Anna

Lore & Background

The character's development was driven by the challenge of adapting "The Snow Queen," where original protagonists Gerda and the Snow Queen lacked necessary interaction. Directors Buck and Lee solved this by portraying Anna and Elsa as sisters, shifting the narrative conflict from good versus evil to love versus fear. Originally titled "Anna and the Snow Queen" in 2008 under traditional animation plans, the project was revived on December 22, 2011, with a release date of November 27, 2013. Initially, the characters were not considered well-rounded until an unnamed writing team member suggested making Anna and Elsa sisters. This change allowed Gerda's core trait—love conquering fear—to drive the story, as Buck noted that unlike a superhero, Anna's only weapon is love.

Reader's Guide

To understand Anna, one must look at her casting and vocal performance. Kristen Bell was cast on March 5, 2012, after directors heard childhood recordings of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid, which influenced their decision due to her warm, sweet voice. Bell described her reaction as being in "glee," noting this role fulfilled a goal set when she was four years old. Recording sessions required the actresses to be together for key emotional scenes to capture real chemistry. Notably, Bell recorded some lines while pregnant and had to re-record others after giving birth because her voice had deepened. The character represents resilience; as Buck stated, "She just hit it out of the park," with Lee noting that without Bell's specific vocal qualities, finding the right actress would have been very difficult.

Did You Know?

• Agatha Lee Monn, daughter of director Jennifer Lee, portrayed nine-year-old Anna in the song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"
• Livvy Stubenrauch provided the speaking voice for young Anna, while Katie Lopez provided the singing voice.
• Kristen Bell cited Ariel from The Little Mermaid as her favorite Disney character because she wanted to "venture outside my comfort zone."