Kristoff

**Kristoff Bjorgman**[1] is the tritagonist of Disney's 2013 animated feature film *Frozen*, and a major character in its 2019 sequel. He is a Sami[2] outdoorsman that worked as an ice harvester with his reindeer Sven. Having been an orphan[3][4] who was raised by a colony of trolls in the mountains, Kristoff was initially wary of humans, believing them to be untrustworthy, cheating crooks. His outlook would slowly change upon meeting Princess Anna, whose warmheartedness would prove that people aren't as bad as Kristoff believed.

By the end of their adventure, Kristoff developed a romantic relationship with Anna, and was welcomed into the royal family of Arendelle. Three years into their relationship,[5] Kristoff proposed to Anna, thus becoming her fiancé.

## Background

Kristoff was orphaned at a young age and placed in an orphanage thereafter.[6] He was nevertheless too adventurous and free-spirited to be contained in such a facility; he spent a majority of his time sneaking out and exploring the surrounding wilderness.[6] With a fascination of ice, Kristoff also occupied his time by tagging behind Arendelle's team of ice harvesters to observe their ethics in hopes of garnering their skill and eventually becoming an ice harvester himself.[6]

Kristoff is always accompanied by his reindeer, Sven — his pet, best friend, and business partner. The two met during Kristoff's childhood, wherein during which, he found and rescued the reindeer fawn.[7] Since then, the two became inseparable and built a relationship akin to that of brothers. Kristoff's care for Sven was so great that he eventually began living by the philosophy that "reindeer are better than people", to which Sven would agree. Furthermore, although Sven cannot speak, both he and Kristoff have a mutual understanding of one another. So much that Kristoff has a habit to literally voice Sven's thoughts in a gruff, goofy, exaggerated tone. Sven doesn't seem to mind, and the voice-overs are surprisingly accurate. Interestingly, Kristoff uses this quirk to talk himself into doing the right thing in times of uncertainty.

### Official Description

*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

During his first proper introduction in the film, Kristoff is presented as a miserly loner, with a lack of respect for those around him—specifically in terms of personal boundaries and sensitivity. This is a direct result of growing up with a family of mythical creatures and wildlife, as opposed to other humans. Though his upbringing included a large family and at least one close friend, Kristoff tends to look out, mostly, for himself and can be rather selfish from time to time because of this, with his focus primarily on his ice business and life upon the mountains. The ice harvester spent a large portion of his early life in the mountains because of this, becoming an individualist and avid survivor in the wilderness, and constantly proving himself to be self-reliant and efficient when facing various perils throughout the course of the original film.

In spite of his loner nature and dislike for society, Kristoff has a loving heart, and at his core, is rather harmless, innocent, and protective. This is first evidenced by his relationship with Sven, whom he treats as his pet and closest friend, and is shown to value the reindeer's life above his own several times. Kristoff's inner softness and loving aura is further emphasized by his family, the trolls, who reveal Kristoff to be (despite his various flaws and shortcomings) sensitive and sweet when given the same treatment, which he proves through his friendship and eventual relationship with Anna.

Through Anna, Kristoff is shown to be loving, respectful, and completely selfless and sacrificial. Eventually falling for the princess's fun-loving nature, selflessness, and persistence, Kristoff allows himself to open up to the world around him, revealing himself to be rather bashful and quirky, mirroring Anna's personality. Also, as a result of his love for Anna, Kristoff is willing to risk his own life and happiness, without hesitation, all in hopes of the former's own happiness. This ties into a pivotal line featured in the film: "Love is putting someone else's needs before yours..."; which was directly used to reference Kristoff's willingness to conceal his affections for Anna, for the sake of the princess' possible future with another. As mentioned, he mirrors Anna in his quirkiness, best evidenced by his relationship with Sven, as the two have been shown to nonchalantly share food, "sing" duets, and engage in "conversations"—a further example of his peculiar traits.

Quite notably, however—midst a cast of colorful and larger-than-life characters in a world to match—Kristoff appears to be more of a straight man, reacting to the mystical situations he and the other characters encounter with a generally down-to-earth viewpoint. Though not a pessimist, he acts more of a realist, though his care for others ultimately leads him to perform death-defying acts for the greater good.

In *Frozen Fever*, Kristoff's softer side is shown to have grown, and become a more prominent aspect of his personality. With Anna's sister, Elsa, he is shown to be fairly laid-back, comforting, and encouraging, looking on the brighter side of a situation, no matter the level of importance. Nevertheless, he is still shown to become flustered around Anna, as a result of his affections for her.

In *Frozen II*, Kristoff is serious in settling down in his relationship with Anna despite his lack of communication skills getting in the way of his attempts to propose to her. After his failed attempt in which he, with Ryder's help, accidentally did it with Yelana, who flat out declined it, he feels insecure and unsure whether Anna's concerns for her sister canceled out her own feelings for him during "Lost in the Woods". Despite this, Kristoff's feelings for Anna remain strong where he saved Anna from the Earth Giants just in time to help her get to Runeard's dam and as well as saving her again when she failed to get out of the collapsing dam in time.

### Physical appearance

Kristoff's build is a distinct variation on most male leads in Disney animated features (Hans is a perfect example of the traditional stature). On the flip side, Kristoff has broad shoulders and a rugged, muscular build. His build is a realistic consequence of his rough life as a mountain-dwelling ice harvester.

Kristoff is 21 years old in the first movie[8] and 24 in the sequel.[5] Like the sisters, he has shoulder-length, golden-blond hair (more golden than Anna's strawberry-blonde hair, but not as pale as Elsa's platinum-blonde hair), which is later described as "unmanly" by the trolls (in the song "Fixer Upper"). He has light brown eyes and fair skin with a light dusting of freckles across his nose. His nose is quite big and his cheeks tend to redden a lot because of the cold weather.

At the beginning of the film (when he is a child), he wears 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 dark crimson collar, a blue patch on his right elbow, a burgundy sash tied around his waist, a dark blue long-sleeved undershirt, olive 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.

In the sequel, he now wears a royal delivery attire in shades of brown. He later wears this during their travels to the Enchanted Forest. When he stays with Elsa and Anna at the castle, he wears a dark purple long robe along with his sleeping attire.

At the end of the film, Kristoff's rugged blond hair is now slicked back, and he wears a dark purple royal outfit.

## 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. A line from *Disney on Ice Presents Frozen*, where Kristoff says he comes from "nowhere in particular" suggests this. Additionally, in original drafts, Kristoff only helped Anna out because of the money.
* Norway was the world's largest exporter of ice in the late 19th century. As an industry, it started in 1822, and lasted until 1968, with the golden age being 1850-1914. However, most of the industry was centered on the coast from Risør (which is just north of Arendal) and towards and including present-day Oslo, which was the main export port. Given this, it is unlikely that Kristoff's Sami attire and Sven has a historical basis in the ice harvesting industry.
* Across Europe, there are many stories of Changelings and Fetches - the fairies of local folklore may steal a human child and replace them, sometimes with fairies. A child who was always crying, or a child with red hair, was said to be a sign of the Fey having switched babies. Sometimes it was just a log of enchanted wood that would become 'sick' and die. The stories include that the Fey are particularly attracted to blond hair and beauty, and often treat the stolen child as one of their own. In return, they might give the child (sometimes the Changeling; sometimes the Fetch) gifts such as strength, stamina, or an affinity for the wild. This seems very similar to what happened to Kristoff, though unlike the stories, he wasn't kidnapped or stolen by trolls in the film, but was merely adopted by them.
* Kristoff seems to be based on the Robber Girl from the original story "*The Snow Queen*". In the original story, the Robber Girl owned a reindeer named Bae.
	+ When the film was in early production, Kristoff and Anna were originally children called Kai and Greta, which can still be seen in early concept art. Eventually, as the story changed they were aged up to adults and renamed Kristoff and Anna. Kristoff himself is based on both Kai and the Robber Girl from the original tale, whereas Anna is based on Gerda and the Summer Witch, whom according to some adaptations of The Snow Queen, is the title Queen's sister.
* According to director/writer Jennifer Lee, Kristoff is 21 years old.[8]
* 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, dashing, and lean, while Kristoff is sweet and introverted but bulkier in his build, but both are of the Loner archetype.
* Both Kristoff's voice actor (Jonathan Groff) and Elsa's voice actress (Idina Menzel) have portrayed recurring characters on the FOX television series *Glee*. Groff played 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.
* Although it was not mentioned in the film, Kristoff's last name, Bjorgman, was confirmed in the Essential Guide.[1] In Scandinavian, "Bjorg" means "help" or "salvation".
* Due to time, a scene featuring Kristoff climbing, using his pickaxe all over the mountain cliffs, was deleted.
* Apparently, Kristoff does not have very good hygiene; in one of his voice-overs for Sven, "Sven" admits Kristoff does not smell better than a reindeer. Also, the trolls mention 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." He also shares carrots with Sven, allowing Sven to take a bite, then taking a bite himself - when he is seen briefly in Arendelle with Sven, Sven takes the *whole* carrot in his mouth, but Kristoff tells him to share. Sven then spits part of the carrot out (now saliva-covered), and Kristoff takes a bite from it.
* According to the book *Olaf and Sven on Thin Ice*, Kristoff once fell into the frozen lake trying to go get ice when he was younger. After this, the other ice harvesters called him Icicle.
* Kristoff 'dubs' Sven saying "People will beat you and curse you and cheat you; every one of them's bad, except you." Sven seems to agree. This strongly suggests that Kristoff has had some very bad experiences with other humans.
* In the credits of *Frozen*, there is a disclaimer which states that Kristoff's views are his own views and do not represent the views of the filmmakers or The Walt Disney Company as inferred from when he asks Anna, "What if you hate the way he eats? What if you hate the way he picks his nose?" Anna counters, "Excuse me, sir, he is a *prince*!" Kristoff's response is "All men do it." The disclaimer reads as follows: "*The views and opinions by Kristoff in the film that all men eat their boogers are solely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Walt Disney Company or the filmmakers. Neither the Walt Disney Company nor the filmmakers make any representation of the accuracy of any such views and opinions.*"
	+ Kristoff's opinion is likely included to emphasize Prince Hans' role as an antagonist, as well to imply his possibly horrible experiences with other humans before *Frozen*.
* Kristoff's involvement in the film's opening was used to connect his story and ties with Anna early in the film, as it was her actions (accidentally becoming injured and having to visit the trolls) that led to Kristoff finding a permanent family. This would later reciprocate with Kristoff aiding Anna in her quest to rekindle her bond with Elsa.[6][10]
* Kristoff dislikes wearing royal attire and can only last one hour maximum in them.[11]
* Kristoff's actions of proposing to Anna are similar to that of Bernard from *The Rescuers Down Under* when proposing to Miss Bianca. Both get interrupted constantly throughout the films trying to propose to their girlfriends and finally succeed towards the films' endings.
* Kristoff has similarities to King George III:
	+ Both are portrayed by Jonathan Groff
	+ Both are Kings to their nations (Arendelle, United Kingdom)
	+ Both sing an 80s ballad ("Lost in the Woods", "You'll Be Back")