," Agnarr answers, an obvious nod to Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote The Snow Queen, the fairy tale upon which Frozen is based.

The two princesses were never told how their father escaped the conflict between the Northuldra and the Arendellians. When the memories of the forest are frozen, Anna and Elsa discover the truth together: their mother was the Northuldran who pulled their father to safety through the cursed mist. Later, Elsa sees more details, witnessing the very moment that Iduna ensures Agnarr's survival. She lifts him into a wagon and covers them both with a blanket, whisking them across the bridge before they could be trapped in the forest or lost in battle.

In the story Elsa and Anna's father tells them, their grandfather Runeard sought peace with the Northern tribe. He gives them a gift in the form of a dam that is supposedly going to strengthen their rivers. King Agnarr does not know why the battle between the two civilizations commences, only that his father was lost. In a memory in Ahtohallan, the truth is revealed to Elsa. She sees her grandfather betraying the Northuldran people, confiding his plan to one of his officers: "the dam will weaken their lands so they will have to turn to me." When the dam does indeed cause the forest to fail, a Northuldran elder pleads with Runeard to reconsider the gift, and he suggests they discuss it elsewhere. Runeard turns on the elder, killing him when his back is turned and he is unarmed, thus angering the spirits of the forest and causing a battle to ensue. Elsa witnesses his prejudice against magical forces and his ignorance about those he wishes to colonize.

Some 39 memories flash before Elsa as she enters the sacred river, some from her own mind and others from the point of view of characters like Kristoff, Anna, and Iduna. As she sings the film's standout song "Show Yourself," she is granted snatches of her own childhood, of the traumas and joys she has experienced, and the things that shaped her along the way. Like "Let It Go," the moment is one of self-acceptance and empowerment, and it is a gift to Elsa to see all the memories that belong not only to her but to the ones she loves. She sees Kristoff and Sven sailing through the ice to meet the trolls, sees Anna arriving, frozen to the bone, to Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna. In one moment as she gazes on the memories, her mother (Evan Rachel Wood), sings along with her, expressing the power that the truth of the past possesses, a significant theme threaded through the story of Frozen 2.

NEXT: Frozen 2 Broke A Very Specific Disney Animated Record

Frozen 2: Every Memory Elsa Sees In The Ahtohallan, Explained from https://ift.tt/3aaS7D3

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[nico-nightingale]

Summary: Following an accident that involved her beloved younger sister, the crown princess of Arendelle grew to believe she was born cursed. At her eleventh birthday, however, she receives the visit of a man in strange robes, who invites her to study at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This story follows Elsa's life in Hogwarts as she discovers that magic is no curse and starts learning how to love herself.

Rating: T (ages 13 and up)

Also found on: FF.net, AO3, Wattpad

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Frozen belongs to Disney. The cover photo belongs to Nico Benedickt and the font belongs to Naharstd.

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Chapter I: The Welcoming Hat

When, on her eleventh birthday, the crown princess of Arendelle walked into the throne room to discover an elderly man standing in front of her parents, she hadn't thought much of it. Although he was dressing in strange robes and wearing the longest beard Elsa had ever seen in her life, a great number of eccentric characters often came to see the King and Queen. As they had been speaking in English, the girl first regarded him as an ambassador.

However, when the man, Albus Dumbledore, turned to look at her for the first time, Elsa knew right away that she had been wrong. There was something in his eyes—something magical—and, trying to decipher it, the girl barely listened to his very first words to her, much to her parents' exasperation. “You are a witch,” he repeated, much to the princess' astonishment, and proceeded to tell her about how she got a place in his school of magic, located in Scotland.

Elsa was, perhaps, the only muggle-born in Hogwarts at that time who had tried to reject the invitation. All the stories she had heard from other students told her astonishment was a rather common feeling at the discovery of a magical world just within their grasp, but it was always followed by wonder and joy. The princess of Arendelle, however, felt only shame and disgust; ever since the accident, three years prior, she had decided she wants nothing to do with magic.

If it weren't her parents, she would have never set her feet on the castle. Upset about her response and eager to have someone teaching her how to control her magic, they were adamant about her enrollment in Hogwarts. It was the answer to their prays, her father had told her. They were lucky that Dumbledore had taken notice on her, considering that Arendelle was far from the school's territory and foreign students were rare enough in there even among magical families. 

Helpless against her parents' demand, Elsa had seen no option but to do as she was told. The girl didn't doubt that she would soon be back, however. Her parents' advisors—clueless about her magic and the nature of Hogwarts—were outraged by the notion of sending their young crown princess to a foreign school when they had very good schools and tutors within the kingdom. They were still to find a law that allowed them to interfere with Elsa's education in that particular situation, but the girl had no doubt they would soon figure out a way to bring her back.

“Why are you so against it?” Her mother asked her once with a frown; neither she nor the king could understand the reason Elsa wasn't excited about meeting boys and girls who were just as magical as she was. The girl, however, just shrugged. The thought of nurturing the exact thing that had her little sister, the person she loved more than life itself, almost killed was incomprehensible to her; she would much rather eradicate it.  

Elsa couldn't understand why her parents were in favor of the study of magic when it had brought them nothing but sorrow. She still remembered the deep concern and sorrow in her mother's eyes as the royal family stood in front of the trolls, praying that they would be able to help Anna. The crown princess had never seen her bubbly five-year-old sister so still, frail, cold. No, the only knowledge Elsa wished to acquire at that point was how to get rid of her magic.

Anna. As the girl entered the grand entrance doors of the castle, it was all she could think about. She would love it here. Because the younger princess had adored magic from the day she was born. Elsa was only three years old by then, but she would never forget the wonder in her sister's eyes when she looked at the tiny snowflakes the girl had created just for her. 

Yes, Anna would have loved studying at Hogwarts. She would have appreciated every single one of Elsa's school books; not only the content in each chapter, but its entire craft. The dim light of the candles—because there seemed to be no place for electricity in the school—wouldn't have been intimidating at all, she would have thought of them as an invitation to an adventure. And the moving and talking paintings— if Anna was indeed an art enthusiast, like her tutor and her parents had told her, Elsa was sure she would be beyond words if she set her eyes on them. 

While the other students seemed to grow unease and excited as they approached the teachers' table and stopped in front of a singing hat, Elsa was deep in her thoughts. She had to stop herself from giggling at the thought of Anna's reaction to the great hall, a place that screamed “magic” more than anything she had ever done in her life. Perhaps, the girl mused, she could send a letter to her sister telling her everything about Hogwarts. Perhaps—

“Kyrre, Elsa!” Startled, the crown princess looked at the stern-looking teacher she thought to be called Professor McGonagall. Elsa could sense in the tone of her voice that this hadn't been the first time the woman had called her, much to her embarrassment. Being a good multitasker, there weren't many occasions she had been caught not paying attention to a teacher. 

The problem, and she knew it would come back to bite her again, was the name. Technically, she had been named Elsa Iduna Solveig Kyrre, but people had always called her either “your royal highness”, “princess” or simply “Elsa”. Therefore, even though her father had warned her that would be the name they would be using, the girl couldn't help but being irresponsible when referred to as Miss Elsa Kyrre. No matter how much she rehearsed it in her head, it would be a problem.

However, as the hat covered her eyes, shielding her from the view of the giggling faces of the other students, such thoughts vanished immediately. “Ah! What do we have here?” A voice—the hat's voice—whispered in her head. This time, was she the only one listening? “Quite an interesting mind, I see—” A dreadful thought popped into Elsa's mind: if the hat could read her mind, it would be able to see and tell others about her mistake, her shame. The girl gulped, vær så snill, ikke fortell noen— jeg mener— please, don't tell anyone! God, please! “A worrier, huh?” 

A pause followed as the hat seemed to contemplate, and Elsa felt the cold slipping from the tip of her fingers to the cloth of her white gloves. She swallowed hard once again, trying to control her magic. Please, don't tell— “a hat never tells,” the girl's erratic thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the amused response; “now, where should I put you?” Once again, it seemed to be contemplating her. “What a mind! And in all these centuries— I have rarely seen such raw talent! In Ravenclaw, you shall find your equals. However— such extreme beliefs for a young mind. No, I believe—”

Another pause. Elsa wondered how long has it passed since the hat was first placed in her head. It mustn't be too long, otherwise, people would become agitated. Wouldn't they? “I can see wit, strong loyalty and the burning desire to succeed. Perhaps— you might find kinship in Slytherin.” For a reason, the hat didn't seem too sure, and the girl had a hint on the true reason. While she didn't want to attend Hogwarts, the crown princess knew better than going with no knowledge of the place. The chapter about the house of Slytherin in “Hogwarts, a History” told her about its founder's firm belief that no muggle-born should be taught magic in Hogwarts. The hat would know better than placing one there, right?

“That leaves us— HUFFLEPUFF!” The last word came out louder than the previous and Elsa took a few seconds to realize the other students were clapping, which meant she had been sorted. Hufflepuff— a warm feeling filled her chest at the remembrance of an excerpt in “Hogwarts, a History” about the house. 

Hufflepuff is, perhaps, the most misunderstood of the Hogwarts houses in the modern age. Designed by the Welsh witch Helga Hufflepuff during the earliest days of the school's foundation, the house acquired the reputation of forming weak and dull wizards and witches because of its overall approval of students regarding their background or personal skills. 

Helga Hufflepuff valued fairness and loyalty, which she aspired to teach the new witches or wizards. Her lessons have been passed from generation to generation of Hufflepuff students, strong enough to create a tradition of acceptance, honesty, kindness, and communion within the house. To this day, it has produced the lowest number of dark wizards and witches of all the four houses of Hogwarts.

Elsa didn't feel particularly accepting or kind at that moment, but the judgment of something—or someone—that could see the darkest corners of her mind filled her with joy like she hadn't experienced in many years. Besides, if Hufflepuff didn't bring up as many dark witches and wizards as the other houses, perhaps there was hope for her magic, for herself. Perhaps she wasn't so bad, after all.

With a smile of relief on her lips, Elsa carefully took off the hat and placed it back on the stool she had been sitting. After a glance through the hall, the girl walked towards the closest table on her left, where the applauds were coming from. For once, being at Hogwarts didn't seem too bad; too far to hurt her sister and surrounded by people who knew about her magic, things might turn out fine.

#frozen fic #harry potter fic #elsa of arendelle #anna of arendelle #nymphadora tonks #harry potter au #hogwarts au #my fanfics #the others