Norway and Frozen

I believe we’ve all heard about Disney’s Frozen by now. But what I bet most of you don’t know is that the movie was based on Norway! You might have noticed it in my former post about Norway when you saw some of the pictures of the landscapes that they kind of remind you of Frozen. If you did, then congrats! You have a keen eye and good memory.

Below are some similarities I found when investigating about this:

• Arendelle village and Bergen



Arendelle (Source)



Bergen (Source)

In the first picture, notice the village part on the right of the castle. Looks like Bergen, doesn't it? Yes! Arendall was indeed based on Bergen's arquitecture, landscape, and its harbour as well.

Curiously, there is actually a town in Norway called Arendal, which was probably the inspiration for the naming of the town in Frozen, but in terms of landscape it has little in common compared to Bergen.

• Arendelle castle and Norway's stave churches



The castle in the movie (Source)



Borgund stave church (Source)

Again, the arquitecture was a huge inspiration. There are several stave churches scattered around Norway, but the best preserved and most authentic stave church is this one. Definetely worth visiting!

• Arendelle chapel and stave churches



Arendelle chapel



Lom Stave Church (Source)

Yeap, the chapel in the movie was also based in these stave churches! Just notice the X-shaped carvings and... well, a mere look at both pics should prove how much they're related.

• The fjords



Arendelle's fjord and the Geirangerfjord (Source)

I'm sure you've heard the word fjord in the movie and I bet you were like "What the heck did he just say? " or "The fu***'s a fjord? ". Well, this is it, the image below Arendelle. The fjord is that canal or inlet, created by glacial erosion. I suggest checking wiki for this though, if you're interested. I also suggest visiting these fjords, as they really give you that "Frozen" vibe!

• The mountains





Trollveggen (or Troll Wall) (Source)

Doesn't that mountain in Frozen (first image) look alot like Trollveggen? Although you probably don't recognize it since it was shown only for a couple of seconds, but it's still there.

• The sky's awake...



Movie



Skies of Tromsø (Source)

"... so I'm awake, so we have to play! " Remember that at the beggining? Unfortunately it was also the only scene the northern lights appeared, but if go to Norway you'll see them almost constantly!

• Svens



Disney's Sven (Source)



Norway's Sven (Sven)

Or reindeers, as they are more commonly called. Plenty of them in Norway, which is also why Santa lives there (or not). Though they may not be as friendly as Sven...

• Fjord horses



In the movie (Source)



In Norway (Source)

They have a kickass mohawk. That is all.

• Trolls



In Frozen (Source)



In Norway (Source)

The trolls in Norway are, obviously, not magically alive. However, they are a cultural attraction in Norway that has its origins in legends and myths of the country. Afterall, plenty of things and places are named with "Troll", like Trollveggen above, or Trolltunga.

• Wardrobe and traditional costumes



Hans is sporting a very traditional style of clothing in the movie, as well as most of the other characters. Excepting a few details, like the color, legparts and shoes, it's almost the same.



Anna also wears quite the traditional Norwegian clothing. A couple of differences here and there, but you can see where her costume's design was inspired. Just search for "norwegian bunad" on Google and you'll get loads of this clothing style!

• The traditional Selbu-pattern



A very discreet thing, this one. You have to be Norwegian to identify the pattern in this image immediately in the movie, as it is a very famous pattern for gloves and mittens and other textile products in Norway. Definitely worth getting as a souvenir!

I bet you had no idea, huh? Me neither. I only saw Frozen until recently because I never had that much interest in it. I finally got around to seeing what all the fuss was about, which led me to become curious about it's landscape. I know, I know...it's Disney, it's not worth reading too much into seeing as it's all fantasy, but hey, fantasy is based on reality too. After all, "Brave" had roots in Scotland if I'm not mistaken. And here we go, Norway parented "Frozen" (in a way)!

Hope you enjoyed the article!

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