- “It's all fun and games until someone gets eaten by a Marshmallow.”
- ―Stitch Kingdom[1]
Marshmallow is a supporting character in the Frozen franchise. He is an enchanted snowman created to serve as Elsa's bodyguard. Following Elsa's return to Arendelle, Marshmallow inherited her palace and now lives a peaceful life atop the North Mountain with his siblings, the Snowgies.
Background[]
Official Description[]
- Marshmallow is an enormous icy snowman born from Elsa's powers. He serves as a brute bodyguard charged with keeping intruders away from her ice palace. The menacing white beast doesn't say much, but he packs a powerful punch.
Development[]
Originally, there was going to be more than one snowman similar to Marshmallow, with Olaf being the first member of this snowman army, but was rejected by Elsa because he wasn't threatening enough, very much like how one's first attempt at cooking food often tends to end in disaster, but later attempts become more and more successful (they make a brief appearance in the "Bad Elsa" deleted scene, where an originally villainous Elsa can be seen interrogating two of "Admiral Westergård" (an early version of Hans, the actual antagonist)'s guards). However, these snowmen were ultimately proven to be too successful, that they ultimately went out of control and started going on a rampage and purposely attacking anyone in their path, something Elsa was against.
However, the concept was kept so at least one snowman guard would be in the film, with Marshmallow taking that role.
Personality[]
Just as Olaf represents Elsa's childlike persona, Marshmallow appears to represent Elsa's powerful desire to be left alone. Because of this, he is extremely aggressive and territorial to intruders or others who try to enter the castle except for Elsa, whom he was made to protect. He is incredibly devoted to her in this role and continued this even when he was injured. However, at the end of the film, when returning to the ice palace, he is shown smiling and letting out a happy sigh after placing Elsa's discarded tiara on his head. This possibly hints that while he represents her desire to be alone, he could also contain some aspects of her innocence.
Despite being a highly competent minion, for the most part, Marshmallow still has some bumbling edges, as seen when chasing Kristoff and Anna, who was able to outsmart the snow beast rather easily.
Interestingly, in several storybooks and comics taking place after the film, Marshmallow's friendlier personality, shown at the end of the film, has apparently taken dominance. He now serves as an ally to the other characters. This can also be seen in Frozen Fever, where Marshmallow shows no hostility towards Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven, while the opposites show no fear of the snow beast in spite of their previous history.
Physical appearance[]
Marshmallow is a hulking behemoth of a snowman, whose joints are comprised of ice rather than sticks, unlike Olaf. His fingers are made from rounded icicles, and are really sharp as knives, with his elbows and knees having sheets of ice on them like knee and elbow pads.
As he is angered further, it is shown that Marshmallow's eye sockets light up demonically, and ice spikes will protrude from multiple parts of his body. It is shown that he gains ice spikes on his back, somewhat like the quills of a porcupine and/or hedgehog, as well as ice growing along his arms. His ice fingers sharpen to become talons, and fangs will grow alongside his jawline. This helps make him a more formidable fighter, as well as making him appear more threatening.
Powers and abilities[]
Despite being made from snow and ice, he seems to have no real control over it. However, Marshmallow has superhuman strength, which he uses as his primary weapon. He can grow ice from himself, however, in the form of weapons such as spikes, claws, and teeth to compose armor. He also has shown the ability to breathe blizzards of snow from his mouth. When facing one or two opponents, his immense size and strength can give him the upper hand. However, he does have some difficulty taking on large groups of opponents at one time, due to their strength in numbers and his lack of agility.
Like Elsa, his abilities are controlled by his emotions. When peaceful, Marshmallow's appearance is smooth and warm, much like Olaf, though still hulking due to his size. But when angered, the spikes and shards are unleashed, and the more his fury, the more deadly ice shards consume his body, making him all the more dangerous and powerful.
Appearances[]
Animated Appearances[]
Frozen[]
Marshmallow in Frozen.
After Anna arrives in Elsa's ice palace, the princess tries to convince her sister to return home to Arendelle. However, Elsa refuses, though Anna remains persistent even after Elsa's frequent requests to leave and unintentional freezing of her sister's heart. With no other choice, Elsa creates Marshmallow as a personal bodyguard to send Anna, her companion Kristoff, and Elsa's first enchanted snowman Olaf out of her home, to never return. After Marshmallow kicks them out, however, he upsets Anna by throwing Olaf onto a snowy boulder. As revenge, Anna balls up a snowball and tries to throw it at the giant beast, but Kristoff, knowing it's a bad idea, keeps Anna from throwing the snowball, telling her to let the giant snowman be. Anna tells him she's calm and seemingly softens, but the moment Kristoff turns his back, she throws the snowball at the giant snow monster. Though it leaves literally no damage whatsoever, the lack of respect was enough to enrage Marshmallow, causing him to chase Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf down the North Mountain while Kristoff's reindeer, Sven (who ended up getting his tongue stuck and managed to extricate) runs off into a direction which leads to the bottom of a cliff.
Marshmallow manages to corner them at the edge of the cliff, though Kristoff immediately begins digging a snow anchor, using a rope to safely guide himself and Anna down the mountain to safety. However, Marshmallow catches up to them, though Olaf tries to stop him. Annoyed, Marshmallow kicks Olaf over the cliff, and continues his chase for Anna and Kristoff, pulling them up to his face by the rope, and screaming at them once more not to return, just before Anna pulls out Kristoff's knife and uses it to cut the rope, sending the duo plummeting down, though they survive. With his mission to drive them away completed, Marshmallow returns to the ice palace.
Marshmallow battling the soldiers.
Later, Marshmallow stakes himself outside of Elsa's castle, disguising himself as snowy boulders in case more unwanted guests were to arrive. Eventually, they do, in the form of Prince Hans and his army, bent on finding Anna. The moment they come close enough, Marshmallow reveals himself and jumps right into battle. The soldiers immediately attack the beast, infuriating Marshmallow and causing his final form to be revealed. Marshmallow is able to hold most of the guards off, though Hans proves to be a fierce warrior himself, avoiding each of Marshmallow's attacks and eventually using his sword to slice the snow monster's left leg off, causing him to lose balance and begin tumbling over to a large gorge. With Marshmallow wounded, Hans begins heading inside Elsa's castle, but Marshmallow doesn't give up, giving one last swing in an attempt to drag Hans down with him. Unfortunately, he fails, and the giant snow beast plunges down into the chasm below, apparently to his death.
After the credits, it's revealed that Marshmallow had survived the ordeal, and is seen limping back into the castle with a newly-made left leg, where all he finds is Elsa's discarded tiara. The monster examines the crown, looks around for a moment, and smiles. The monster, pleasing his inner prince, happily crowns himself ruler of the castle, causing his ice spikes to resign as he gives a happy sigh, becoming docile before happily continuing his life in the North Mountain.
Frozen Fever[]
Marshmallow in Frozen Fever.
While spending Anna's birthday with her, Elsa catches a cold, and she inadvertently conjures miniature, sentient snow-babies known as the Snowgies with each sneeze. By the end of the day, an immense infusion of Snowgies has been born. Marshmallow, now tame, appears at the end of the short, where he is seen still residing in the ice palace. Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf decide to bring the Snowgies to live with Marshmallow, with Kristoff advising the latter to ignore how the little creatures came to be and simply accept them, much to the snow beast's bewilderment.
Frozen II[]
Marshmallow and the Snowgies in Frozen II.
Memories of Marshmallow appear in Ahtohallan, during Elsa’s journey. After the movie’s credits, Olaf recounts the events of Frozen II to the audience of Marshmallow and the Snowgies. Olaf explains that—at one point during their adventure—both he and Elsa had died, but because water has memory, he still lives; as do Marshmallow and the Snowgies. Upon realizing this, Marshmallow exclaims these words in joy, laughs deeply, and says Olaf had told a good story.
Olaf Presents[]
In the Olaf Presents shorts, Marshmallow appears helping Olaf in his performances by playing some characters. In "Moana", Marshmallow appears representing the role of Te Kā. In "The Lion King", he appears representing the role of Mufasa's ghost. In "Aladdin", he represents the role of the Cave of Wonders.
Other appearances[]
An emoticon version of Marshmallow briefly appeared in the Frozen entry of the As Told by Emoji short series.
In Moana, Marshmallow is one of the monsters featured on Gramma Tala's tapestries. He also appears in the Realm of Monsters, with slightly different coloring.
A LEGO version of Marshmallow briefly appeared in Frozen: Northern Lights, where he and the Snowgies assisted Anna and the others on their journey.
Live-action appearances[]
Once Upon a Time[]
Marshmallow appeared in the first episode of the fourth season of the ABC series Once Upon a Time.
Marshmallow in Once Upon a Time.
Out of fear, he is summoned by Elsa for protection when she was pursued by Emma Swan and Killian while in Storybrooke. Marshmallow promptly drives the duo away and goes on destruction across town before entering the forest. He crosses paths with the Merry Men and is provoked into attacking them after they shoot him with an arrow. Before he can crush Maid Marian, Regina intervenes and destroys Marshmallow, leaving behind the snow that had formed him.
He is mentioned by Regina in the episode "Is This Henry Mills?" when she talks about the "snow monster incident".
Video games[]
Disney Infinity series[]
He is mentioned in Disney Infinity by Anna, who sometimes says while doing combat that "you're lucky I didn't send Marshmallow after you!" or "I learned that from a giant snowman!" He appears as a legit character in Disney Infinity 3.0, as an obstacle in the Frozen circuit in the Toy Box Speedway game,[2] and is also unlockable as a decorative set piece for the Toy Box.[3]
Kingdom Hearts III[]
Marshmallow appears in the game in his home world, "Arendelle", initially as a boss battle for Sora and his allies and later as a party member. In battle, Sora can ride on Marshmallow's icy hide to perform a move called "Mighty Avalanche", where Marshmallow extends his spikes and claws to pummel foes and then finishes them off with a field of ice shards.
Like in the film, Marshmallow is created by Elsa shortly after her magic pierces Anna's heart and throws Anna's group out of Elsa's palace, followed by him chasing after the party after Anna threw a snowball at him. To help their friends escape the snow beast's wrath, Sora, Donald, and Goofy engage Marshmallow in battle; during this, Goofy comes up with a special attack of smacking Marshmallow with a tree, which happens to be the same tactic Anna used against him in the film. Marshmallow dispatches his opponents by shattering the mountain peak they were on and returns to Elsa, but to his anguish, Elsa was captured by the corrupted Hans. The loyal Marshmallow heads after them and soon runs back into Sora's party, although Sora convinces him to work together since they both want to save Elsa. After helping Sora defeat Sköll, Hans' Heartless, Marshmallow shields his friends from the brunt of the darkness surge it summons but gets blown away.
In the game's credits, Marshmallow is shown to have survived the ordeal and manages to reunite with Elsa while he makes peace with the others, where he is shown happily helping Olaf retrieve his parts and smiling as Olaf reassembles.
Other games[]
Marshmallow appeared in the platformer Frozen: Olaf's Quest as an occasional enemy who'd chase after the eponymous snowman in a recurring mini-game.
In Frozen Free Fall, Marshmallow tiles must be dropped off the board like special items or two matches must be made next to them. However, if two matches are made next to a Marshmallow tile, he would roar and cause tiles to be covered in snow, and already snowed tiles to increase in size.
Marshmallow appears in both Club Penguin and LittleBigPlanet as a costumed character.
Printed media[]
Conceal, Don't Feel[]
Marshmallow was created by Elsa to protect her from Arendelle's royal guards sent to capture her. Despite his best effort, he failed his mission and Elsa was captured.
Disney On Ice[]
Marshmallow made his live debut in the Disney On Ice: Frozen show. He has been appearing there since September 3, 2014.
Disney Parks[]
Disneyland[]
The Marshmallow puppet at Disney California Adventure.
In December of 2014, Marshmallow made his first appearance in the Disney theme parks during the "Freeze the Night" party event at Disney California Adventure, in the Hollywood Land area. During the event, a large, animated, puppet of Marshmallow was available for meet-and-greet sessions. Marshmallow also took part in the event's prime stage show, as an animated guest co-host.
Walt Disney World, Hong Kong Disneyland, & Disneyland Paris[]
In Florida, Marshmallow appears as an audio-animatronic at Frozen Ever After in Epcot, as well as Hong Kong Disneyland & Walt Disney Studios Park in the future, alongside the Snowgies. After the first drop, a small backwards plunge, guests exit Elsa’s ice palace from the left (EPCOT) or right (HKDL; we don’t know about DLP or TDR as they are not open yet) onto the second turntable. Near this turntable both Marshmallow & the Snowgies be seen on the mountain, before guests plunge 3 stories down the second drop, as Marshmallow exclaims “I’M FREE!!” with a fog effect emitting from him.
Tokyo Disney Resort[]
In Tokyo Disneyland, Marshmallow appears as the giant centerpiece of the final float, accompanied by Hans, during the Anna and Elsa's Frozen Fantasy parade.
In Tokyo DisneySea, Marshmallow along with the Snowgies will appear in Anna & Elsa’s Frozen Journey, also known as Frozen Ever After, in the Fantasy Springs area opening June 6, 2024 (projected).
Shanghai Disneyland[]
In Shanghai, a puppet of Marshmallow appears following behind the Frozen float Mickey's Storybook Express.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Marshmallow is likely inspired by the snow flakes that attack Gerda by turning into monsters in the original "The Snow Queen" story.
- Originally, Marshmallow's render bore a greater resemblance to Olaf. His body was divided and less smooth, his arms were made from uprooted tree trunks with their roots as his claws, and he lacked icicle spikes.
- Originally, Olaf was meant to name Marshmallow upon their first meeting in Elsa's castle, as well as deem him his brother. However, this was dropped in the final film, though it was referenced in the novelization.[4] Nevertheless, Olaf is still the only character in the film to refer to Marshmallow by his name, thus keeping the naming of Marshmallow in the film, but in a much different way.
- Interestingly enough, this setup is used when Olaf meets the Snowgies.
- Marshmallow represents Elsa's fear and needing to conceal herself, as he was formed after Elsa struck Anna in the heat with her powers.
- Before the concept of using a giant snowman as a giant monster, Marshmallow was originally going to be a polar bear.
- Marshmallow is afraid of fire.[5]
- Marshmallow does not appear in the stage adaptation of the film.[6]
References[]
- ↑ Stitch Kingdom Tumblr
- ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (May 12, 2015). "Disney Infinity 3.0 Meets Mario Kart In The Speedway Toy Box". gameinformer.com.
- ↑ Infinity Inquirer (August 12, 2015). "A "ton" of toys coming over from the Toy Box Speedway including Marshmallow and King Candy in his 'final form'! Excited for those!" (Tweet). Twitter.
- ↑ Frozen: The Junior Novelization, p. 75
- ↑ Frozen: The Essential Guide, p. 46
- ↑ Paulson, Michael (August 9, 2017). "Disney's Challenge: Keeping It ‘Frozen,’ but Still Fresh" (Article). NY Times.
External links[]
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