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Kristoff is a major character in Frozen.

Appearance

Kristoff is a tall, rugged, handsome 21-year old young man. It is worth mentioning that his build is a distinct variation on most Disney Heroes. Hans is a perfect example of the traditional stature, only a few inches taller than Anna and of an easy size to embrace. On the flip side, Kristoff has broad shoulders, large hands and feet, and a muscular build. Significantly larger than Anna, he is shown bending when talking to her and when entering Oaken's trading post. His build is a realistic consequence of his rough life as a mountain-dwelling ice harvester.

He has blond hair (more golden than Anna's, but not as pale as Elsa's) which is later described as "unmanly" by the trolls (in the song "Fixer Upper"). He also has light brown eyes and (like almost every character in the film) fair skin with a few freckles across his nose. His nose is quite big and his cheeks tend to redden a lot, either from the cold or embarrassment.

At the beginning of the film (when he is a child), his outfit consists of a royal purple long-sleeved shirt, dark trousers and a purple sash. When we next see him as an adult, he is wearing a thick dark tunic with a fur-lined burgundy (purplish-brown) collar and a blue patch on his right elbow, a burgundy sash tied around his waist, a dark blue long-sleeved undershirt, brownish-green mittens, thick dark trousers, a dark bobble-hat (which he later gives to Anna when she is freezing to death) and fur-lined dark brown boots with pointed toes. At the end of the film, he wears pretty much the same outfit, minus the thick tunic and gloves, because it has become much warmer.

Personality

Having spent many years of his life without any real contact 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 a bit 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 love and sympathy in return, such as Sven, the trolls and later Anna. 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 that Sven's happiness and health are 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 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 journey continues, Kristoff grows attached to Anna's fun-loving and sweet ways, becoming very loyal to her and protective of her. By the end of the film, Kristoff and Anna fall in love completely, though the mountain man shows to be quite the shy, awkward one around his sweetheart, once again showing his softer side.

Disney History

Frozen

At the beginning of the movie, Kristoff is shown as an eight-year-old orphan boy with baby reindeer, Sven, who becomes his best friend. He is trying to harvest ice like grown-up icemen do. One night, he finds the royal family bringing their daughters to meet the trolls. It happens when little Princess Anna faints after her sister, Elsa, accidentally strikes her head with her power of creating and controlling ice and snow. Kristoff watches Pabbie, king of the trolls, heal Anna's head. At the same time, one of the female trolls named Bulda keeps and raises Kristoff as her own child.

Thirteen 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 excitement and festivities, Kristoff is there to do business with his ice. He isn't attending the party at the castle; that's only for royalty and other VIPs.

Kristoff isn't seen again until later, after Elsa freezes the kingdom. He arrives at Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna and runs into Anna for the first time in years while buying rope, an ax, and carrots for Sven after experiencing a rough blizzard in the North Mountain, completely 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, while Anna realizes that the blizzard is Elsa, Kristoff gets into an argument with Oaken when he 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 North Mountain. 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 sled and nearly killing the three of them, Anna tells Kristoff that she will buy him a new sled and that he doesn't have to help her anymore. Kristoff is about to abandon her, but Sven "talks" to him (telling Kristoff that if he doesn't help Anna, she will die, and he won't get his new sled if she's dead) and urges him to continue the journey with her.

he 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 tells them that he dreams of doing things in summer. Kristoff states that "I'm gonna tell him" that snow melts in summer, but Anna tells him "Don't you dare". Olaf then leads them to Elsa's palace. Kristoff stares at the ice palace, 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 had accidentally set off an eternal winter in the kingdom, and as she tries to convince Elsa that she can undo it, Elsa creates a snowstorm inside and accidentally strikes Anna, freezing her heart. Elsa then orders her sister to leave again, and creates Marshmallow to throw her, Kristoff and Olaf out. Anna angers the snow monster, and it chases them from the palace and over a cliff. The group land softly in the snow below. As Kristoff helps Anna up, he notices that 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.

Along the way there, Kristoff starts showing great worry and care for Anna, and unknowingly falls in love with her. Upon their arrival, Kristoff begins talking to the trolls, who, at the moment, look like normal boulders. Olaf and Anna are both put off by this strange behavior, but then the trolls reveal themselves properly, and start greeting Kristoff. After exchanging pleasantries, Kristoff inquires as to the whereabouts of Grand Pabbie, and learns that he's currently asleep. They then notice Anna and Olaf. Kristoff's adoptive 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, with 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 perhaps 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. He then rides off, away from Arendelle, visibly gloomy and sad.

Unbeknownst to him, Hans doesn't really love Anna, as he was only using her to become the 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 he and Sven quickly rush 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 the winter, Hans follows the queen into the fjord as she tries to return to her ice palace. Anna and Olaf arrive in the fjord as well, but Elsa's mounting fear causes a harsh blizzard, speeding up Anna's dying process.

Anna spots Kristoff from a distance, but she notices Hans and Elsa not too far away as well, where the evil prince is 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. The sword shatters against Anna's frozen hand, and 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 (for her sister), and she is soon revived from her death, much to everyone's complete joy. Along with Anna's revival comes the entire kingdom's thawing when Elsa realizes she needs to harness the power of love to end the eternal winter. As Hans awakens, Kristoff's ready to beat him up for what he did. But Anna stops him (while assuring him that she'll handle this) and punches Hans herself, knocking him overboard. After peace is restored to the kingdom, Anna leads a blindfolded Kristoff to the docks. She removes the blindfold, and Kristoff sees a new sleigh promised by Anna. Kristoff attempts to deny the offer, but Anna tells him that there is no taking back, as Elsa has named him the "official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer." When asked by Anna whether he loves it, Kristoff joyously picks Anna up and spins her round, overjoyed to the point he wants to kiss Anna, but becomes embarrassed and puts her down. Anna kisses him on the cheek and allows Kristoff to do so for real, then Kristoff kisses Anna properly, finally initiating their relationship.

Kristoff is last seen skating with Sven, Anna, Elsa, Olaf, 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 return of summer.

Frozen Fever

Olaf's Frozen Adventure

Frozen II

Once Upon a Snowman

Frozen III

Other History

Songs

  • Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People

Gallery

Trivia

  • Ice Harvesting is a seasonal occupation that does best during the summer months; men who take up such jobs often have problems finding enough money to live on during their 'off' season. It is implied that Kristoff has no permanent place of residence and is financially challenged.
  • Across Europe, there are stories of Changelings and Fetches - when Trolls steal a human child and replace them, sometimes with fairies, and sometimes a log of enchanted wood that becomes 'sick' and dies. The stories include that the Trolls were particularly attracted to blond hair and beauty, and often treated the stolen child as one of their own. In return, they gave the child (sometimes the Changeling; sometimes the Fetch) gifts such as strength, stamina, or an affinity for the wild. This is very similar to what happened to Kristoff, which would make him a Fetch (the stolen child).
  • According to the director/writer Jennifer Lee, Kristoff is 21, the same age as Elsa.
  • 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. Later, Flynn became suave and dashing, while Kristoff is sweet and introverted, but both are of the Loner archetype.


Previous Prince: Next Prince:
Eugene Fitzherbert Maui


Frozen
Frozen Logo

Films: Frozen

Characters: Anna | Kristoff | Elsa | Sven | Olaf | Hans

Actors: Idina Menzel | Kristen Bell | Jonathan Groff | Josh Gad

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