Notice to fans of The Snow Queen : did you know that the first names of the characters in the Disney animated film hid a very special meaning? The Seriously editorial team tells you more about this little-known, yet symbolic, anecdote.
Many people don’t know it, but the story of The Snow Queen originally dates from 1844. The Disney animated film produced in 2013 is therefore only a free interpretation of the tale of Hans Christian Andersen. The latter was a Danish novelist, playwright, storyteller and poet, famous in the 19th century for his short stories and fairy tales.
More than 150 years later, his work was adapted for the screen and it was a success: The Snow Queen is to date the Disney cartoon the most profitable of all time, just behind The Lion King. And if the animated film still fascinates ten years after its release, it is because it is full of anecdotes of all kinds… including one on the first names of Hans, Anna and Kristoff.
The real meaning behind the character names of The Snow Queen
In The Snow Queenthe first names of Kristoff, Anna or even Sven were not chosen at random. When Walt Disney Animation Studios thought up the names of the characters in film d’animationthey wanted to pay a beautiful tribute to the creator of the original tale, Hans Christian Andersen.
Hans, Kristoff, Anna and Sven all four have first names from Northern Europe which refer to the author of The Snow Queen. As for Elsa, her first name is reminiscent of that of Queen Elizabeth II. Noble and majestic, this name suits the young queen of Arendelle perfectly.
As for the real names of the heroes of The Snow Queen imagined by Hans Christian Andersen, Anna and Kristoff are respectively named Gerda and Kai in the 1844 version, while Sven is inspired by a certain Bée, a reindeer from Lapland present in the original tale. In the Disney animated film, the first names Kai and Gerda have nevertheless not been forgotten, since they are the names of two servants working within the castle in the service of the royal family of Arendelle: the butler Kai and the servant Gerda.
Eloïse Judeaux Legendre
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