The relationships of Elsa from the Frozen franchise.
Family[]
Anna[]
Sister/Best Friend
- “You sacrificed yourself for me?"
"I love you.” - ―Elsa and Anna in Frozen
Elsa and Anna hug.
Since the two were young, Elsa and Anna have always been the best of friends and loved each other dearly. The two enjoyed playing together, and Anna loved it when Elsa used her magic to create a winter wonderland. However, after Elsa accidentally hit Anna with her ice magic and almost killed her, Elsa became too scared to go near Anna out of fear her powers could harm her again, and agreed with her parents when they decided that Elsa and Anna should be separated until the former garners complete control over her magic. Even though they likely had brief interactions around the castle, they didn’t hang out with each other anymore. Even when Anna later became all the family Elsa had left after their parents died, she still refused to allow her sister to be in her presence. While Elsa's desire to stay away from Anna was out of her love for her, Anna felt distanced from her and constantly tried to reconnect with Elsa without understanding or knowing about Elsa's powers, as the troll king removed all magic including memories of magic to revive her. During the coronation party, the two seemed to temporarily reconnect as they enjoyed themselves and Anna expressed her wish that they could always be close like this. Elsa, caught up in the moment, sincerely agrees but knows why they must keep their distance and closes herself off again, which they are both saddened by, though Anna was not aware of Elsa's feelings. They also seemed to reconnect by their love of chocolate, after Elsa saying what is that amazing smell and they both sniffed the air to the delight of finding it was chocolate.
When Elsa's powers are revealed to the kingdom after the two got into an argument about Anna's premature engagement to Hans and how Elsa always shuts everybody out, Elsa runs away and Anna, knowing it wasn't Elsa's fault as she was the one who pushed Elsa, volunteered to get her back, saying "She's my sister. She would never hurt me." When she got to Elsa's palace, she tried to get Elsa to come back home with her and fix the eternal winter Elsa had cast on the kingdom together, but couldn't persuade her as Elsa didn't know how to fix what she had done and was too afraid of, and distressed at, hurting others. Elsa's negative emotions explode unwillingly, striking Anna's heart. Nonetheless, Anna's love for Elsa prevailed and proved to be the thing Anna held most dear to her, shown best when she chose to not get saved by Kristoff but instead ran in front of Elsa to protect her from Hans' killing strike, freezing to solid ice and sacrificing her own life in the process.
This demonstrates just how deep Anna's love for Elsa is and that no matter what happens, their sisterly bond is the most important thing to her. This act of true love is also ultimately what saves Anna from Elsa's curse, as Olaf makes the connection that Anna's actions were an act of true love, which teaches Elsa how to finally thaw winter and control her powers, allowing her to restore her bond with Anna. Elsa and Anna truly care and love each other and while Elsa was too scared of hurting Anna to get close to her and Anna was at times somewhat pushy and insistent on helping Elsa (which could at times make things worse) the two will always love each other and do anything for the sake of the other's happiness.
The shorts Frozen Fever and Olaf's Frozen Adventure show their sisterly bond growing stronger as they catch up on the yearly celebrations they missed in the past, such as birthdays and the holidays. The former sees Elsa celebrating Anna's birthday with her despite Elsa's illness and ends with a feverish Elsa under Anna's care following a spectacular birthday celebration; Anna remarks that her best birthday present is tending to a bedridden Elsa. The latter reveals that Elsa had kept gifts Anna made for her, which were based on Olaf, every Christmas as a reminder of their childhood and the love they have for each other, leading the sisters to realize that Olaf is their tradition.
In Frozen II, Anna has become very protective of Elsa and, above all else, fears losing her sister again. Likewise, Elsa is protective of Anna and saves her from the wind spirit, the attacks of the Northuldra and Arendellian guards, and from the fire spirit as well as preventing her from accompanying her to the dark sea, acknowledging that it isn't safe for both of them to cross. Much to Anna's frustration as she promised they would do this together. When Elsa starts to freeze in Ahtohallan Elsa uses the last of her power to sent a message to Anna, trusting her to break the curse. After Anna destroys the dam the spirits lift the curse over the forest and thaws Elsa allowing her to save Arendelle, though Elsa credits both her revival and the salvation of Arendelle to Anna, showing nothing but great respect and admiration to her sister for her selflessness and bravery. At the end, Elsa trusts Anna as her successor as Queen of Arendelle while still making promises to visit her to keep their bond. This shows that within the three years since reuniting, their relationship has improved to the point where both of them are comfortable going their separate ways so long as they remain in contact.
Since the first movie, Anna has served as a source of nurture for Elsa, taking care of her when she's ill (Frozen Fever) or stressed (Olaf's Frozen Adventure/Frozen II).
King Agnarr and Queen Iduna[]
A young Elsa with her parents.
On the night Elsa accidentally injured Anna with her magic, Elsa called out to her parents for help, and they were responsive as they immediately rushed to the scene. When they took Anna to the Valley to see Grand Pabbie, they brought Elsa along. After the troll managed to heal Anna, Pabbie warned Elsa and her parents that her powers can be dangerous if not controlled. At this, the King and Queen decided that until Elsa garnered complete control over her powers, the castle gates would be locked, the staff would be reduced, and Elsa would be separated from Anna.
Agnarr and Iduna moved Elsa and her belongings to a different room to limit her contact with Anna. During the isolation, Elsa would spend most of her time alone in her new room. The only other people whom she allowed in her room were her parents, hoping they could give her advice on controlling her powers. They tell her that when she notices her powers are getting stronger to remain calm. To further help, Agnarr presented Elsa a pair of gloves and he taught her the mantra, "Conceal don't feel". When her parents died at sea, not only was Elsa devastated, but her training was left incomplete, and she was now truly alone.
In Frozen II, Elsa discovers that the extent of her parents' fateful voyage: discovering the truth behind her powers. Elsa would feel guilty, believing she indirectly sent her own parents to their deaths, and became more determined to amend the past and free the Enchanted Forest.
Allies and Friends[]
Olaf[]
Elsa recreating Olaf.
Olaf was based on a snowman Anna and Elsa created when they were young and has a powerful connection with Elsa, as he is not only her living creation, but also the physical representation of Elsa's happiness and desire to be with her sister again like they were when they were children. Thus, Olaf's desire for summer is Elsa's desire to rekindle the warmth between her and Anna. Olaf describe her as the most nicest, gentlest and warmest person ever. When Elsa first saw Olaf alive, she was surprised, as she did not know she had imbued her beloved snowman with life. At first Elsa was happy, as he reminded her of the fun that her powers once brought the two sisters, but this also brought back the painful memory of how the fun times came to a tragic end when Anna was hurt by Elsa's powers. As a result, she tried to isolate herself from Olaf and Anna again to keep them away from her and her powers, but due to the latter's persistence, she had to use force by creating Olaf's younger "brother" Marshmallow to throw them out of her palace.
However, Elsa saw the error of her ways when she realized how powerful her bond with Anna was, as Olaf was the one to realize that Anna's act of true love for Elsa thawed her frozen heart. Thus, Elsa learned that love was the answer to ending Arendelle's winter. When Olaf started to melt, due to the return of summer, Elsa saved his life by rebuilding the almost-puddle snowman and giving him his own flurry to keep him cold. In the end, he enjoys summer and helps Anna to skate with Elsa, much like when the three skated together in their earlier years, showing that Olaf loves both the sisters.
In Frozen Fever, Elsa was shown to still be friendly with Olaf. When she caught him eating Anna's birthday cake, instead of getting mad with him, she gently reprimanded him that the cake was for Anna. When Elsa caught a cold, her sneezes created baby mischievous snowman, making Olaf overjoyed of having "little brothers," where he hugged and gave them all names.
Kristoff[]
Elsa sharing a hug with Kristoff.
Although she had little interaction with Kristoff (including after she struck Anna in the heart with her powers, and at the ending), it is enough to show that although she was scared and wary to be around him at first, as she was with pretty much everyone else, she soon comes to accept him after knowing what he did for her sister. When Kristoff attempted to confront Hans for trying to kill the two sisters, Elsa seems touched by Kristoff's protectiveness over her and Anna. She even gives him the title "Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer" along with a new sled as gratitude for helping her and Anna.
In Frozen Fever, Elsa and Kristoff are shown to have becoming friends following the events of the film, with Kristoff partially acting as Elsa's confidant.
In Frozen II, Elsa and Kristoff's friendship has grown to the point where she sees him as part of the family. Along with Anna, Olaf, and Sven, the two engage in playing charades, and all five of them are featured together in a family portrait. When the Enchanted Forest is set ablaze, Elsa entrusts Kristoff to take Anna away to safety. Then when Elsa returns from Ahtohallan, upon seeing her, Kristoff was relieved to see her and races over to Elsa, who extends her arms out, and the two share a hug. She also expresses joy when she witnesses Kristoff propose to Anna, who accepts, showing how supportive she is of his relationship with her sister and her blessing for them to marry (unlike with the hasty relationship Anna previously had with Hans).
Sven[]
Elsa petting Sven.
Though there wasn't much interaction between Elsa and Sven in the first film, it was assumed that both of them were on friendly terms by the epilogue.
In Frozen Fever, Elsa and Sven were now shown to be on good terms with each other as Elsa allowed Sven to help with the preparations with Anna's birthday party.
In Frozen II, Elsa interacts with Sven quite well. Like when they along with Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf are playing charades, she thanks him for letting her get a paper piece when it was her turn. When Elsa first decided to go to the Enchanted Forest alone to find the voice, she asked Kristoff if she could borrow his wagon and Sven, although Kristoff wasn't comfortable with it, until he, Anna and Olaf persuaded Elsa to go along with her, which she accepted. Near the end of the film, right after Elsa shared a hug with Kristoff upon returning to Anna when Arendelle was saved and the Enchanted Forest freed, Sven also reunited and greeted Elsa, with the latter petting him.
Grand Pabbie[]
The Royal Family's meeting with Pabbie.
Although Elsa and Pabbie's interaction was brief, the wise troll's words of wisdom stayed with Elsa for the years leading up to her adulthood and coronation. The encounter between the two proved to be some of the most influential of Elsa's life, eventually leading to her isolation and understanding that, while her powers are indeed a beautiful gift, it can be very powerful and dangerous, should her control over them be lacking in any way. However, Pabbie's words weren't completely understood, as the troll stated fear would be Elsa's enemy. Whilst her parents believed it was the fear others would have, what Pabbie truly meant Elsa's fear, as her emotions control her abilities. Being somewhat ancient, and highly mystical, Pabbie also holds the most knowledge and understanding over Elsa's mysterious powers, more so than any other character in the film.
Marshmallow[]
Elsa being protected by Marshmallow.
Unlike Olaf, who was created by Elsa's happiness, Marshmallow was born out of Elsa's desire to be alone for Anna's safety, and his existence exhibits a hostile side to Elsa's nature. Elsa, fearing confrontation, had reluctantly created him when Anna refused to leave her even after she was accidentally harmed by Elsa. Although Marshmallow had excessively forced Anna and her friends out, he returned to Elsa's side loyally and took his role as her defender quite seriously. He had even tried his best to defend her when the palace, and by extension Elsa within it, came under attack. Elsa had watched Marshmallow fight the invaders, possibly out of concern that Marshmallow would not be able to keep them away from the palace. However, as other guards had swarmed into the palace and forced her to retreat, Marshmallow risked his own life to prevent other soldiers from getting in, but had fallen into the gorge in the process. Marshmallow survived this and returned to find Elsa's palace empty (after the events of the film had taken place), yet also found Elsa's tiara and donned it, which had a calming and positive effect upon him.
It is possible Elsa entrusts Marshmallow to oversee her castle and the Snowgies.
Honeymaren[]
Elsa first met Honeymaren in a confrontation between the Northuldra and a group of Arendellian soldiers. After Elsa dispelled the fears of the Northuldra by saving their encampment form being destroyed by fire, the groups came together and took time to become acquainted. After recognizing Iduna's scarf as belonging to one of the Northuldra's oldest families, Honeymaren used it to explain to Elsa the concept of the Fifth Spirit, further fueling Elsa's drive to continue the search for the voice that was calling to her. The two then sung part of the lullaby that they were both familiar with.
After the forest was freed and Elsa had returned from Ahtohallan, she told Honeymaren and Yelena how beautiful the glacier was. Honeymaren also told Elsa that she belonged in the forest; Elsa retorted that she had taken an oath to do what was right by Arendelle, and did so by making Anna queen. Elsa later saw Honeymaren while riding the Nøkk, giving a friendly wave to both her and Ryder as they herded their reindeer.
Enemies[]
Hans[]
- “As heir, Elsa was preferable, of course. But no one was getting anywhere with her.”
- ―Hans explaining his original plans to Anna during the betrayal scene
Hans confronting a saddened and scared Elsa about her accidental winter curse on Arendelle.
Inadvertently and without knowing it, Elsa and her nature as a winter elemental has been a major obstacle to Hans' pursuit of becoming Arendelle's sole monarch. Originally, it was Hans' plan to marry the soon-to-be queen regnant of Arendelle so he could rule the kingdom with her by his side. However, he gave up on the idea when he soon learned of her dislike of being around people. It was unknown to him that she was doing this to keep her subjects safe from her unstable winter magic. He did not learn of her abilities until she and Anna got into an argument about Anna and Hans' engagement. The instability of her emotions, caused her to inadvertently reveal her powers to everyone at the ball. From then on, as each event unfolded unintentionally thanks to the Snow Queen, Hans had to constantly change his plans to become king of Arendelle. This includes making the queen seem like a monster in the eyes of the public, then killing her to end her accidental winter curse and become a hero from the people's perspective. His pursuit of the crown would be complete without having to marry Anna. This is also how he backed up Anna's claim about Elsa's innocence and dismissed the Duke's about the queen being a monster when she ran away and accidentally unleashed a winter curse on the kingdom, when her powers were revealed, this was done to further get into Anna's good graces.
This also required getting into Queen Elsa's good graces by stopping her from killing the Duke of Weselton's thugs after they provoked her into an angered state and appearing to show mercy towards her, when it was ultimately to get her to let her guard down for a chance to kill her with the chandelier, and locked her up in the castle dungeon and chained her down in shackles, then again after he lied to her about Anna already being killed by her accidental curse when chasing her out to the frozen fjords. However, Elsa was saved from his treachery by Anna and his plot for usurpation was foiled.
Three years later, in Frozen II, it's shown that Elsa still resents Hans for his actions against her and Anna, when she's in Ahtohallan seeing snow sculptures of her past, she sees one of Hans introducing himself to Anna and shatters it without a second thought.
Duke of Weselton[]
The Duke meeting Anna and Elsa.
Originally, the Duke of Weselton was polite to Elsa, even offering her a dance at the coronation, but this was all to exploit Arendelle's riches in trade. When her powers are revealed to everyone, he is the first to call her a monster and continued to believe so, even though Anna and Hans tried to reassure him that she was not and was just scared. When Hans goes off to find Anna, the Duke volunteers his henchmen and tells them that if they encounter Queen Elsa, they are to kill her, which they try (and fail) to do so. When Hans told him and the other Dignitaries (as one of his lies) that Anna had died from Elsa's magic, the Duke showed some sadness over Anna's alleged death and was the first to say that there was no doubt that Elsa was a monster and that they were all in danger. At the end of the film, Elsa cuts off all ties with Weselton due to the Duke's persecution of her.