The Entire Frozen Timeline Explained

At the time when most of the critically and financially successful animated films distributed by Disney were actually made by Pixar, 2013's "Frozen" defied convention by becoming Walt Disney Animation Studios' first animated film to gross over $1 billion worldwide, and the studio's first to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (per The New York Times). The film, which introduced popular characters like Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven — not to mention a host of memorable creatures in the fairy-tale and lore-heavy world of Arendelle — spawned a behemoth multi-million dollar franchise that, as Leon Lazaroff of The Street remarked, has become a "global brand, a larger than life franchise built around products, theme parks and sequels that could last into the next century." 

With a franchise this massive come various merchandising and storytelling opportunities, leading to not just two feature films, but also a growing list of short films, television series, video games, stage plays, and novellas, all of which work to expand the mythos and lore of the world and characters introduced in the 2013 mega-hit film. With so much available content, it may be difficult for even the most ardent fan to keep up with all of the significant events occurring in the "Frozen" world. Grab a hot beverage as we explore the lengthy and icy timeline of the entire "Frozen" story.

Upon his return, Agnarr is recognized as the King of Arendelle and meets Iduna, but is unaware she was the one who saved him. The two grow up to become best friends and eventual lovers, getting married and giving birth to two daughters, Elsa and Anna. They soon discover that Elsa is endowed with magical ice powers from birth, unaware that these abilities have been granted as a reward for Iduna's selfless rescue of Agnarr by the Enchanted Forest spirits. Because of past tensions between their people, Iduna keeps her Northuldra ancestry a secret from Agnarr throughout their marriage.

Later, when his daughters Elsa and Anna are young, Agnarr tells them the story of his father King Runeard, the truce, and the subsequent conflict with the Northuldra. Since Agnarr is unaware of his father's underlying paranoia and betrayal of the Northuldra, he remembers Runeard as a revered and honorable leader. Iduna sings a song that was sung to her by her mother about the mystical river Ahtohallan, which is believed to "hold all the answers to the past."

Three years after the deaths of Agnarr and Iduna, the kingdom holds a coronation for Elsa's 21st birthday, where she will be anointed the Queen of Arendelle. As the castle's gates finally open for the various guests traveling from other kingdoms, Anna is very eager for the coronation — not only for the chance to finally reunite with her sister but also for the possibility of meeting her "Prince Charming" there. At Elsa's coronation, Anna and Elsa briefly reconnect, but Elsa quickly goes back to keeping her at a distance.

Later, Anna meets Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, a charming and attractive young man with whom she gets infatuated after they connect and bond over a song and dance. Hans proposes marriage, to which Anna immediately says yes. Anna seeks Elsa's blessing, but Elsa (rightfully) points out the absurdity of Anna getting engaged to someone she just met. This starts an argument over Elsa's tendency to distance herself from Anna over the years, which escalates and causes Elsa to accidently unleash her ice powers. There's only so much one can conceal and not feel.

When Anna arrives at Elsa's ice palace, she tries to persuade her sister to thaw Arendelle, but Elsa can't, and retains her distance. Anna begs Elsa to not shut her out again, striking an emotional nerve for Elsa, which causes her to accidentally hurt Anna once more. Elsa conjures up a hot-headed ice monster who drives Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf away from the castle. 

After their narrow escape, Kristoff observes that Anna's hair is turning white and takes her to the rock trolls, who he is confident will be able to tell what's going on. After a musical performance during which the rock trolls try to break the ice between Kristoff and Anna, Anna becomes frail with an illness. Pabbie explains that Elsa's ice has poisoned her heart, and she needs a "gesture of deep love" to help her recover from it. Naturally, Anna believes that a kiss from her beloved Prince Hans will make everything right, so Kristoff hastily delivers her to him. Meanwhile, Hans rallies a few men to head for Elsa's fortress, where an encounter leads to Elsa being captured by Hans' men and held as a prisoner in her own kingdom.

When Kristoff hands over Anna at the mansion's gates, he's sent away as Anna is escorted straight to Prince Hans. However, Anna is no Cinderella, and Prince Hans proves to be more "Hans Gruber" than "Prince Charming," taking Elsa hostage and abandoning Anna to die of a frozen (and broken) heart. He tells the dignitaries that Elsa caused Anna's illness and death, but that they were married in her final moments, making Hans the de facto ruler of Arendelle. His first act as king is to order Elsa's execution, but she's already escaped.

It's the first Christmas since Anna and Elsa opened the gates of the castle to the citizens of Arendelle. The two hold a bell ringing ceremony for the entire village at their castle, as their parents used to do, but after the villagers head home to attend their individual family celebrations, the two sisters quickly discover that they don't have a holiday tradition of their own. Olaf (who's been very enthusiastic about the holiday) tries to make up for the sisters' disappointment by asking the town's residents about their traditions while travelling around with Sven. He then returns home with a sleigh full of ideas.

However, the sleigh catches fire and Olaf ends up losing everything, and wolves give chase through the woods. Anna and Elsa find a dejected Olaf and cheer him up by revealing that while they were growing up isolated from each other throughout their childhood, their holiday tradition involved Anna sliding drawings and handmade dolls of Olaf under Elsa's door. Elsa summons an ice-made Christmas tree with her magic before serving the villagers a holiday feast.

Two years later, Elsa begins to hear a melodic voice that she feels is calling out to her. She keeps blocking out the literal call to adventure, afraid of going "into the unknown" and doing anything to affect the status quo that she's content with. But the angelic voice continues to call to her, prompting Elsa to send out a response. Soon after, an earthquake-like occurrence forces the citizens of Arendelle to evacuate to the mountains, and Elsa decides to finally investigate the voices she's been hearing. Anna, afraid of losing her sister again, is adamant on joining her along with Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf.

The gang reaches the mythic Enchanted Forest, which Elsa and Anna heard about in their father's stories while they were growing up. The forest is covered with a looming mist that pulls all of them deeper into the village and traps them inside, where they encounter the soldiers of Northuldra and Arendelle, including Lieutenant Mattias, all of whom had been trapped in the forest for the 32 years since the battle involving Anna and Elsa's grandfather. Here, the sisters realize that their mother was a Northuldra native, and was the one who had saved their father Agnarr all those years earlier. Kristoff goes through an ongoing struggle to find an opportune moment to ask Anna to marry him, and a miscommunication results in the two travelling separate paths.

At Ahtohallan, Elsa learns the truth about her grandfather King Runeard's distrust of magical beings and his betrayal of the Northuldra. Elsa is more and more encased in ice as she travels further into Ahtohallan, affected by the revelations of her malevolent grandfather that contrast with the tales told by her father. Before entirely freezing, she sends a message to Anna, which makes its way across the forest and finds Anna and Olaf in the cave. It informs Anna of the reality of the past and their grandfather's betrayal of the Northuldra. Anna realizes that they must destroy the dam her grandfather built, even though it would cause Arendelle to flood.

Olaf fades away as a result of Elsa's "death," leaving Anna to carry on by herself. She braves through her dark-night-of-the-soul moment and emerges from the cave, getting the idea to use the Earth Giants to destroy the dam. When Anna awakens the Earth Giants and lures them to the dam, Lieutenant Mattias and his troops confront her and at first doubt her motives for destroying the structure. After Anna exposes the truth behind the dam, the soldiers assist her in getting the Earth Giants to throw enormous rocks at the dam, which eventually causes it to collapse.