The World’s Best Frozen Fanfic

Out of all the Disney films, Frozen has the largest and most passionate fandom by some distance. This can be highlighted by the large volume of fanfiction based on the film, with almost 11,000 Frozen fanfics on fanfiction.net alone, and sites such as ArchiveOfOurOwn, Wattpad and Tumblr featuring even more Frozen-related stories. As a medium dominated by writers with little professional experience, fanfiction has a reputation for being very poor-quality. Some of this snobbery is justified, as many of the fanfics published on these sites are badly written, gimmicky and full of ridiculous changes and twists. However, several of the so-called “amateur writers” can provide stories which are worthy of comparison with the source material. Given the sheer volume of Frozen fanfics, it is possible to find dozens of high-quality ones if you look hard enough. These fanfics include straightforward sequels, stories which retell the events of the film from a different perspective, and ‘Alternative Universe’ stories that place our familiar characters into new world. Out of all the Frozen fanfics on the internet, the best is probably Frozen Wight, an epic 74 – chapter, 295,000 - word fan sequel created by an author called Thebandragoness. This fanfic blends comedy and drama to create a unique and enjoyable story for Anna, Elsa and all their friends and enemies. Not only is it worthy of being compared to the original film, it even surpasses it in a variety of areas. Fanfics tend not to receive detailed examination outside of the online fanfiction community, but Frozen Wight deserves to be shared with the wider world. This article will examine the story in greater detail to figure out why it is so excellent.

Frozen Wight is available on Fanfiction.Net and ArchiveOfOurOwn.

What’s it About?

Due to its epic length, Frozen Wight is split into four parts. The format is like a TV miniseries, with each part combining individual smaller adventures with a set of greater arcs and storylines which span the entire fanfic…

Part One (Chapters 1 - 15) – After the events of the film, Anna and Elsa must adjust to the recent set of changes to their life, as they try to keep Olaf under control and help Anna regain her lost childhood memories.  Meanwhile, volatile Ice Harvester Adrian becomes increasingly suspicious of Elsa and plots a coup against her with magical assistance from a mysterious figure…

Part Two (Chapters 16-37) – Elsa tries to cope with the pressures of being a queen, Anna’s attempts to pair her with dweeby bodyguard Fritz, and the threat posed by a sinister demon. However, a snowwoman called Mary, an imaginary friend from her childhood, comes to life and begins creating trouble.  

Part Three (Chapters 38-59)  – Elsa befriends a boy called Daniel with the same ice powers as her, but Anna becomes increasingly suspicious of him. Daniel helps Elsa take on the flamboyant dark fairy Brandr, but she soon realises that Daniel has a terrible secret and is plotting to use Elsa in a plan to gain revenge on the world which has shunned him.

Part Four (Chapters 60-74) – After Daniel takes away all of Elsa’s happy memories, she creates a second eternal winter and becomes increasingly dangerous and erratic, so Anna is forced to team up with Mary in a bid to cure her older sister. Meanwhile, an old enemy plots to escape jail and gain revenge on Anna and Elsa, but his schemes don’t go to plan…

Review

Frozen Wight is very hard to review in the traditional format, due to its large number of characters, themes and storylines, so this review will break things down a bit and highlight some of the things which make this fanfic a must-read for any writer, regardless of whether or not they are interested in fanfiction or Frozen…

Unique and Interesting Tone – Frozen Wight possesses a distinctive tone which builds off Frozen’s signature blend of comedy and drama to create something that is unique, but still reasonably close to the approach of the source material. After a brief prologue to introduce the sinister Wight, the story literally begins where Frozen left off, tying up all the loose ends left by the conclusion of the film. We see Elsa get properly introduced to Kristoff and Sven, learn what happens when Olaf meets the people of Arendelle, and find out how Hans’s misdeeds were exposed. This opening sequence establishes the tone of Frozen Wight pretty quickly, with silly and broad comedy getting combined a more serious exploration of Elsa’s fears and anxieties. From there, we go on to seeing Elsa face a variety of issues, ranging from renovating the castle and dealing with an incompetent and sexist Royal Council to fighting angry rebels and a demonic monster. The combination of mundane problems and extreme ones puts greater pressure on Elsa, and her range of responses provides her with much greater depth and nuance. It also manages to make Arendelle into an interesting and unpredictable world which is worth staying in for all 74 chapters.

Although the characters and story are the main strength of Frozen Wight, the creative writing also helps to elevate it. We get numerous great descriptions throughout the story, and there are several moments when the narrative voice intervenes to add some extra comedy. The contrast between extreme comedy and extreme drama should be jarring, but they are balanced really well. The comedy comes primarily from the characters and their dilemmas, ensuring that there is an element of truth and realism to it. Meanwhile, the most serious sections of the story contain bursts of wit and dark humour to keep things from getting too miserable. A list of some of the best lines from the fanfic can be found at the end of the review, but it barely scratches the surface – each chapter has plenty of unique and memorable descriptions and dialogue…

Love of the Source Material - It is obvious throughout this fanfic that Thebandragoness is a keen Frozen fan with a very detailed knowledge of the movie. Virtually all the characters from the original film are included here, from Anna, Elsa and Olaf down to the little kid who moaned about having to wear smart clothing to Elsa’s coronation day. Although this story is not a musical, the iconic songs from Frozen still make their presence felt, with brief excerpts of 'Love is An Open Door' and 'Fixer Upper' appearing, and several references to 'Let it Go' (including Olaf talking about his view of the famous sequence). We also get a variety of Easter eggs, including plenty of allusions to Frozen merchandise and material deleted from the finished film. There are sneaky references to Anna and Elsa’s appearance in Once Upon A Time and several spin-off books for children, and a few characters from classic Disney Animated films have cameos. If you are sick of all the Disney Animation references, there are also amusing references to other films, such as The Princess Bride and The Avengers.

A good portion of the comedy in Frozen Wight takes on a surprisingly meta tone, with various parodies of the Frozen fandom and plenty of digs at the preposterous romantic pairs frequently found there. One of the comedic highlights is a small subplot involving Anna and Elsa’s encounters with an artist who spends his time creating and selling “illicit paintings” (i.e erotic fanart) of Elsa with various romantic partners. There are also scenes with a couple of royal guards, Morten and Henrik, who spend their time discussing rumours about Elsa’s romantic life. These jokes at the expense of Frozen’s fandom could easily be mean-spirited, but even the most avid fans can realize how ridiculous all the romantic ‘shipping’ can get, and the mockery in this fanfic stays on the right side of the line between affectionate and cruel. Frozen is a pop-cultural phenomenon as well as a movie, and the acknowledgement of its unique status in the Disney canon allows Frozen Wight to be more than another continuation of Anna and Elsa’s story.

Big and Mature Themes – The comedy in Frozen Wight is used to balance out the darker excesses of an often serious story which provides a more detailed understanding of Elsa and her inner turmoil. This fanfic was initially called ‘The Trials of Elsa’, so it is no surprise that Anna’s troubled but brilliant older sister takes centre stage in this story. Elsa’s cyromancy (ice powers to you and me) is the overarching focus of this story as she struggles to come to terms with an incredible gift which stayed suppressed for so long. Having to deal with Olaf, Marshmallow and a new array of snow creatures feeds into Elsa’s uncertainty over how to use her powers, and this creates a lot of comedy and drama. One of the prominent threads running throughout the fanfic is Elsa’s struggle to deal with a drought affecting Arendelle. With climate change becoming an increasingly urgent issue following the heatwaves which affected the Northern hemisphere over the summer, this subplot feels incredibly timely, as Elsa ponders the ethics of using the fairytale equivalent of Geoengineering to solve the problems faced by her kingdom. You do not need cyromancy to understand Elsa’s fears and insecurities, and this is what makes her such a compelling protagonist.

The serious elements of the story are pretty heavy and disturbing at points. Elsa’s fragile mental health is a central issue in Frozen Wight, particularly in the second and fourth parts. In the second part, Elsa’s battle with Mary’s toxic influence provides a disturbing representation of the intrusive thoughts that often afflict obsessive or anxious people, with Mary forcing her to act on her worst instincts.  Mary corrupts Elsa through a mirror, echoing Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen (the inspiration for Frozen) and the damage she causes highlights the fact that losing control of your own mind can be scarier than any demon or snow monster. In the fourth part of the story, things get even worse as Elsa’s happy memories are removed, turning her into a paranoid and dangerous character who begins sliding into monster territory. Elsa’s extreme turmoil is explored in a disturbing amount of detail. Parallels are drawn between Daniel and the numerous real-life predators who destroy women’s lives to live out their fanatical fantasies, and this make it clear that Elsa is as much of a victim as a villain in this section of the story. The scenes where she loses control and starts freezing her friends are genuinely disturbing, because we know that her breakdown is based on fear rather than malice. Things reach their climax when Elsa accidentally hits Anna with an extra-potent version of the “Frozen Heart” curse from the first movie, making things even more difficult for Anna, as she seeks to prevent Elsa from losing control of herself and her powers for good. Anna’s race against time to save herself and Elsa is intense and dramatic, with a powerful resolution which  makes the eventual happy ending all the sweeter.

In addition to providing drama and philosophical conundrums, Elsa’s struggles are used to generate plenty of important messages. Beneath all the chaos, the primary message of Frozen Wight is an excellent one - you should never let tragedy and trauma define you. Elsa’s relationship with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and the rest of the “Frozen Family” emphasizes the need to preserve our bonds with the people who can support us when things get difficult. These messages are consistent with the themes and ideas explored by the original film, but take them far further to provide a more sophisticated and detailed examination. Elsa is a role model for many people with mental issues, and the exploration of her struggles here gives this fanfic an emotional impact and maturity. Like most fanfics, Frozen Wight is aimed at older audiences, but whilst many of these stories misuse the “more adult” tone, Frozen Wight gets the balance correct, adding more drama and danger without feeling gimmicky or needlessly shocking.

A Strong Supporting Cast – Although Frozen Wight is primarily about Elsa and her powers, its grand scale and elaborate narrative means that the other characters from the Frozen Universe also get plenty to do. If Elsa is the primary protagonist of Frozen Wight, then Anna is a pretty powerful deuteragonist. The emphasis on Elsa over Anna leads to some changes in their dynamic. With her attempts to play matchmaker for Elsa and Fritz and a newfound obsession with punching all her enemies in the face, Anna gets a lot of quirky and goofy moments, and can border on being a comic sidekick at times. However, when push comes to shove and Elsa needs her help, Anna proves to be the kind, brave and tenacious protagonist we all know and love, fully earning her heroine status. A traditionally-built, inanimate snowman with handprints over the heart becomes a powerful symbol of Anna’s unconditional love for Elsa, and the scenes in which it is used are the most powerful and moving in the fanfic. The bond between Anna and Elsa is the one thing which made Frozen truly iconic, and Frozen Wight treats this important relationship with the respect it deserves.

It is not surprising that Elsa’s snow creatures also have a prominent role. Olaf is his usual blissfully happy, heat-obsessed self, and gets some hilarious lines in this story. We learn about his inability at keeping secrets and get a running gag about his obsession with the curse words which he hears Anna using once too often. Hearing the innocent and childlike Olaf use profanities which rhyme with “witch” and “wrap” is one of those things which should just be cheap, lowest-common denominator humour, but turns out to be hilarious due to his total lack of awareness or malice. Elsa’s intimidating snow monster Marshmallow has an expanded role as well, as we learn about his relationship with Elsa – beneath his menacing exterior, he loves his creator just as much as Olaf does. In addition, we get several mini-Marshmallows, a set of talking birds made from pure snow and a living, walking snowball who provides some much-needed cuteness during the intense later chapters.

Anna’s allies from the original film also get some memorable moments, although they are somewhat less significant compared to the more complex and entertaining characters surrounding them. Kristoff retains his “anti-social straight man” personality and gets some good lines, but he and Sven are slightly overshadowed by the other members of the cast. Pabbie retains his role as the magic expert, providing exposition to make the complicated magic and mythology easier to understand. Although he generally uses his magic to help Anna and Elsa, Daniel eventually forces him into doing things which create problems for our protagonists. Meanwhile, the rest of the trolls get involved in the romantic tangles at the centre of the story, providing unreliable advice for Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Fritz. Given that he is one of the most overused characters in Frozen media, the eccentric Sauna salesman Oaken appears surprisingly little in this story. However, the character is given various identical-looking cousins who run other businesses in Arendelle and generate a lot of extra silliness – Thebandragoness could have easily ran this concept into the ground, but thankfully manages to handle it carefully. Overall, Thebandragoness stays true to the essence of Frozen’s main characters and gives them a lot of great new material.

Great New Characters - There are also a variety of interesting new characters to enjoy. Aside from the villains (mentioned in further detail below) the two most prominent are Anders, the chief of staff, and Fritz, an awkward young bodyguard hopelessly infatuated with Elsa. Anders is a stereotypically posh and stuffy assistant and gets a variety of dry and snarky lines, but the caring and compassionate elements of his personality still shine through. When he is forced to babysit Olaf, he initially finds the wacky snowman insufferable, but soon begins to form a sweet little friendship with him. Fritz is another major source of comic relief in the story, getting involved in a complex romantic subplot involving Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, a bullying and macho bodyguard, and a sickeningly sweet member of staff. Whilst the romantic subplots are relatively convoluted and can feel like filler at times, they yield a lot of great comedy. With his ghastly mother, a complete lack of social skills and a job he is hopelessly unqualified for, Fritz is incredibly out of his depth in the royal world, but he is likeable enough to root for, and its pretty satisfying when things finally start to go his way. Besides these characters, other new additions to the Frozen universe include Mrs. Dale, Adrian’s wise and kind wife, and Admiral Klaus, a tough military man who has his own personal reasons for taking interest in Elsa’s cyromancy. Both of these characters are engaging and three-dimensional, with revelations about them later in the story add to their depth and complexity.

Excellent Villains - Whilst the villains are one of the weakest aspects of the original film, the villains in Frozen Wight are among the highlights of the story. There are six main villains (seven if you count “Evilsa” – the brainwashed and crazy version of Elsa from Part 4), of whom four are completely original characters. These four new additions are all memorable antagonists who present Anna and Elsa with formidable challenges. Daniel is the best of these, representing an excellent evil counterpart to Elsa whose tragic past has driven him insane and turned him into a nihilistic demon who has decided to embrace the death and destruction he associates with his ice powers. Mary has one of the biggest character arcs in the story, as she goes from demonic creature seeking to control Elsa to vulnerable and sympathetic snowwoman who realises that her fears and anxieties are not so different from Anna’s. Both characters are given depth through a variety of flashback sequences, which explain how they came to pose a threat to Anna and Elsa. These sequences add horror and tragedy to Frozen Wight, with Daniel’s backstory being especially harrowing – his behavior may be deplorable, but it is certainly easy to understand how he ended up becoming a monster. In contrast to Daniel and Mary, Brandr has no internal depth or complexity, but is still a twisted and entertaining villain. With his fast-talking, obnoxious personality and complete disregard for human life, he feels like a more extreme version of Hades from Hercules and is as much of a scene-stealer as this description implies. Adrian is a smaller villain, only causing trouble in the first part, but still has a considerable impact, particularly when we find out WHY he wanted to kill Elsa. This devastating revelation fuels Elsa’s doubts and uncertainties about her powers and adds depth to a villain who previously seemed like a prejudiced thug. It needs to be stated that none of these villains are suitable for children. Brandr’s flamboyance means that he is the closest to a traditional Disney baddie, but this is still a character who boasts about killing a child cyromancer and plots to replace all of Arendelle’s little children with demon changelings. The total lack of family-friendliness gives this story a bite which provides urgency and high stakes to prevent this being an excessively upbeat and silly farce.

Compared to villains like Daniel and Brandr, The Duke of Weaseltown Weselton and Prince Hans, the two villainous characters from the original film, no longer feel like threats, and their portrayal in this story reflects this. Weselton was always more of a boorish and ridiculous ‘hater’ rather than a true menace, and Frozen Wight stays true to this characterization. During the second part, Elsa is forced to negotiate with him to form a new trading agreement, leading to a lot of the awkward and amusing comedy generated by forcing our protagonists to be nice to someone who they find totally insufferable. Needless to say, the uneasy business partnership does not work out. It is a lot more surprising to see Hans played for laughs as well, but this is handled really well here. Most Frozen  fanfics portray Hans as a troubled but redeemable young man or a completely evil supervillain, so it is refreshing to see this one try something different, and the material is funny enough to justify the more comedic interpretation. The Hans we see here is still a scheming sociopath, but feels pathetic instead of threatening, as he spends most of his time formulating impractical and ill-conceived plots from within his jail cell whilst picking his nose and getting increasingly miserable about the fall from grace that he brought upon himself. The confrontation between him and our two sisters towards the end of the fanfic is incredibly one-sided, demonstrating how far Anna and Elsa have come over the course of the story. It’s telling that whilst Weselton and Hans are mere sideshows in Frozen Wight, their portrayal here is more interesting and entertaining than they were in a film where they were the central antagonists.

What Are the Negatives?

This is an excellent fanfic, but it has its flaws as well, and whilst these are relatively minor, they are still worth mentioning. The epic approach of Frozen Wight is one of its strengths, but also generates some problems. The second and third parts can get a little baggy at times, with the issues of Anna and Elsa’s daily life sometimes distracting from the bigger picture. The mythology of this story, involving magical swords fuelled by hate, evil fairies and a mythical cyromancer called Mother Winter who turned the entire world into a snowy wasteland, is incredibly convoluted and not easy to follow, going against the fairytale simplicity which makes Disney films so appealing. There is also a problem with the otherwise excellent final chapter. The concluding scene involving Daniel reuniting with a figure from his past ends his story on an ambiguous but surprisingly hopeful note (Without going too far into spoiler territory, his final fate is similar to that of The Moon King in Kubo and the Two Strings). However, it would have been more satisfying to intercut this with Anna and Elsa’s final conversation together, a simple, moving and sweet scene where Anna provides Elsa with support as she comes to terms with the awful ordeal she went through over the fourth part of the story. Ultimately, the most powerful element of  Frozen Wight is  the unbreakable bond between two sisters and seeing them put their handprints on Anna’s snowman one last time would have been the perfect full stop for this tale.

What Else has TheBanDragoness Written?

Thebandragoness has provided two sequels to Frozen Wight. They are considerably shorter, but still packed with the humour and drama that are the author’s trademark. Anatomy of A Snowwoman is centred on Mary and her struggles to find meaning in her life. It continues in the tone set by Frozen Wight, with Elsa travelling to a kingdom who worships her as a goddess and dealing with a mysterious force which turns all her snow creatures (even Olaf!) into rebellious monsters. Fritz: The Musical centres on Fritz’s romantic misadventures and features parodies of numerous famous Disney songs. Both of these stories have plenty of great moments, and are worth checking out, but Frozen Wight is still the best story in Thebandragoness universe by some distance, due to its epic scope, great humour, powerful dramatic moments and its excellent depiction of Anna and Elsa’s sister dynamic.

Verdict

Although there are times where it feels a bit excessive and self-indulgent, Frozen Wight is a must-read for Frozen fans, and even those who despise the Disney megahit will find something to enjoy in this fanfic. With its creative combination of funny, sad, scary and heartwarming, the story deepens our appreciation of the characters in the Frozen universe whilst also adding some excellent new elements to their world. Ultimately, Frozen Wight sets an extremely high bar for Frozen 2, and it provides proof that committed and talented amateur fans can provide a sequel capable of standing toe to toe with the best from Hollywood.

Best Lines

 “Here’s a secret. All politics is just a bunch of old rich people who hate each other being locked in a room to argue about boring legal stuff” (Chapter 1)

“In the span of a week, the castle had gone from a quiet, dignified albeit empty, house of royalty to a place where sentient snowmen ran amok and princesses dated hairy mountain men. It was starting to dawn on Anders that the only thing standing between order and hair-splitting madness was one elderly and overworked butler” (Chapter 3)

“Anna: Discussing Talking Snowman philosophy is great and all, but can we please get back to fixing my brain now?” (Chapter 6)

“Anna: When you ran away just now, I was so scared, I didn’t know what you were going to do, and, well, between today and yesterday, I guess we both almost lost each other. And all I could think of was how we needed to build a snowman again because… if we built the snowman, then…then you would know…that  I don’t care what happens, or what you’ve done, or what you think you’ve done. I love you no matter what.” (Chapter 15)

"Anders thought back to the conversation he'd had with Elsa the previous day. He was glad to see she'd dealt with the issue in her own unorthodox way. He just wished her way hadn't involved freezing the whole castle, that was all. Sudden, drastic change and finicky old men didn't agree with each other." (Chapter 17)

“Olaf: I’m great at keeping secrets! Like the time I promised Marshmallow I wouldn’t tell anyone he wants to wear women’s clothing!” (Chapter 29)

"Anna glanced back long enough to scream "Evilsnooooooowmaaaaaaan!"

Okay, Kristoff was seriously confused. But then an ice-creature charged after her down the hallway, and he pieced things together.

Lesson Learned: Never try to surprise Anna. She will outdo you every time" (Chapter 33)

"Brandr: Please, must this end in violence? […] Wait, who am I kidding? I love violence." (Chapter 37)

"Olaf: First Elsa wears boy clothes, then I wear girl clothes...What a day for gender roles, right? Wait. Do snowmen have genders?" (Chapter 55)

“Anna had learnt a valuable lesson. No matter how bad a person could seem, they can always realise their mistakes and find redemption.

Except Hans. Screw Hans. Anna hoped he was having a miserable time in prison.” (Chapter 65)

“Morten the Guard: Why can’t the queen stay single, huh? Her life seems fine without romance in it! And its not like there aren’t already a gazillion royal chicks out there who turn romance into their defining trait! Why can’t Queen Elsa stay special? Why can’t she be a strong, independent person?” (Chapter 74)