cold as ice

The Early Drafts of Frozen Were Super Dark and Sister-Free

Let your darlings go. Photo: Walt Disney Productions

Frozen, a movie about how emotionally repressing children can leave scars on them throughout their lives, was once much darker. EW got a look at some of the early drafts of the film, and — oh boy — this does not sound like a kids’ movie. In one version, Elsa and Anna were unrelated, and Elsa was much more of a villain: Her heart had turned to ice because she was left at the altar on her wedding day. Apparently, there was also a prophecy about “a ruler with a frozen heart” who brings destruction to Arendelle, which everyone is supposed to assume is Elsa, but then turns out to be Hans — who, yes, was already a total fuccboi in the minds of the creators. In that version’s final act, Anna and Kristoff try to stop Elsa, who has created an army of snow monsters, while Hans sets off an avalanche to kill everyone, because he just doesn’t care. Anna helps melt Elsa’s heart, and then they all defeat Hans, who is the one with the real heart of ice. See, in any version of Frozen, the real moral is that men are not to be trusted.

Frozen’s Original Ending Was Super Dark