Disney finally gave fans a first look at Elsa in Frozen 3, which confirmed that she will be given a redesign for the threequel, and everyone seems to have mixed opinions, with some loving it and others hating it. Frozen 3 has the chance to be one of the biggest Disney animated films of all time. The Frozen franchise is one of the most popular in Disney history, and based on the details that have been revealed about Frozen 3, many fans are quite excited to step back into Arendelle with their favorite characters.
At Disney's D23 event, a teaser for the upcoming Frozen 3 film was shown to those in attendance, which confirmed that Elsa is going to look a bit different from how she did in Frozen 2. Specifically, most of Elsa's redesign comes in her hair, which has been pulled back up and into a braid, similar to the way it was in the first film.
Notably, Elsa let her hair completely down in Frozen 2, with many fans seeing it as a form of symbolism for how her character had changed over the course of that film. However, now that her character design is changing again, and her hairstyle is reverting back to the way it was in the original Frozen, many fans have voiced their opinions on the matter.
It is worth mentioning that the Frozen 3 first look also included Anna, Sven, Kristoff, and Olaf. For the most part, all of those characters look fairly similar to how they did in the previous installments, with the only one (aside from Elsa) going through somewhat of a design change being Anna.
A lot of the Disney fanbase has expressed disappointment in Elsa's design change, with many wanting her hair to go back to the way it was in Frozen 2. For example, @bb02_famous (via X) stated, "Noooooo, I want Elsa's hair back down!"
Similarly, @M75105 (also via X) mentioned Elsa's hair from the Frozen 3 teaser, saying, "Can we switch up Elsa's hair?"
Now, it is worth noting that the special look at Frozen 3 from D23 was more of a clip than a full teaser or trailer. Therefore, all of the footage essentially came from one specific scene, meaning that Elsa could have styled her hair that way just for that moment. It is also important to consider that this scene takes place during Anna and Kristoff's wedding, so Elsa's hairstyle could have simply been the way she wanted to wear it for her sister's special day.
Therefore, it is entirely possible that Elsa could wear her hair down, as she did in Frozen 2, at other points throughout the film.
Still, a lot of fans aren't necessarily happy with the way she has been designed by the team at Disney. Another example of someone wanting her Frozen 2 hair back comes from X's @Jennie78618646, who said, "Not Elsa in her old hair again…"
As mentioned, Elsa's hair in the original Frozen was styled more like how it was in the Frozen 3 clip, where she had it braided, and sometimes pulled up on the back of her head.
It is also worth noting that many fans have expressed that they like the costumes from Frozen 3, just not Elsa's hair. For example, @EmilyHunter2011 (via X) noted that they "love the outfits," and "especially Elsa's," but that they "wish her hairstyle was different:"
"I love the outfits. Especially Elsa's. I just wish her hairstyle was different and not reused."
Some have claimed that changing Elsa's hair undermines the symbolism of the character's redesign in Frozen 2. For example, X's @Spidermonument stated that they felt like Elsa letting her hair down and getting rid of the braid "was the representation of her leaving the past behind:"
"Why the f**k they gave Elsa her braid back??? Wasn't the plot of the second movie that her hair was the representation of her ending up leaving the past behind so she let her hair down???"
It is a fair criticism, especially considering her hair looks like it was simply reused from the first film, as she wore a braid throughout essentially the entire movie.
Then, in Frozen 2, when Elsa's character arc progressed, her hairstyle changed, and she lost the braid.
Finally, by the end of the film, she was wearing her hair completely down, with it not even pulled together in a ponytail or braided at all.
Obviously, Frozen 3 has not detailed if there was a specific reason for Elsa's hair to go back to the way it was in the original movie, but some fans, such as X's StephenAPatton, feel as though it is "a bit of a regression:"
"They changed Elsa’s hair back to the braid? I get it’s iconic, but seems like a bit of a regression in her design."
It is rather apparent that a large portion of the fanbase liked Elsa's hair down. Like many, @AlmendriWW (via X) doesn't care for the braid coming back, saying, "They braided her hair back… booooo."
In general, it does seem as though Disney tried to recreate Elsa's design from the original Frozen rather than using Frozen 2 as a point of reference. As mentioned, her hair is almost identical to the way it was in the first film. However, her facial structure and neck look more like they did in Frozen than in Frozen 2.
It is also worth noting that Disney showcased Elsa's official character design and costuming in Frozen 3 via statues at D23, as shared by Drew Smith via X.
Now, once again, it is important to mention that Elsa's hair may not be in a braid for the entire movie. It is possible that the film could be paying homage to Elsa's design from Frozen in some parts, and that she will then take it down to show respect to her design from the second movie in other Frozen 3 scenes.
While many fans clearly are not crazy about Elsa's redesign for Frozen 3, some have expressed interest in it and approve of her look in the upcoming film.
For example, X's @jedi_goten456 stated that Disney "cooked" with the character designs:
"Yea the character designs cooked for 'Frozen 3.'"
Similarly, @Justanavrage (via X) stated, "Elsa and Anna look beautiful."
So, while there are plenty of fans who don't approve of Elsa's redesign, there are still many who think it is a good change.
Does Elsa's Hair Change Have a Deeper Meaning?
Sometimes, film studios don't make style decisions just because they are visually pleasing. In fact, some characters are given specific looks or traits solely to help move along their character arcs or to symbolize somthing going on internally.
This could be the case for Elsa in Frozen 3. It has been explained already that Disney is going to make a fourth Frozen movie, and that it will directly continue what happens in the threequel. Essentially, Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 are going to act as two parts of the same story.
It is possible that Disney chose to revert Elsa's hair back to the way that it was in the original movie because something major will happen in her character arc, which could then lead to another style change to symbolize what is going on with her.
Elsa's braid is rather iconic, so by giving it back to her in Frozen 3, if something major happens in her journey, it would mean a lot for Disney to move away from that iconic look and give her something different.
This time, to keep things different from Frozen 2, maybe Disney will even elect to cut Elsa's hair, giving her a new look entirely. However, fans won't know the true answer until Frozen 3 (and potentially Frozen 4) is released.
