Elsa demonstrates powerful magical abilities from a young age. In Frozen, it's clear that Elsa's control over her power is directly related to the amount of control she has over her emotions. If Elsa is in a heightened emotional state, she can freeze entire landscapes without even being aware of what she's done.
And as a further question, why does Elsa freeze the entire bay and fjord as she runs across it, instead of just her footsteps? Then, several days ago I had an epiphany, and like any well-made explanation, it has evidence left behind in the setting to support it. As Elsa's tears freeze to crystal and the world grows colder, only the warmth of Anna's heart can remind her who she truly is. A curse born of fear.
💔 A sister frozen in regret. 💞 A love. Frozen 2 takes us on a journey to find the origin of Elsa's freezing powers, in hopes to save their kingdom.
As Elsa and Anna search for an answer, we explore the science behind freezing and crystallization. How does Elsa form crystals, exactly? The geometry of crystal formation is created through the formation of a fractal. To recap, I'd like to classify Elsa's powers into 3 categories and 3 posts - making things out of ice/snow (part 1), freezing (and melting) and movement/kinetic energy.
Before I dive into part 2 - I received some comments on the first post about Elsa's ice decorations on Arendelle castle, which I missed out on. Why did Elsa freeze in Ahtohallan? The Ahtohallan symbolises memories which are a gateway to the past in the present. Thus, the lullaby about Ahtohallan cautions against venturing too deep into the past, into memories, or else there's danger of drowning.
Elsa freezes in response to the trauma of discovering her family's colonial past. Similar to the plot in Frozen, Elsa is overcome with emotion and loses control of her powers. Elsa said "The cold never bothered me anyway" in Frozen 1-so why did she freeze in Frozen 2? This moment confused millions, but the answer is hiding in plain sight.
In the first animated movie Frozen, it is obvious that Elsa's influence of her power is closely linked to the amount of control she has over her emotions. If Elsa is in a heightened emotional state (angry, scared, or sad), she can freeze whole ecosystems without ever being conscious of what she has done. Frozen 2 gave Elsa new status as the Fifth Spirit, but didn't give her an accompanying power-up - why not? As the Fifth Spirit, Elsa is able to awaken the four nature spirits of the forest: fire, air, water and earth.
Despite her newfound connection with the elements, however, her powers are still primarily ice.