Kristoff

Kristoff is the tritagonist in the 2013 Disney animated feature Frozen. He is voiced by Jonathan Groff.

Official D23 website

 * Our character Kristoff (voiced by Glee’s Jonathan Groff) is a mountain man. He’s a rugged individualist and a kind of a loner. He’s his own man and the guy who feels he doesn’t need anyone in his life… Sven can get a long just fine—thank you very much. He is an ice harvester. And in cold regions where we visited there are people just like farmers who harvest ice from frozen lakes. They cut it out and place it on long flatbeds and put it in storage. And that’s how our film actually opens—we see the ice harvesters at work and we meet, at that time, a very young Kristoff and Sven. He’s about six years old and he’s learning the trade from the adult ice harvesters. We see a baby Sven with him, too, who’s trying to tow his own block of ice with the big guys. Kristoff is such a loner that he is reluctant when Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell from Forgetting Sarah Marshall) asks him to help her navigate the mountain terrain to find her sister. But he knows the area better than anybody else, so he agrees.

Official Disney Bio

 * Kristoff is a true outdoorsman. He lives high up in the mountains where he harvests ice and sells it to the kingdom of Arendelle. Rough around the edges, Kristoff’s the strong, no-nonsense type, who follows his own set of rules. He may seem like a loner, but he always has his best friend by his side—a loyal and extremely mangy reindeer named Sven.

Personality
Having spent his years without any real contact with lives outside of the trolls and Sven, Kristoff is a bit of an individualist, and acts as a loner. He can also be rather grumpy and selfish at times, as well as lazy. But with all these flaws comes a heart of gold, as well, as the ice harvester has shown multiple times throughout the film that he has a loving heart, and deeply cares for those who treat him with sympathy and love in return, such as Sven, and later Anna. And his relationship with Sven is a perfect example of his soft side, as he's shown to put Sven over anyone else, going as far as to only saving Sven's carrots when his sleigh was seconds away from being destroyed, leaving the other much needed equipment aboard, feeling Sven's happiness and health is far more important.

Kristoff is also known for doing voice overs for Sven, being able to understand the reindeer's thoughts via his expressions, and decided to simply speak for him when they have conversations. They also share a "duet" together; their nightly lullaby. And according to the lyrics of the lullaby Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People, Kristoff apparently had a distrust towards others, believing people will only hurt, cheat, and curse him, and that they're all bad, explaining his loner lifestyle.

Kristoff's loving side is brightly showcased during his time with Anna. Throughout the start of the adventure, Kristoff shows disinterest in going to find Elsa or assisting Anna in conquering the mountains, but soon comes around through the "persuasion" of Sven. And as the adventure continues, Kristoff grows attached to Anna's fun loving and sweet ways, becoming very protective of her, as well as loyal. By the end of the film, Kristoff and Anna fall in love completely, though the mountain man shows to be quite the shy one around his sweetheart, once again showing his softer side.

Kristoff's Beginnings
At the start of the film, Kristoff is seen among ice harvesters as a young boy learning their ways however he can as he tries to do it himself along with his reindeer calf, Sven. On one fateful day, Kristoff is following behind the other harvesters when he notices the King and Queen of Arendelle rush by him with their two daughters rapidly, the grass freezing as they travel by. Curious, Kristoff follows them to the Valley of Living Rock and discovers the trolls. He and Sven watch from a distance as the elder troll, Pabbie, heals Anna but erases her memories of Elsa's ice powers. As they spy, they are discovered by one of the trolls, Bulda, and she decides to take in the two orphans. From there, Kristoff and Sven became family with the trolls, officially taking residence in their valley. Years later, Kristoff and Sven sell ice in Arendelle for business, and are seen out in the village during Princess Elsa's coronation after the death of the original monarchs. Whilst the kingdom is abuzz with royals from all around, Kristoff and Sven are out and about, too, but don't attend the castle festivities, likely because it's meant for royalty only.

The Journey
He isn't seen again until later, after Elsa freezes the kingdom. He arrives at Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna to buy rope, an ax, and carrots for Sven after experiencing a rough blizzard in the Northern Mountains, which Anna realizes is Elsa. He has been almost competely covered in a layer of ice and snow - all that is visible are his eyes, and later the bottom half of his face when he lowers his neckerchief. However, Kristoff doesn't have enough money for all of his items and calls Oaken a crook, causing an upset Oaken to toss him out. Kristoff decides to stay in a nearby shed with Sven for the night until Anna buys him the items he wanted, plus a winter outfit for herself, and asks him to guide her to the Northern Mountains. He says no at first, but after Anna tosses him the stuff he wanted to buy, he agrees to take her in the morning, but she demands they leave in that moment, which he agrees to after she reveals that she also purchased Sven's carrots. The trio head off as Anna explains her desire to marry Hans even though they just met that day. Kristoff argues about this, as he doesn't understand how a girl can marry someone she just met. Then they are chased by wolves and are about to fall off a cliff, but Kristoff tosses Anna onto Sven's back and cuts the rope to the sleigh, causing them to jump to the other side safely, but Kristoff's sleigh, along with nearly all their supplies, falls to the bottom and catches fire (most likely from the sleigh's lantern. Kristoff looks sad and mentions to himself that he "just paid it off" before Anna pulls him up. Feeling bad about causing him to lose his sleigh and nearly killing the three of them, Anna tells Kristoff that he doesn't have to take her anymore, but if he does, she will buy him a new sleigh. Kristoff is about to abandon her and go home when Sven "talks" to him (telling Kristoff that if he doesn't help Anna, she won't give him another sleigh, and she will probably die) and urges him to continue the journey with her.

Finding the Snow Queen
The group then stumble upon a talking snowman named Olaf and are freaked out by him. They ask him if he knows where to find Elsa, which he does. Olaf then sings and tell them that he dreams of doing things in summer. Kristoff states that "someone has to tell him" [that snow melts in winter] but Anna tell him "don't you dare". Olaf then leads them to Elsa's castle, Kristoff stares at the ice castle and is overwhelmed by it, awestruck by how beautiful and complex the ice palace is. Olaf, Sven, and Kristoff (who is extremely reluctant about not seeing the rest of this amazing structure) wait outside while Anna tries to convince Elsa to come back. Elsa, worried about harming her sister, refuses and tells her to run Arendelle while she lives alone and free in the mountains. Anna, however, informs her that she accidentally set off an eternal winter in the kingdom, and as she tries to convince Elsa that she can undo it, Elsa creates a snow storm inside and accidentally strikes Anna, freezing her heart. Elsa then orders her sister to leave again and creates Marshmallow to throw them out. Anna angers the snowmonster and it chases them from the castle and over a cliff. The group land softly in the snow below. As Kristoff helps Anna up, he notices her hair is turning white. Realizing that Elsa struck her again, Kristoff believes he has a solution, and leads the gang to the Valley of the Living Rock, where the trolls reside.

Family Reunion
Along the way there, Kristoff starts showing great worry and care for Anna, and unknowingly falls in love with her. Upon their arrival, Kristoff's adopted mother Bulda, immediately assumes Anna is Kristoff's girlfriend, but when the two deny any romance, Bulda and the trolls try to convince them otherwise, telling them they're meant for each other. They arrange an entire wedding, but before it's complete, Anna nearly faints and loses balance, Kristoff catching her in his arms and anxiously informing the trolls she's freezing cold. Pabbie, although he is powerful, is unable to heal her, and he tells them that unless Anna can perform an act of true love, she'll freeze and die. Bulda believes the act of true love would be "true love's kiss," which prompts Kristoff to take Anna back to Arendelle so she may receive a kiss from Hans, her supposed true love. They reach Arendelle, and Kristoff sadly relinquishes her to Hans' care, believing that she will be truly happy with him.

Race Back to Arendelle
Unknowingly, Hans doesn't really love Anna, he was only using her to become king of Arendelle. Kristoff heads out of Arendelle and Sven tries to convince him to go back, but Kristoff believes that Anna already has a true love and doesn't need him. Meanwhile, Olaf who got separated from the group, finds Anna lying in the library freezing, and he starts a fire for the princess. Back with Kristoff and Sven, the reindeer starts pushing Kristoff back towards Arendelle. When Kristoff sees a giant snowstorm (created by a frightened Elsa), he realizes that Anna is in danger and quickly rushes back to save her. Olaf sees the two heading back, and tells Anna that Kristoff is the one that truly loves her, and it's his kiss that can save her. Meanwhile, Hans informs the visiting dignitaries that Elsa killed Anna, and before she died, they married, making him the king. The lie is consumed, and Hans gains the throne. Needing her killed to put an end to winter, Hans follows the queen into the fjords as she tries to return to her ice castle. Anna and Olaf arrive in the fjord as well, but Elsa's mounting fear causes a harsh blizzard, speeding up Anna's dying process.

Summer and Blossoming Romance
Anna spots Kristoff from a distance, but she notices Hans and Elsa in the distance as well, where the evil prince was seconds away from murdering the Snow Queen with his sword. Sacrificing her life for her sister, Anna leaps to the rescue and puts herself between Elsa and Hans, freezing to death seconds before the sword hits her. Hans is knocked out from the impact just as Elsa realizes what happened. She tearfully mourns her sister, as Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf, who have just arrived, watch sadly from a distance. However, Anna's sacrifice was an act of true love, and she is soon revived from her death, much to everyone's complete joy. And along with Anna's healing comes the entire kingdom's thawing. As Hans awakens, Kristoff's ready to beat him up for what he did, but Anna stops him and punches Hans herself, knocking him overboard. As the kingdom is restored, Anna gives Kristoff a new sleigh and makes him official ice deliverer. He and Anna share their first kiss shortly after, becoming a couple.

Kristoff is last seen skating with Sven and the others during the finale after Elsa creates an ice skating rink in the castle courtyard, celebrating her return as queen, as well as the revival of summer.

Disney Parks
Kristoff makes a brief cameo in Disney California Adventure's nighttime spectacular, World of Color, seen being pulled in a sleigh along with Anna, Olaf, and Sven. However, he is currently not available for meet-and-greets; when asked about him, Anna and Elsa mention that he is in Arendelle.

Relationship with Other Characters
Anna: Initially, Kristoff only accompanied Anna on her trip to retrieve her sister because Anna paid him with the pickaxe, rope, and a bag of carrots he wanted but couldn't afford it himself because of Oaken. When they first started their journey together, Anna was explaining to him how Elsa froze Arendelle and Kristoff found Anna's hasty engagement to Hans very ludicrous and even questioned her judgement and how well she knew Hans. He was also annoyed when he lost his sled due to having to accompany Anna on her journey to find Elsa and only continued to accompany her after Sven convinced him that he wouldn't get a new sled if she were to die out in the wilderness by herself. However, as the two spent time together and he began to see more of her fiery and sweet character, he became smitten with her and it seemed reciprocated, but both continued to deny and ignore this because of Anna's previous engagement to Hans. This became apparent throughout their journey and more apparent as Kristoff was tending to her while her health was deteriorating due to Elsa's curse and they reached the troll cave, where the trolls teased the two about their relationship and even tried to wed them. When Kristoff managed to return Anna to the castle, he was clearly still worried about her health and heartbroken over having lost Anna to Hans. Unfortunately, he is too dense to realize his feelings until Sven helps him. Suddenly, as the storm worsens around the castle, Kristoff realizes Anna is in trouble and tries to get to her. As the two were about to reach each other when Elsa's storm had froze, Anna decided go save Elsa from Hans instead. As soon as Anna shields Elsa with her body, the curse takes full force and freezes Anna entirely, killing her as she takes her final breath. Kristoff is shown mourning over Anna's death as Elsa hugs her little sister's frozen body while sobbing, but soon becomes overjoyed when he saw that she was revived due to her act of true love by saving her older sister. Elsa then unthaws Arendelle with the power of true love. When Hans woke up after being knocked unconscious, Kristoff was angry enough over Hans' behavior, he almost clobbered him. However, Anna stopped him so she could confront and punch Hans herself. After Elsa stopped the Winter and Summer was finally back in the kingdom, Anna gave Kristoff a new sled to replace the old one that was destroyed and he was so happy he stated that he could kiss her and even asked her permission to do so. It is then shown that Kristoff is the shy one in their relationship as he becomes awkward about what he says, and it is Anna who instigates the kiss. The two finally share a true love's first kiss and enjoy skating with Elsa, Olaf, Sven, and the townspeople as the film sadly comes to a close. Kristoff and Anna are each other's true love and it is shown that they have a very strong relationship and it will continue on. It is very likely that the two will be married later on and will also have a loving, joyful future together. Also, it was Kristoff's act of true love (returning her to Hans so she can survive) that inspired Anna to perform her act of true love to save herself, her sister, and their relationship.

Elsa the Snow Queen: Although Elsa had little interaction with Kristoff in the film (including after she struck Anna in the heart with her powers, and at the ending), it is enough to show that although she is scared to see him at first, she soon comes to accept him after knowing what he did for her sister. She even gives him the title "Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer."

Olaf: Kristoff and Olaf have somewhat of a good friendship and are friendly towards each other. At first, Kristoff calls him creepy and is confused by the fact that Olaf (being a living, breathing frozen substance) would dream about Summer and being in heat itself. He wants to break the ice and tell the happy snowman that his dream might not be all what he thinks it's cracked up to be, but Anna stops him by smacking him in the arm and scolding him. Kristoff still believes somebody has to to tell Olaf the truth about his dream eventually, but doesn't try to proceed to do it himself. However, he seemed to hold no animosity or dislike towards the snowman. He also warned Olaf to be careful and not be seen when they rushed back to the kingdom, possibly out of concern for Olaf since people might be frightened and attempt to harm him.

Olaf also seemed to consider Kristoff a good friend, despite the fact that during their first meeting he called Kristoff "a funny looking donkey". For example, Olaf showed worry for Anna and Kristoff and told them to run while he tried unsuccessfully to distract and hold off Marshmallow, indicating Olaf cared for both of their safeties and that Olaf considered Kristoff a good friend as he wanted to save him. He also told Anna that Kristoff loved Anna and his act of returning her to Hans to save her was an act of true love, indicating he understood Kristoff well enough to become aware of his affection for Anna. However, Olaf did think Kristoff was crazy for a moment when Kristoff brought everyone to his family of "rocks" and warned Anna to run before his family of rocks revealed themselves to the group.

Although they do not have much interaction throughout the film, it would seem that Kristoff sees Olaf as a good friend and vice versa, which is made stronger by their equal love for Anna.

Sven: Sven is Kristoff's pet and best friend. They have known each other since childhood and are inseparable. Kristoff has a strange habit of speaking for Sven in a silly voice, but Sven doesn't seem to mind. Kristoff loves Sven a lot and always make sure he has enough food to eat (carrots), even though they share their food with each other most of the time. Kristoff can understand what Sven is saying which is why he does voice overs for Sven and Sven often acts as his conscious, being the one to convince Kristoff to continue accompanying with Anna on her journey so she wouldn't freeze to death and Kristoff could get a new sled from her. Sven was also smart enough to realize Kristoff's feelings for Anna and tried to convince Kristoff to realize and confront his feelings for her. When Sven and Kristoff were rushing to get to Anna, Sven accidentally fell into the river. Despite needing to get to Anna immediately, he looked back and waited a few moments to make sure Sven was alright before he rushed back to save Anna, indicating how much he cared for Sven.

Kristoff seems protective of his friend as when Anna and sven approached the end of a cliff and told him to jump, Kristoff said she couldn't tell Sven what to do and only he could and then proceeded to tell Sven to jump. He also told Olaf not to talk to his friend demeaningly, even showing hints of jealously towards others who make an attempt to befriend him.

Though Sven can at times be annoyed by Kristoff's selfishness and Kristoff hates it when Sven acts as his conscious, Kristoff and Sven are very close and treat each other more like equals and siblings rather than a traditional master pet relationship, with both caring for the other's happiness.

Enemies
Hans: When he first heard of Hans Kristoff questioned Anna's judgment for agreeing to marry a man she just met. However, since he had never personally met Hans, he had no actual opinion of Hans, though he did seem to find it suspicious that Hans would propose to Anna so quickly, questioning his character and how he viewed Anna. Nonetheless, Kristoff understood Anna's feelings for him and for this reason could not understand (or possibly did not want to confront) his feelings for her so she could be happy with Hans. Later on Kristoff brought Anna back to Hans so that he could cure her frozen heart, not knowing Han's true nature. This broke his heart, but he believed Anna would be happier with Hans than with him. He appears to be aware of his betrayal because when Elsa had finshed thawing the kingdom, Kristoff was about to confront Hans but Anna stopped him so she could do it herself(resulting in her punching him off the ship).

Although the two have no actual interaction with each other during the film, it is evident that Kristoff is aware of Hans' betrayal and attempt to kill both sisters and hates Hans, especially after he hurt and betrayed Anna though Hans' view of Kristoff is unknown.

Memorable quotes

 * "Now back up, while I deal with this crook, here."
 * "I don't take people places."
 * "So, tell me. Why did the queen go all ice crazy?"
 * "You mean to tell me you got engaged to someone you just met that day?!"
 * "What if you don't like the way he eats? What if you don't like the way he picks his nose?"
 * "Doesn't sound like true love."
 * "You don't tell him what to do!"
 * "Oh... I just paid it off..."
 * "It's completely frozen..."
 * "You're creepy."
 * "Now that's ice... I might cry."
 * "Aw, come on, it's a palace made of ice! Ice is my life!"
 * "That happened."
 * "Make sure she's safe!"
 * "She's with her true love!"
 * "I could kiss you!"

Trivia

 * According to director/writer Jennifer Lee, Kristoff is 21.
 * It should be noted that Kristoff's current design is much like an early design for Flynn Rider from Tangled, known as "Bear Flynn" or "Bastion." That design was bulky, largely-built, and that version of Flynn Rider was sweet and charming (which is majorly unlike Kristoff's overall character).
 * Both Kristoff's voice actor (Jonathan Groff) and Elsa's voice actress (Idina Menzel) have been recurring characters on the FOX television series Glee. Groff played a character named Jesse St. James, a love interest to the character of Rachel Berry. Menzel played Rachel's mother, and the vocal coach of Jesse's Glee Club, Vocal Adrenaline.
 * Interestingly, despite being the male lead with a massively large role in the film, Kristoff is not the most heavily marketed character after Anna, Elsa, and the easily marketable Olaf. That instead goes to Sven, who is constantly featured as Olaf's sidekick/companion in marketing and other promotional material.
 * Kristoff's the first Disney Prince to be based on a female character, as he's based on the Robber Girl from The Snow Queen. From the original story, the Robber Girl's the one who helps Gerda (the main protagonist, Anna, is based off of) through her journey, and she also has a pet reindeer.
 * Kristoff is the second Disney Prince to be a tritagonist rather than a deuteragonist or a protagonist, the first being Li Shang from Mulan.
 * Kristoff and Shang are also similar to each other personality wise in that compared to their respective princesses, who have more adventurous personalities, Kristoff and Shang have more serious and logical personalities. They are also both kind of shy and awkward.
 * Kristoff is the second Disney Prince to have blonde hair, the first being John Smith from Pocahontas.
 * Kristoff's the second Disney Prince to be an orphan after Flynn Rider from Tangled, although while Flynn grew up in an orphanage, Kristoff was raised by trolls.
 * Kristoff is the sixth Disney Prince not born into royalty, the first being Aladdin, the second being John Smith, the third being John Rolfe (the second love interest to Pocahontas), the fourth being Shang and the fifth being Flynn. Despite this, he has some royal family connections as he was adopted by troll royalty.
 * Kristoff is the seventh Disney Hero to have a last name, the first being John Smith, the second being Buzz Lightyear, the third being John Rolfe, the fourth being Li Shang, the fifth being Milo Thatch, and the sixth being Flynn Rider, whose real name is Eugene Fitzherbert.
 * Kristoff is the second Disney Prince who does not have a love song and a romantic duet with his love interest. The first being Li Shang.
 * Kristoff bears a slight resemblance to Phoebus from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
 * Also, both Kristoff and Phoebus are the tritagonists of their films.
 * Kristoff is the first to fall in love with Anna since Hans did not really love her.
 * Kristoff is similar to Sergeant Calhoun from Wreck-It Ralph because they both travel with someone in order to find a sibling figure and prevent a bigger catastrophe in their land (Calhoun traveled with Felix to find Ralph and stop the Cy-Bug invasion while Kristoff travels with Anna to find Elsa and stop the eternal winter) also both of them fall in love with the person they traveled with.
 * He is also similar to Robert from Enchanted, because Anna must spend time with him away from Hans (whom she believes is her true love) with him, and realizes she is in love with him instead. In Enchanted, Giselle must spend time away from Prince Edward with Robert, and falls in love with Robert during her stay.
 * Kristoff is the third Disney Prince to be shown as a child onscreen, the first being Prince Phillip and the second being Aladdin.
 * He is the second prince to not marry his princess at the film's end, the first being John Smith. However, Anna and Kristoff might get married in a sequel, as that's happened to other Disney Princesses (Jasmine, Mulan and Rapunzel, respectively).
 * Kristoff bears some similarities to Flynn Rider:
 * They both go on a journey with the princess because of a bargain between them.
 * Kristoff and Flynn fell in love with Anna and Rapunzel along the way.
 * Both have an animal companion during the trip.
 * They're both similar in personality, such as being used to working alone.
 * They both experience a lot of injuries in their films.
 * Kristoff is the third orphaned Disney Hero to not be raised by humans, the first being Mowgli, who was raised by wolves, and second being Tarzan, who was raised by gorillas as his biological parents were killed by a leopard.
 * Jonathan Groff, the actor who voices Kristoff, is openly gay, making Kristoff the second Disney Prince to be voiced by an openly gay actor, after BD Wong who voiced Li Shang from Mulan.
 * Kristoff is the third tritagonist who does not have an interaction with the main villain. (The first is Bagheera, even though he knew Shere Khan he never interacts with him throughout the film or its sequel), The second is Fix-It Felix, even though he knew Turbo and his history he never interacts with him in the film.)
 * It is unknown if he remembers his first encounter with Elsa and Anna when they were little when the royal family went to the trolls to heal their daughter, but it is possible since he told Anna that he already had seen the troll heal someone before. If this is the case, he's the first person to learn about Elsa's powers.
 * Kristoff has a few similarities to Aladdin.
 * Both are orphans.
 * Both have an animal for a best friend (Abu for Aladdin, Sven for Kristoff)
 * Both fall in love with a princess.
 * Both at one point were seen as kids.
 * Both are befriended by a magical comedic creature. (Genie for Aladdin, Olaf for Kristoff)
 * Kristoff is actually a variation of the name "Christopher." In Norway, the spelling is "Kristoffer," and is a very popular name.
 * It could also be a reference to Hans Christian Anderson, the author of "The Little Mermaid" and "The Snow Queen".
 * When Olaf first met Kristoff, he asked Anna "who the funky looking donkey" was. Anna assumed he meant Sven the reindeer and told Olaf his name was Sven. However, Olaf was referring to Kristoff as shown when he asked who the reindeer was and Anna confusingly told him his name was Sven. This caused Olaf to think both Kristoff and Sven were named "Sven" and continued to call Kristoff Sven until he was corrected when they went to Kristoff's family of rocks, who shouted "Kristoff is back!" and Olaf realized Kristoff's real name.
 * Apparently, Kristoff does not have the best of hygiene because in one of his voice overs for Sven, "Sven" says Kristoff does not smell better than a reindeer. Aso, his troll family mentions in the song Fixer Upper that "though we know he washes well he always ends up sort of smelly" and how he "tinkles in the woods" and "has a couple of bugs" (though the last one could refer to his flaws).