How tall is Olaf the snowman in Frozen, really? After the release of Frozen 2, fans were surprised to see Olaf's height listed as 5'4" on the Frozen Wiki - which would make Elsa tower over him at over eleven feet tall. Voiced by Josh Gad in both movies, the talking snowman is Anna and Elsa's comedic sidekick and the star of the Frozen shorts Olaf's Frozen Adventure and Once Upon A Snowman. Olaf quickly became a fan-favorite due to his irreverent, existential comedy and his stand-out songs "In Summer" and "When I'm Older."
Olaf is originally brought to life in Frozen by Elsa and is later discovered by Anna and Kristoff in the woods. The snowman mostly provides comic relief, from Olaf's first improvised line in Frozen to his rapid-fire reenactments of the events of Frozen in Frozen 2. During Frozen 2, Olaf's offhand comment about how water has memories turns out to be a key part of the plot. Although Olaf's personality might be larger than life, the snowman is definitely not 5'4".
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If Olaf's height was listed correctly on the Frozen Wiki, Elsa would tower over the other residents of Arandelle at eleven feet tall. After spotting the inconsistency in the Wiki, fans on Twitter calculated Elsa's height based on Olaf being 5'4", and found that the numbers simply didn't make sense. Unless the people of Arendelle are giants, Olaf being 5'4" is simply not possible. As per the Frozen Wiki, Elsa's official height is 5'7". Based on the movies, where Olaf is roughly half of Elsa's height, that would place the snowman right around 2'8" - which is much closer to his appearance in the Frozen films.
With Wikis created for fans to obtain more information about the characters, however, there is a catch. Some of the information might be official, but that information is usually cited as coming from a specific project - whether it's a movie or a book. For example, Olaf's age is cited as 1 day with information from Frozen, and 3 years with information from Frozen II. While official heights are listed on the Frozen Wiki for Olaf and Elsa, neither of them is marked with citations. It makes fans wonder where the seemingly impossible information about how tall Olaf is actually comes from and how he really compares to other Arendelle residents.
The Frozen movies, sing-along versions, and shorts are all available to watch on Disney+.
What The People Behind Frozen Said About Olaf's Height
The fan reaction to Olaf's height was frenzied enough that director and co-writer of Frozen Jennifer Lee had to respond on X (formerly Twitter). Lee clarified that Olaf's height on the Frozen Wiki was probably a typo, and "if it said 3'4" I'd buy it," noting that it would make more sense to be off by a few inches than a few feet.
If it said 3'4" I'd buy it... I could be off an inch or two, but not a foot or two.
Lee specified in the same tweet that Anna's height is 5'5", and Elsa is 5'7" - which would both confirm Elsa's height in the Frozen Wiki and make Olaf's height around 3 feet tall. Using the same math that determined Elsa was eleven feet tall, it would make Olaf 2'6".
The confusion over Olaf's height caused a debate among Frozen fans who disputed the ridiculous claim that the snowman was over five feet tall. In both Frozen movies and in Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Olaf seems to be about half the size of Anna and Elsa, who are fairly average heights. Whether the entry in the Frozen Wiki was a joke or a typo, it's safe to assume that Olaf is about half of Elsa's height - and the Frozen 2 ice queen stands at a pretty normal human height.
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For some watching the Frozen movies, how tall Olaf is might not make a difference in their enjoyment of the story. For others, it’s going to be an idea at the back of their mind that makes them wonder about the logistics of character heights in the Frozen universe. It would go a long way for those who have been curious since the first movie if the script for Frozen 3 manages to make reference to Olaf’s actual height in the movie.
Frozen 3 wouldn’t need to make this piece of trivia a major plot point. A comment in passing from a character about the height of the snowman, however, would definitely be nice for those fans who have remained curious about Olaf and have debated the piece of information. It could be mentioned in a song or even a tongue-in-cheek comment could be made by Anna or Kristoff to recognize that the writers have seen the debates about Olaf’s recorded height and the impossibility of it.
Even if how tall Olaf is doesn’t make it into Frozen 3, there are sure to be legions of fans who are excited about the next adventure with Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and their allies.
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Frozen
- Created by:
- Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Shane Morris
- First Film:
- Frozen
- Cast:
- Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad
- TV Show(s):
- At Home with Olaf, Olaf Presents
- Movie(s):
- Frozen, Frozen 2, Frozen 3, Frozen Fever, Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Once Upon a Snowman, Myth: A Frozen Tale
- Character(s):
- Anna (Frozen), Elsa (Frozen), Kristoff (Frozen), Olaf (Frozen), Sven (Frozen)
- Video Game(s):
- Frozen: Olaf's Quest, Frozen: Free Fall, Frozen Free Fall: Snowball Fight
