Kristoff Bjorgman is the tritagonist of Disney's 2013 animated feature film Frozen. He is a courageous mountain man that becomes a companion of the fearlessPrincess Anna during her quest to find her sister Elsa the Snow Queen. He is voiced by Jonathan Groff.
Having spent many years of his life without any real contact outside of the trolls and Sven, Kristoff is a bit of an individualist and acts as a loner. He can also be rather grumpy and selfish at times, as well as a bit lazy. But with all these flaws comes a heart of gold as well, as the ice harvester has shown multiple times throughout the film that he has a loving heart and deeply cares for those who treat him with love and sympathy in return, such as Sven, the trolls and later Anna. His relationship with Sven is a perfect example of his soft side, as he's shown to put Sven over anyone else, going as far as to only saving Sven's carrots when his sleigh was seconds away from being destroyed, leaving the other much needed equipment aboard, feeling that Sven's happiness and health is far more important.
Kristoff is also known for doing voice-overs for Sven, being able to understand the reindeer's thoughts via his expressions, and decided to simply speak for him when they have conversations. They also share a "duet" together; their nightly lullaby. And according to the lyrics of the lullaby "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People", Kristoff apparently had a distrust towards others, believing people will only hurt, cheat and curse him and that they're all bad, explaining his loner lifestyle.
Kristoff's loving side is brightly showcased during his time with Anna. Throughout the start of the adventure, Kristoff shows disinterest in going to find Elsa or assisting Anna in conquering the mountains, but soon comes around through the "persuasion" of Sven. And as the journey continues, Kristoff grows attached to Anna's fun-loving and sweet ways, becoming very loyal to her and protective of her. By the end of the film, Kristoff and Anna fall in love completely, though the mountain man shows to be quite the shy, awkward one around his sweetheart, once again showing his softer side.
Appearance[]
Concept Art
Kristoff is a rugged, handsome 21-year old man. It is worth mentioning that his build is a distinct variation on most Disney Heroes. Hans is a perfect example of the traditional stature. On the flip side, Kristoff has broad shoulders and a muscular build. His build is a realistic consequence of his rough life as a mountain-dwelling ice harvester.
He has blond hair (more golden than Anna's, but not as pale as Elsa's) which is later descri
bed as "unmanly" by the trolls (in the song "Fixer Upper"). He also has light brown eyes and (like almost every character in the film) fair skin with a few 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), his outfit consists of 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 (purplish/red) collar and a blue patch on his right elbow, a burgundy sash tied around his waist, a dark blue long-sleeved undershirt, brownish-green 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.
Disney Parks[]
Kristoff posing for a photo at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Kristoff appears briefly in the Disney California Adventure nighttime spectacular World of Color, seen being pulled in a sleigh along with Anna, Olaf and Sven. However, he is currently not available for meet-and-greets; when asked about him, Anna and Elsa mention that he is back in Arendelle.
However, on July 5, 2014, Kristoff made his Disney theme park debut at Disney's Hollywood Studios during the Frozen Summer Fun event. Here, Kristoff appears in the Frozen Royal Welcome introductory parade, the Frozen Sing Along show (where the story of the film is told with live accompaniment in the form of Kristoff, Anna and Elsa) and the finale fireworks display.
Kristoff also takes part in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in 2014. During these events, the ice harvester also appears during A Frozen Holiday Wish show, serving as the host alongside Anna, Elsa and Olaf.
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.
That Kristoff has no permanent residency and has financial troubles seems confirmed by a deleted scene, wherein he originally only helped out Anna in return for money.
Across Europe, there are stories of Changelings and Fetches - when Trolls steal a human child and replace them, sometimes with fairies, and sometimes a log of enchanted wood that becomes 'sick' and dies. The stories include that the Trolls were particuarly attracted to blond hair and beauty, and often treated the stolen child as one of their own. In return, they gave the child (sometimes the Changeling; sometimes the Fetch) gifts such as strength, stamina, or an affinity for the wild. This is very similar to what happened to Kristoff, which would make him a Fetch (the stolen child).
According to the director/writer Jennifer Lee, Kristoff is 21, the same age as Elsa.
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 and dashing, while Kristoff is sweet and introverted, but both are of the Loner archetype.
Both Kristoff's voice actor (Jonathan Groff) and Elsa's voice actress (Idina Menzel) have been recurring characters on the FOX television series Glee. Groff played a character named 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. In Scandinavian, 'Bjorg' means 'help' or 'salvation'.
Kristoff is the first Disney Prince to be based on a female character, as he's based on the Robber Girl from The Snow Queen. From the original story, the Robber Girl's the one who helps Gerda (who the protagonist Anna is based on) through her journey, and she also has a pet reindeer.
Due to time, a scene featuring Kristoff climbing, using his pickaxe all over the mountain cliffs, was deleted.
Kristoff is the second Disney Prince to have blond hair, with the first being John Smith from Pocahontas.
Kristoff's the second Disney Prince to be an orphan, after Flynn Rider from Tangled, although while Flynn grew up in an orphanage, Kristoff was raised by trolls.
Kristoff is the second Disney Prince who does not have a love song and a romantic duet with his love interest, with the first being Li Shang. His duet was cut out from the movie due to plot and timing constraints, according to Jennifer Lee.
Kristoff is the third Disney Prince to be shown as a child onscreen, with the first being Prince Phillip, and the second being Aladdin.
He is the third Prince to not marry his Princess directly at the film's end, with the first being Aladdin, and the second being John Smith. Anna and Kristoff might, however, get married in the future, as that's happened to other Disney Princesses (Jasmine, Mulan and Rapunzel, respectively).
Kristoff is actually a variation of the name "Christopher". In Norway, the spelling is "Kristoffer", and it is a very popular name.
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 mentions 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 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 hurt 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 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.
