The first Frozen movie neglected Kristoff’s character by not giving him his own musical number—and Frozen 3 needs to repair this insult. Kristoff is voiced by Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff, who is best known for his performances in Spring Awakening and Hamilton. His singing voice is among his best assets, but despite this, Frozen didn’t utilize this talent. Frozen 2 finally made up for this by giving him a fantastic love ballad, but Frozen 3 needs to take the reparations even further.
Kristoff served as the unexpected love interest in Frozen—the very antithesis of the charming prince role that Hans was supposed to fill. Although Kristoff’s relationship with Anna is beloved among fans, it wasn’t the story’s focus. Instead, it was sisterly love that wound up being the end all be all of Frozen‘s plot, which meant there wasn’t much time left to feature Kristoff’s character. This was a real shame since, as a Broadway star, Groff is known for his singing voice.
Kristoff Had A Song In Frozen 2 (But Needs More)
In Frozen, Groff’s singing voice was only featured for a short clip as Kristoff sang a little song about reindeer with his trusty pal (whom Groff also voiced) Sven. This was about the extent of his character’s singing performances in the first movie, which seemed like a terrible waste of Groff’s singing ability. Frozen‘s creators stated in a Reddit Q&A that they had planned for Kristoff to sing a love ballad, which was why they cast singing talent like Groff, but that it had to be cut due to time constraints. Thankfully, Frozen 2 provided them the perfect opportunity to give Kristoff his moment in the sun.
Still, even with Kristoff’s “Lost in the Woods” ballad in Frozen 2, it seems outrageous that Groff has only had one major singing performance and a single verse in “Some Things Never Change.” This is especially true since Kristoff is an exceedingly singular character for Disney. He is unendingly respectful to Anna and is a perfect example of healthy masculinity, which needs to be featured far more often. Therefore Frozen 3 needs to include more opportunities for Groff’s Kristoff to shine—perhaps with some songs and sequences fulling in his Frozen backstory.
Frozen 3 Needs To Give Kristoff & Anna A Duet
Traditionally, the male love interest in a princess movie would have a duet with said princess. However, this predictable trope is precisely why the moment was given to Anna and Hans in Frozen. When the prince and princess sang “Love Is an Open Door” together, it solidified the idea in audiences’ minds that they were the romantic center of the story. Of course, this made the final reveal that Hans was really the villain all the more shocking since it diverted everything fans have come to expect from a traditional Disney story. It was effective but meant that Anna and Kristoff never really got to have their moment.
Now, going into Frozen 3, Anna and Kristoff can finally have a traditional Disney musical number, which means Groff gets the princely duet his talent always deserved. Since the couple got engaged in Frozen 2, it can be assumed that the upcoming installment will feature a wedding. This provides the perfect moment for Anna and Kristoff to share a good old-fashioned love duet. Perhaps it could even give a tip of the hat to Frozen‘s “Love Is an Open Door” to show that though Princess Anna made a mistake with Hans, Queen Anna is definitely getting it right with Kristoff.
