Runeard

"Magic makes people feel too powerful ... too entitled. It makes them think they can defy the will of a king!"

- Runeard expressing his reason for distrusting the Northuldra

Runeard was a king of Arendelle, father of Agnarr, and the paternal grandfather of Elsa and Anna. During his reign he attempted to improve the relationship between Arendelle and the Northuldra of the Enchanted Forest. Part of this involved constructing a large dam for the Northuldra, ostensibly as a gift of peace to strengthen their waters. The dam was in fact part of a ruse to weaken the Enchanted Forest and the Northuldra. The meeting after the dam's construction saw the Runeard initiate a battle with the Northuldra, during which, while wrestling with a Northuldran, he fell off a cliff to his death.

History
Runeard built Arendelle castle. He also had a son, Agnarr, and had Lieutenant Mattias placed has his personal bodyguard.

He had Agnarr with his wife, Rita, who hailed from another kingdom. Their marriage had been politically arranged and did not bring joy to Rita, who would soon grow homesick. Runeard made an attempt to satisfy her by offering her royal gifts and exuberances, but what Rita really wanted was a loving and free relationship, which Runeard was indisposed to provide. After years of inertia Rita fled the kingdom and found the the trolls whom she asked to erase her memories. She left Agnarr behind in fear of Runeard waging war against her kingdom should she escape with his heir.

Runeard locked away Rita's possessions and outlawed the mentioning of her name under penalty of banishment. He publicly blamed spirits for taking Rita away, fostering a stigma towards magic and its users.

He initially attempted to build a strong relationship with the Northuldra, inviting them to Arendelle and the castle. At some point an agreement was reached where Runeard was allowed to build a large dam on the fjord in the Enchanted Forest, supposedly to strengthen its waters for the Northuldra.

A meeting was planned at the dam to celebrate its construction. Before the occasion Runeard ordered for Arendelle's full guard to be brought. Despite an aide's reservations about Runeard's motives, the king explained that he had built the dam to weaken the Northuldrans' lands, so they would be more susceptible to him. He was suspicious of the Northuldra's relationship with magic, believing it would cause them to defy his authority as king. Additionally, Runeard saw the gathering as an opportunity to enumerate the Northuldrans' population to anticipate their total strength.

Runeard brought Agnarr along with the to the gathering. After meeting at the dam and gathering in the forest to celebrate, the Northuldra leader complained to Runeard of the dam hurting the forest. The king suggested they discuss matters further down by the fjord. The leader had gone down first, and while crouched drinking from a bowl, Runeard came from behind and struck him down with his sword.

This caused the battle to commence, during which, as he fought with a Northuldran, Runeard fell off a cliff to his death.

Legacy
Runeard caused a curse to fall on the forest which trapped his men inside, where the survivors stayed for over 34 years until the curse was lifted.

Agnarr never learned the truth about his father, being left uncertain as to the cause of the battle.

In Ahtohallan, Elsa found out the truth about her grandfather and passed it on to Anna before freezing. Anna then broke Runeard's dam to free the Enchanted Forest and break the curse.

Personality
Runeard was distrustful of those who used magic, and feared that it would undermine his authority as king. He was quick to take the initiative and strike at the Northuldra, killing their leader while he was unarmed and unaware of Runeard standing behind him. Runeard had a strong conviction that he was doing the right thing for Arendelle, doing so without hesitation.

His fault lay in being fearful of magic through his ignorance of it, which is what ultimately led to his death and the curse being placed on the Enchanted Forest.

Trivia

 * King Runeard is one of the rare sequel villains to actually appear in the Disney Animated Canon. The others are Percival C. McLeach from The Rescuers Down Under, Firebird from Fantasia 2000 and Arthur from Ralph Breaks the Internet.
 * The snowy ice statue that depicts Runeard about to murder the Northuldra chief in cold blood with his sword bears a strong resemblance to the scene from the first film, where Hans tries to kill Elsa in the same manner. The difference is that while Hans failed to kill Elsa, Runeard succeeded in killing the Northuldra chief. Thus, Runeard serves as what Hans could have easily become if he had killed both Anna and Elsa and become king of Arendelle
 * In addition, both men attempt to use marriage to increase and secure their political status and power: Runeard arranges for Rita to marry him to build an alliance with her home country and use that alliance to his advantage, while Hans tries to seduce and marry Anna so he can kill Elsa and take over as king of Arendelle with Anna as his queen. However, while Runeard succeeded in marrying Rita (even though she ultimately leaves him due to his cruelty and abuse), Hans failed to have Anna as his wife. Thus, Runeard also serves as an example of what Hans could have become if he had married Anna if not for Elsa revealing her ice powers in the ballroom
 * King Runeard is the Greater-Scope Villain of the Frozen franchise, as his heinous actions against the Northuldra not only led to the main events of Frozen II, but also to the events of Frozen.
 * However, the other Greater-Scope Villain of the franchise is King Westergaard, who influenced the events of the 2013 film, Frozen and the 2015 tie-in novel A Frozen Heart, by tormenting Hans and making him the villain he became.
 * King Runeard is the first villain in a Disney animated feature to die since Turbo in Wreck-It Ralph, seven years prior.
 * King Runeard is the first main antagonist in the Disney canon to be a completely posthumous character since he had been long dead by the time the film's main events take place. He is also one of the few main antagonists to affect the flow of the story from the very beginning of the film: when Agnarr tells his story in the prologue, the flashback shows that Runeard's actions had trapped the Northuldra and Arendellian soldiers in the forest 18 years ago, then they later plague the protagonists in the present day, when 16 more years have passed since the battle.
 * Likewise, Runeard is the first and only main antagonist in the said canon who doesn't face, interact, or make any contact with the main protagonists or any other major characters in the films.
 * He is the third such villain to be biologically related to the main protagonists, after Scar (who is Simba's uncle by way of being Mufasa's brother) and Hades] (who is Hercules' uncle by way of being Zeus' brother).
 * King Runeard is considered a dark reflection to many other characters, including:
 * His son, Agnarr: Both became kings of Arendelle, both feared magic which led to them losing their lives, and both married a woman from a different land with whom they had children. However, Agnarr was able to accept Elsa’s magic and still love her as his daughter and a person, rather than simply as his heir, along with his other daughter Anna and wife Iduna, both of whom he also genuinely loved. The fear of magic he had was well-intentioned because Elsa accidentally injured Anna with her ice powers due to having trouble controlling them. Agnarr was also determined to protect his daughters, which he did by separating them and trying to help Elsa learn to control her magic to prevent further accidents. On the other hand, Runeard’s fear of magic was entirely self-centered because he viewed it as a threat, but only to himself rather than the people in his kingdom. He blamed all of his problems, including those that happened in Arendelle, on magic because he never wanted to accept responsibility and took the easy way out by blaming magic since magic cannot defend itself. Additionally, Runeard never even loved Rita and Agnarr and only saw them as assets to his status and Arendelle based on their own royal positions. He forcefully married Rita to create an alliance with her kingdom and increase his power and rank, then later became annoyed and impatient with her when she grew sad over missing her home and yearning for freedom. When Rita left Arendelle for good, Runeard scolded Agnarr for weeping over her absence and lied to him about her being carried off by “evil spirits”. He subsequently assigned Lieutenant Mattias to be Agnarr’s official guard so he wouldn’t have to be responsible for Agnarr’s well-being himself. Runeard serves as an example of what Agnarr could have become if not for the influence of his mother, Mattias, and Iduna.
 * His older granddaughter, Elsa: both are very powerful monarchs known to control their kingdom with competence while holding a deep-rooted fear of magic, with Elsa fearing her powers would harm people and Runeard fearing magic would be a threat to his kingdom. However, while Elsa feared her powers for selfless reasons, Runeard feared magic for selfish reasons. Elsa believed that she would harm innocent people, especially her family, with her magic if she lost control, but gradually learned to overcome her fear and learn to trust herself and others. Runeard feared magic only for himself rather than for his people, seeing it as a risk, challenge, and competition to his royal status and power. His fear twisted into paranoia, hatred, and bigotry, which clouded and corrupted his judgment over trusting people if they were magical or had magical ties; even Elsa coldly points this out before learning the truth of Runeard's notorious crimes. This makes Runeard serve as an example of what Elsa could have become if she allowed her fear to consume her.
 * His youngest granddaughter, Anna: both are rulers of Arendelle who lost or were disconnected from a family member due to magic (specifically, the trolls’ magic), with Runeard having lost Rita after she fled upon having her memories of him erased by Pabbie, and Anna growing up separated from Elsa after accidentally being injured by her, which later caused Pabbie to alter Anna’s memories to help conceal Elsa’s powers. Years later, the girls lose their parents when Agnarr and Iduna try to find Ahtohallan. However, despite their separation, Anna still loved Elsa and yearned to reconnect with her. When Elsa’s powers were revealed, Anna held no spite, fear, or bigotry towards her sister and her powers, and instead sought to help her. But Runeard held a great amount of wrath, xenophobia, and bigotry towards magic and anyone with ties to magic, with one of his reasons being because he blamed it for Rita leaving him (he presumably somehow figured out that Rita had her memories erased). This made him gradually distrust people or beings who had anything to do with magic and stubbornly refuse to ever give them a chance. Therefore, Runeard serves as the kind of person Anna would have become if she gave up on Elsa and learned to develop prejudice and fear towards magic.
 * In addition, Runeard is a darker reflection of Prince Hans: both are power-hungry monarchs who desired to expand their power, by all means, necessary, even if it includes committing murder and treachery. They are also known to put up a facade of kindness and generosity to hide their true nature and gain the trust of others for their own benefit. However, unlike Hans, who is revealed to have sympathetic qualities due to being tormented by his wicked father and brothers during his tragic childhood, Runeard is far more despicable as he is mainly out for the sake of gaining more power for himself.
 * King Runeard is the only Frozen character with a body count, as his battle caused several casualties for both the Northuldra and Arendellians, while he himself killed the Northuldran chief (offscreen) and dragged another Northuldran with him off a steep cliff to his death.
 * King Runeard was entirely omitted from pre-release storybook merchandise (except for the junior novelization, which came out a week before the movie). As a result, these books ended with a vague explanation that Elsa "found the truth" and little else in order to cover up his true role in the story. When Jeremy Sisto attended the premiere, not only was it the first time Runeard's actor was revealed to the public, but many people knew nothing about the character he was voicing.
 * Runeard's plot of constructing a dam to greatly damage the Northuldran people is likely based on the real-life controversy in the 1960s-1970s when the Nordic government proposed plans of building a hydropower dam, which would have flooded villages and areas belonging to the indigenous Sámi people (on whom the Northuldrans are based).
 * Despite being the main antagonist, Runeard is only on screen for less than two minutes. In fact, out of all the main antagonists in the Disney canon, he has the shortest amount of screentime. This makes his actions even worse since he makes such a huge impact on the story in such a short period of time.
 * The author of Dangerous Secrets, Mari Mancusi, confirmed that even if Runeard had been made aware of the law that Rita wasn't legally required to marry him, he would have ignored it and forced her to marry him regardless, showing that he was willing to deprive Rita of her basic rights just to secure his power.