Frozen: How Old Anna & Elsa Were When Their Parents Died

In Frozen, Anna and Elsa’s parents die when the sisters are still teenagers; in fact, their exact age has been revealed by Frozen’s director and the movie itself. Near the beginning of Frozen, Elsa and Anna’s parents, Queen Iduna and King Agnarr, leave on a voyage for an unspecified reason, saying that they’ll be back in two weeks. Frozen explicitly shows the audience that Iduna and Agnarr’s ship has sunk, killing both of the young princesses’ parents. It’s later revealed in Frozen 2 that the king and queen were traveling to Ahtohallan, a magical glacier in the north, and Frozen’s sequel again confirms that Anna and Elsa’s parents died at sea.

Anna and Elsa learn that their parents have died during the song “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” which Anna sings as she explores the castle after being locked inside to hide Elsa’s magical powers. Throughout the song, there are several time jumps, first showing Anna as a toddler, then a pre-teen, and finally a teenager in mourning garb, singing to Elsa through her bedroom door. After "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" ends, the movie skips forward and on-screen text that states three years have passed, which indicates that Anna and Elsa were both teenagers when their parents died. This was confirmed by Frozen's co-director, Jennifer Lee.

Related: Frozen: Why Elsa & Anna Should Celebrate Christmas (Holidays) With The Northuldra, Not Arendelle

Jennifer Lee, CCO of Walt Disney Animation Studios and co-director of both Frozen and Frozen 2, confirmed on Twitter that, for the main part of Frozen’s story, Anna is 18 and Elsa is 21. This means that Anna was 15 and Elsa was 18 when their parents, Iduna and Agnarr, died. By the time the main plot of the movie begins, Anna and Elsa have become isolated from the world and each other, struggling to cope with the loss of both parents at such a young age.

The sisters have opposing personalities that clash throughout Frozen (as well as Frozen 2) and their extremely different reactions to the same situation set the plot in motion. In “For The First Time In Forever,” this is made especially clear. Anxiety-ridden and reclusive Elsa is dreading her own coronation while the extroverted and cooped up Anna can’t wait for it. After their parents die, Anna reaches out to Elsa, needing comfort and support, but a scared and traumatized Elsa withdraws further, fearing that she may hurt Anna or have her magical ice powers exposed to the kingdom. This is all a lot to deal with at such a young age.

At first, Elsa and Anna manage the best they can, but, as Frozen and Frozen 2 both show, the sisters begin learning to communicate more effectively with one another, with Anna recognizing Elsa’s anxiety and Elsa acknowledging Anna’s need for reassurance. Together, they build a social group and support system with Kristoff, Olaf, Sven, and the kingdom that they finally embrace. It likely helps that the two sisters also matured. By Frozen’s sequel, they’ve grown into more self-assured young adults by finally beginning to cope with their uncertain and traumatic teenage years.

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