| “ | In Arendelle's fair kingdom, a ruler did appear Born with a secret power so great, alone, she stayed in fear Although the force was hidden, one day she let it go And all the land was covered in eternal ice and snow |
„ |
| ~ Frozen trailer's narration. |
| “ | Conceal, don't feel. | „ |
| ~ Elsa trying to control her powers. |
| “ | The cold never bothered me anyway. | „ |
| ~ Elsa's famous catchphrase while she sings "Let It Go", and Making Today a Perfect Day". |
| “ | No, Anna, I belong here. Alone. Where I can be who I am... without hurting anybody. | „ |
| ~ Elsa explaining the necessity of her exile to Anna. |
| Queen Elsa | |
|---|---|
| |
| Series | Frozen |
| Age | 24 in Frozen II |
| Birthday | Unknown |
| Sex | Female |
| Species | Unknown |
| Height | 5'7 |
| Weight | 119lbs |
| Alignment | Lawful Good |
Elsa the Snow Queen is the deuteragonist of the 2013 3D computer-animated musical fantasy film Frozen and the protagonist of its 2019 sequel Frozen II. She is queen of the kingdom of Arendelle and the older sister of Anna.
Background[]
Elsa is the eldest daughter of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna of Arendelle. Elsa was born with the magic ability to control ice and snow, but after she accidentally harmed her sister Anna, her parents shut her away from others and tried to teach her to control her powers. Years later, after her parents died at sea, Elsa was made queen. Losing control of her temper during her coronation, Elsa revealed her powers to her citizens, scaring them and fleeing the kingdom. She was eventually convinced by her sister to return to the throne after accepting her magic as part of herself and opening up to others.
Unbeknownst to Elsa, her powers were a gift from nature to her mother as thanks for saving her father’s life when they were young, even though they were enemies. Elsa is The Snow Queen, one of the Spirits of the Enchanted Forest, intended to bridge the gap between magic and humanity. After discovering her destiny, Elsa abdicated the throne of Arendelle to Anna, taking her place alongside the other Spirits.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Cryokinesis: Elsa has a very powerful magical gift from birth, that of generating and controlling ice, cold and snow at will. With this power, Elsa is capable of many versatile applications: she has demonstrated both immense power (by creating a gigantic ice palace) and subtle use (by generating an ice path to walk on water or by creating many geometric shapes by combining her magic with her creative spirit). She has also demonstrated the ability to generate freezing rays from her hands or to create stalactites. As the years go by, Elsa's power grows immensely and she becomes more powerful when she gains her status as the fifth elemental spirit. One example is when venturing into Ahtohallan, Elsa was able to move pillars through the air with just simple hand gestures.
- Meteokinesis: Elsa also has the ability to create terribly powerful storms over an entire country, as demonstrated in the song Let It Go and especially towards the end of the film.
- Life-Giving: Elsa has demonstrated the ability to create life by magic, as she demonstrates with Olaf and Marshmallow.
- Immunity to Low Temperatures: Elsa is immune to even the lowest temperature. However, she did temporarily freeze when venturing too far into Ahtohallan.
- Memory Recreation: In Ahtohallan, she made snow versions of her own memories alongside memories of her parents and grandfather, then sends one to Anna back in Arendelle. Prior to that, she read the memory of water-soaked wood to see what happened to her parents before they died.
- High Intelligence: Although implicit in the film, Elsa has demonstrated remarkable intelligence, especially with regard to art. Indeed, by creating her ice palace, she was able to generate many flakes with complex geometric shapes.
- Leadership: Elsa has proven to be an excellent queen loved by her people. This capability extends to her tendency to want the good of Arendelle's good at all costs; even going so far as to exile herself.
Feats[]
Strength[]
- Helped lift a block of ice so heavy it caused the ice beneath the sled it was loaded onto to begin to crack.
- Lifted Anna.
- Lifted a big sack of gifts.
- Along with Anna, pushed over a hut.
- As a child, moved all of the furniture in a hallway by herself.
- Says she could break down walls with her powers.
- Pinnec a guard to a wall with ice spikes and nearly stabs him in the neck with one.
- Made an ice wall that pushed a guard through ice doors and nearly off of her ice castle.
- Broke through her own ice shield.
- Created a giant ice shield that stopped and pushed back a massive tidal wave.
- Kristoff said the wave would wash away everything on the fjord.
- Stopped a runaway cart with a large ice wall.
- Lifted a sinking boat out of the water.
- Froze over all of Arendelle.
- Froze the Dark Sea.
- Created a massive snowstorm that damaged her castle, broke apart the frozen fjord, and displaced ships, then quickly stopped it when she believed she killed Anna.
- Blasted a broken tree away from Anna while in a tornado.
Speed[]
- Blocked a crossbow bolt with a piece of ice.
- Dodges attackd from the Nattmara in the form of a giant wolf, leaping several feet in the time it took Anna to blink.
- Dodged a fireball from Bruni the Fire Spirit.
- Blocked a charging polar bear with an ice wall.
- Dodged snowballs thrown by Kristoff.
- Avoided a falling chandelier.
- Perceived Olaf falling in slow motion.
- Ran up a collapsing staircase.
- Outran the Nattmara in the form of a giant wolf.
- Caught a falling Anna with an ice slide.
- Froze a falling pot before it could hit the ground.
- As a child, froze a small falling crystal before it could hit the ground.
- Spun a jump rope quickly.
- Jumped between ice pillars.
- Completed a obstacle course in three minutes flat, beating Anna and Kristoff’s time.
- Jumped across pieces of ice floating down a river.
Durability[]
- Fine after a large wave crashed on her.
- Fine after taking multiple hits from Nokk the Water Spirit, which can smash her ice.
- Fine after sliding down an ice slide from the top of a clocktower hard enough to charge through a giant snowbank and fly through the air into a giant cake.
- Fine after jumping off of a collapsing bridge on a cart.
- Slipped and slid into a pile of heavy ice blocks hard enough to knock them over.
- Ice skated on a frozen river up a mountain for hours.
Skill[]
- Cast Arendelle into eternal winter.
- While holding back, defeated two assassins sent to kill her.
- It is implied that the only limit to Elsa's powers is her imagination.
- Tamed the Nokk.
- Stopped a flood that could have wiped away Arendelle.
- Assumed her rightful place as the Snow Queen―the fifth spirit of the Enchanted Forest that bridges the magic of nature and people, thus abdicating the throne and allowing Anna to rise as the new queen of Arendelle.
- Created Olaf.
- Created a plumbing system for Arendelle.
- With Anna, beat Kristoff and Marshmellow in curling.
- Participated in an archery competition.
- Ranked as one of the most powerful Disney protagonists, sans literally every Kingdom Hearts protagonist ever.
- "Let it Go", the song she sang as she crafted her ice castle, has easily become an icon for Frozen, and by extension, Disney in general.
- With the other Disney Princesses, saved Wreck-It Ralph from falling to his death after he defeated the Wreck-It Ralph virus.
Weaknesses[]
- Human durability.
- Power comes at a cost of control, and vice-versa.
- Limited combat experience.
- Not completely immune to low temperatures, as she froze to death as a result of venturing too far into Ahtohallan.
Fun Facts[]
- Walt Disney had plans to adapt The Snow Queen in the 1940s, but after the character of the Snow Queen proved to be too hard to bring down to earth, the project was shelved. A ride for Disneyland was also planned to be based on it with classic animator Marc Davis having produced concept art for it.
- Elsa is very fond of chocolate, a trait she shares with Anna.
- Contrary to how most adaptations portray her, this version of the Snow Queen is not a villain, since the Snow Queen in the original fairy tale, though still the main antagonist, was not intended to be evil. Also, the fairy tale involved an evil troll (implied to represent Satan) building a mirror which he will use to make anything appear evil in the eyes of the beholders, only to accidentally smash it in the process, and one of the shards ending up hitting Kai (much like Elsa's frost shards hit Anna in the film). The Queen was based on a woman Hans Christian Andersen personally hated for being shrewd and distant.
- Frozen writer Jennifer Lee once made a tweet jokingly suggesting that Elsa and Wreck-It Ralph would make a good couple during the 2013 D23 Expo. As a nod to that, in Disney INFINITY, if Ralph and Elsa are introduced to one another, Ralph will tell Elsa that she's "really pretty", and Elsa will reply "And you have a warm heart."
- In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ralph actually gets to meet Elsa, as well as the other Disney Princesses, near the climax when Elsa and the other Princesses save Ralph from falling to his death after he defeats the Wreck-It Ralph virus, and he strikes up a friendship with all of the Princesses. Although Ralph and Elsa don't develop a romantic relationship in the film, it is possible that they will in either a possible future sequel or a possible future spin-off series.
- Elsa was originally going to be voiced by Megan Mullally before Idina Menzel got the role.
- In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, there is a villainess with the same name and appearance as Elsa.