WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Frozen 2, in theaters now.
Frozen 2 gives Elsa, Anna and the audience the chance to learn more about the character's histories and the world around them. Spurred on by the awakening of magic, the pair are forced to uncover the truth behind their parent's disappearance and a surprising connection between Elsa and her mother.
Frozen 2 revealed that Elsa and Anna's mother was also able to connect with the magical powers that help make Elsa the lost "fifth element".
RUNS IN THE GENES
Over the course of the film, Anna and Elsa learn more about the history of their parents. When they were children, they found out that when their father was a boy, he went north alongside his own father and an assortment of soldiers. Initially, their journey was a mission of peace with the northern tribes in order to construct a mighty dam. He also sees a young girl playing with the air elemental, there. However, things quickly erupt into chaos as a battle between the two forces breaks out. The prince was knocked unconscious and spirited away from the battle. By the time he awoke, he learned he was the only one to escape the woods and return to the kingdom. With his father gone, the prince became the King of Arendelle.
As the grown Elsa and Anna discover during their quest to find the source of the awakening magic, they learn even more about their parents. Their mother, who has some kind of connection to the air elemental, turned out to be the one who saved their father. She was shown flying their father to safety and then going into hiding alongside him. It's possible then that the affinity for magical powers runs in the family blood, which explains how Elsa was able to get her powers.
HOMEWARD BOUND
As they continue further north, Elsa eventually pushes Anna away out of fear that she'll be hurt in the quest. She eventually makes her way to a remote island in the middle of the sea, where Elsa is able to learn the truth about her connection to magic. It turns out that humanity is the fifth element, which needs to be one with nature for genuine peace to exist in the world. It seems that certain humans are able to utilize the elements as a result.
All of these revelations tie Elsa further to the enchanted north, which is a more magical place than the more mundane Arendelle. Elsa's powers even seem to grow stronger the closer she gets to the north, which might be part of the reason she ultimately decides to remain in the area after the events of the movie. It turns out to be the ancestral home of her mother, which might be part of why she's able to form such an immediate connection with the place. She even finds peace with the other elements, including the air elemental that they eventually dub Gale -- the one who seemed to be part of her mother's own connection to the powers.
But is it Elsa's bloodline specifically that allows them to use these powers? Or is it more dependent on some humans being able to forge connections between the human and spiritual side of the world? The film leaves this largely ambiguous, allowing for potential future stories to fill in more of the blanks about how the magical forces operate exactly. But for the time being at least, Elsa has been able to find her place at the core of the elemental power structure, honoring her mother and her heritage along the way.
Disney's Frozen 2 reunites directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck and producer Del Vecho with voice actors Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad. Returning musical talents include Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.