Something in common between Disney and Dido...
Although Disney’s Frozen is not a retelling of The Aeneid, the characters in the two do share similar personality traits and lives. The protagonist in The Aeneid; Aeneas, the hero from Troy; can easily be compared to Hans, the villain in Frozen. Both have a selfish personality, looking for a kingdom to call their own and betraying the women who fall in love with them in the pursuit of their goals. Aeneas fled from Troy as it fell and traveled to lay down new foundations and rebuild in Italy. While on his passage to establish a new kingdom, he meets Dido, the Queen of Carthage, and with the help of Juno, Venus, and Cupid, the pair come together.
However, when Jupiter learns of Dido and Aeneas’ affair, he sends Mercury to Carthage to remind Aeneas that his destiny lies elsewhere and that he must leave for Italy. Due to Aeneas’ departure, Dido throws herself upon a blade and with her last words, curses her absent lover. Similarly, Hans was the youngest of thirteen sons, burdened with the inability to successfully ascend his family's throne in the Southern Isles. Desperate for power and recognition, Hans plots to instead rule Arendelle as king through tricking Anna, the princess of Arendelle, into marrying him. In the end, Anna is hurt by the betrayal, just like Dido.
Both women are kind souls that fall helplessly in love with a man who ends up hurting them. Another character comparison can be made between Anna from Frozen and Anna from The Aeneid. Apart from sharing a name, the two are endlessly loyal to their sisters, but in the end cause bad things to happen. In Frozen, Anna and her sister, Elsa, were inseparable when they were younger until one fateful night. Anna was struck by Elsa's magic while they were playing, and though she made a full recovery, the incident led to their separation.
On the day of Elsa's coronation, Anna and Elsa reconnect, but when Elsa prepares to close the castle from the world once more, Anna's emotions get the best of her and Elsa's powers are revealed. Anna pleads with her sister to stay, but Elsa refuses to listen and flees the kingdom. She loves her sister, but is also the reason Elsa must run away, further complicating the plot.
In comparison, Anna from The Aeneid is instructed by her sister, Dido, to build a great fire in the courtyard. There, Dido says, she can rid Aeneas from her mind by burning all the clothes and weapons he has left behind. Willingly and with great loyalty, Anna obeys as she only wants to help but does not realize that Dido is in fact planning her own death—by making the fire her own funeral pyre.
Although the stories of The Aeneid and Frozen are so very different from one another overall, both stories share similar character motivations and pivotal plot events.