Frozen

Frozen is the worldwide hit film from Disney Animation. It re-positioned the animation department back on the top and has paved the way for a new era of Disney animated films, fondly referred to as the New Renaissance. The film has the perfect mix of songs, humour and sadness, as well as re-evaluating the traditional plots that Disney usually employed. The sisterly love and the revelation of the villain was new territory for an animated film and audience loved it. Return of the Dark Ages

Prior to Frozen, Disney was coming out from a slump. Since the early 2000s the animated films were being seen as old news or poor as other companies began to take the lead in the field. Jeffery Katzenberg, who was once chairman at Disney and responsible for the 1990s hit factory, had left to set up DreamWorks. DreamWorks started a wave of hit films, Shrek was regarded as the biggest film at the time and the sequel toppled The Lion King’s hold on the highest grossing animated film. This new style of animation and comedy appealed to the modern family audiences. Whilst Disney were releasing films like the traditional Brother Bear, the 'olde world' Home on the Range and the poor imitation The Wild, DreamWorks released funny comedy Shrek with sequels, equally as funny Madagascar, fun but forgotten Shark Tale and Kung Fu Panda. Pixar was also taking the forefront with animated films with an array of movies like The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Up!, Wall-e, Monsters Inc and Cars. Disney just couldn’t seem to break through. This all began to change with Meet The Robinsons, Disney had attempted to mix up the formula, now using CGI animation and a new type of humour, Disney found that they had a small hit. From this point on the films grew in popularity with Bolt, Princess and The Frog, Tangled and Wreck it Ralph. With each film a rediscovered fondness for a Disney film came back to the audiences. Between Disney Animation and Pixar, Disney took back the animated crown. DreamWorks and Illuminations (Despicable Me) would be good contenders but the field was once again owned by Disney, and most importantly, by Frozen. From the success of Oliver and Company, Disney had announced that a new Disney Animated film would be released every year. This tradition kept going almost unbroken and still continues. With the introduction of the internet as a mainstream media, rumours of various different films were flying around, especially after the huge success of Tangled and Pixar’s Toy Story 3. People wanted to know more and people wanted full timelines of new films. This unfortunately results in some announcements getting cancelled. A Jack and the Beanstalk film was far into production when it received the shop. Before The Film

Frozen was commissioned in 2011 after going through multiple treatments. The story is based on the Hans Christian Anderson story, The Snow Queen. This wasn’t the first Anderson story to be picked up by Disney, The Little Mermaid was an animated film released in 1989, and The Ugly Duckling was released as a short. The links between The Little Mermaid and Frozen go deeper than this. When The Little Mermaid was being drafted it was discovered that Walt and his team had already completed a treatment for A Little Mermaid film. The 1980s and 1930s treatments were highly similar. For Frozen, after the film had gone into production, concept art was discovered in the Disney Vault. In 1939 Walt had asked one of the original 9 old men, Marc Davis to find stories that would make good future films, Davis Picked up on some Hans Christian Anderson stories and took these back to Walt. Liking the idea Walt gave The Snow Queen a film number, 1092. More work was done on The Little Mermaid at this time, although this was ultimately shelved. As the years rolled on, Walt started his plans for Disneyland in California. The 9 old men were asked for concepts and ideas to which Marc Davis suggested a Snow Queen Castle (The Enchanted Snow Palace). This is not only backed up by his wife but this is the concept art found during Frozen’s production. The pieces showed a huge castle that bares huge similarities to the one in Frozen. If the ride had been built then it would have included animatronic penguins and the evil snow queen. This ride idea was shelved, also. Davis worked on other rides. Frozen isn’t based on this ride, the artwork, although resembles those in the film, isn’t the starting point for anything in the film. The Plot

The start of the film sees two young princesses playing together. Elsa, the eldest, has a magical ability to produce snow and ice. Anna asks her to play with her and the two enjoy themselves whilst their parents are asleep. Anna gets too excited and Elsa, trying to save her sister form a huge fall, freezes her younger sister’s heart with her powers. The King and Queen take Anna to see the Troll Folk who restore Anna to health except for two white streaks in her hair. The King and Queen are worried about Elsa’s powers so they hide her away. Anna is upset that her sister doesn’t play with her and the two grow distant. The king and Queen are killed at sea which means that Elsa will be crowned Queen when she becomes of age. Anna goes through this difficult time alone but is excited when coronation day comes as she gets to meet new people. Elsa is scared as her powers are getting stronger. At the party, Anna meets a young prince called Hans, they agree to get married. After being crowned, Elsa and Anna are talking and Anna tells her sister she is to get married. They start an argument in which Anna removes Elsa’s glove. The gloves help prevent Elsa’s powers from splurging out. Elsa gets angry and in her rage produces a wall of ice. She is scared. The townsfolk are also scared of her and she is branded a monster. Elsa runs away. Feeling guilty, Anna goes after her leaving Hans in control of the kingdom. As Anna searches for her sister, Elsa lets go of the past. She throws away the gloves and the heavy cloak then unclips her hair. With her powers she creates a small snowman. She also creates a huge Ice castle where she plans to live. As part of her new free image she transforms her dress. Anna Meets an Ice Minor called Kristoff and his friend Sven, a reindeer. They offer to help each other. At a shop, the pair picks up supplies and head off. They come across a small snowman called Olaf. Anna recognises this snowman as the one her and her sister used to build as kids. The three find Elsa’s castle. Anna confronts Elsa but is turned away; Elsa once again blasts Anna with her powers. Anna leaves. As she is feeling the effects of the ice blast from Elsa, Kristoff takes her to see the Trolls that adopted him and Sven as children. They hope that Kristoff would marry Anna but Anna tells them she is engaged to Hans. She plans to return to Hans when the trolls explain that a Kiss of true love will save Anna’s Life. She is deteriorating. Kristoff agrees to take her back to the kingdom. Once back, Anna explains to Hans what has happened. He is about to kiss her but then reveals his actual plans. He attended the party to marry Elsa but Anna got there first. He locks Anna up in a room, and, telling the townsfolk that Elsa killed Anna, he sets out a hunt for the Queen. The guards infiltrate the castle and capture the Queen. Trapped she struggles to break free but eventually does. Hans attempts to kill Elsa on the frozen lake but Anna steps in the way. She is now completely frozen and her frosted hand breaks Hans’s sword. Elsa kisses Anna. Anna begins to regain consciousness and the kiss of true love turns out to be the love between the two sisters. Summer returns to the kingdom, Kristoff is rewarded with a new sleigh, and Olaf receives his own little cloud so he doesn’t melt. The Cast

The film moves away from the traditional true love theme. Anna is obviously waiting for someone to marry, before the coronation she sings to the pictures in a loving way, many of which resemble a dark haired man like Hans. Neither Princess ends up married; their happiness comes from each other. The relationship between the two sisters has been rebuilt and they can finally have the life they have both been missing. Kristen Bell, the voice of Anna, Wasn’t known as a singer. This is her first Disney role but she has voiced Anna in the shorts and in the planned sequel. Since the film she has seen a boost in her already establishing career. Currently she stars in A Good Place on Netflix. At the time of Playing Anna, Bell had appeared on Broadway, as well as the lead in TV show, Veronica Mars. Bell’s voice would have been known to fans of Teen Drama Gossip Girl. She states that from the age of four she had always dreamed of being in a Disney Animated film. Taking this as truth, Bell’s first encounter with a new princess would have been princess Eilonwy, The Black Cauldron. It is more likely that she meant one of the other three princesses around at the time or, if she was older than four, maybe nine, then Ariel. Her chance nearly came when she auditioned for the part of Rapunzel in Tangled. Idena Manzes also auditioned for this role; the two also know each other as they both worked on Broadway. Finally with Anna, her dream came true, however as she has also played Anna in Wreck it Ralph 2 and Priscilla the Sloth in Zootopia, she has now played a part in three animated classics, Frozen 2 will be her fourth. The character, Anna, was changed quite late in production. Originally Elsa and Anna were not related. This created some distance between the characters and stopped the flow between them. Production had struggled to get past this. Once it was suggested that the two should be sisters everything seemingly fell into place. Bell describes the first draft of the character as plain but girly. Promotion for the film stated clearly that Anna would be the heroine; this would have always been the case. In the original story, The Snow Queen, the role that became Anna was always the heroine. Playing the Snow Queen, Elsa was renowned Broadway star Idena Manzes. She was a known star on stage and had appeared in various roles on Television and TV, including the film version of Rent, and multiple episodes of Glee. She had also auditioned for Tangled but the part of Elsa in Frozen would launch her into the public eye more than her Broadway career ever could. Her and Kristen Bell recorded songs and dialogue together and the two really got on. In an earlier treatment, Elsa was to find a secret that would lock the Kingdom in an eternal winter. Anna would come to the rescue and find a way to beat the ‘Curse’. Elsa goes through the biggest change and her lack of love interest and he breaking free to be herself led some fans to speculate Elsa might be gay. Also this isn’t confirmed the inclusiveness of the film meant Elsa could be the third gay character in the film. Before the Wicked star, Manzes, was cast; Megan Mullally was already cast in the role. Mullally would have been known to the fans of Will and Grace as Karen. Mullally also sang the long ‘Long John Blues’ in Burlesque, the song is performed by Kristen Bell. When Mendez was cast the role of the Snow Queen Elsa was made younger to be Anna’s sister. She was still seen as the villain. In various treatments she had different intentions with her powers, from cursing the kingdom to cursing Anna. The producers struggled to find a motivation in the character. It was decided that she couldn’t control her powers. Director Chris Buck states that Idena has a sense of Vulnerability in her voice that would help portray the emotions needed. Olaf became one of the huge stars of the show. Each Disney film tries to have a fun, lovable sidekick. Aladdin had Abu, Rapunzel had Pascal, and, now, Anna has Olaf. Originally The Snow Queen would create an army of snowmen to protect the castle and stop the townsfolk from attacking. Olaf was considered not scary enough and was cast out. This changed when Elsa became Anna’s sister. Instead Olaf is made to be a symbol of the sister’s childhood. A giant guard snowman still appears in the film, Marshmallow. Actor Josh Gad portrayed the role. Gad had starred on Broadway, notably in The Book of Mormon. He also appeared in Ice Age: Continental Drift as Louis. Starring as Olaf he won an Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production. He returned to the character for two shorts, a Sofia the First episode, a Lego Frozen special, and the upcoming sequel. He returned to Disney for two episodes of Phineas and Ferb, Star Wars rebels, and the Live Action Remake of Beauty and The Beast as Lefou. All of the main stars had a Broadway background, this tradition of using Broadway stars had disappeared for a while. Along with Kristen Bell, Idena Mendez and Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff (Kristoff) and Santino Fontana (Hans) also appeared on stage. Groff had also appeared in the TV series Glee. He played a love interest of lead character Rachel, Mendez played Rachel’s Mother. Let It Go

The main song of the film is Let it go. The song started to win awards; it was played on the radio and made it into the charts. Product that sang the song hit the shops and covers were being done from various artists on online platforms. Idena Mendez released a version with Michael Buble. The song was written and composed by husband and wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. It was 2013’s fifth biggest selling song and won an Academy award for best original song and the Grammy award for best song written for visual media. The song was the first song written by the couple that made it into the film, all other songs followed this. Singers Adele, Avril Lavigne and Lady Gaga were all used for inspiration. The couple note that they also took references from the renaissance era songs, particularly 'Part of Your World' from The Little Mermaid. The main grasp of the song came as they were walking through a park; they stated that they were in an Emo mindset. Disney released a compilation album which contained all 42 foreign language film versions of the song. For the English version, two songs were made for the film. The first was the one featured and well known, the second was a pop version sung by Demi Lovato. The couple also wrote Music for the 2011 Winnie the Pooh Film, Anderson-Lopez actually voiced Kanga in this film too. They wrote the song 'Remember Me' for Coco. They also wrote the music for the Finding Nemo Musical in Walt Disney World Florida. Frozen also has a musical production in which the audience is guided through the film. Elsa and Anna join in with other characters from the film to sing some of the songs. Also at the Disney Parks there are meet a greet areas where fans can meet Elsa and Anna. They do not join the other princesses in Cinderella’s castle yet, but they can be found in all parades and often on the stage shows the parks hold in front of the castle. The song Let it go is often featured on the light and firework displays that illuminate the castle. The French version plays in Disneyland Paris. Paris also announced that there will be another castle in their park as they build Arendale; this will be the first major expansion to Paris for some years. Both Elsa and Anna have been appointed official Disney Princesses, despite Elsa actually being a queen. Next

Sequels have been a major part of the cinema landscape primarily since the late 1970s. From this point on Hollywood honed in on past achievements and created sequels, albeit usually not as good as the original. Disney had attempted a few sequels over the years but these were done in more of a franchise way rather than listed as a number 2. The Love Bug has a few follow up films made but they were always something rare previously. Walt Disney did have information and artwork put together for a possible short based on Snow White after the success of the film. Many say that this would be the basis of a sequel but the Disney Company hasn’t released any official statement as to the overall intentions of the sequences. He also looked at follow up films to The Wizard of Oz, although the original film wasn’t made by him. By the time it was announced there would a Frozen Sequel, the animation studios had only rarely touched on it. All of the main cast will return and a trailer has been released. This is in addition to two previously released shorts. The first of these shorts was Frozen Fever. This followed on from the film and focused on Elsa giving Anna a birthday surprise. The short was premièred before Disney’s Live Action Cinderella and received good reviews. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee returned to direct the short which too six months to complete. Also returning was the original cast and Song Writers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Husband Robert Lopez. The second was a longer short called Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. This was initially released before Coco but was removed as parents complained that it was too much to ask a young child to sit through the short and Coco. It was later aired on ABC in America. The short is set around Christmas and showcases different people’s Christmas traditions. There are four original songs but these are not written by Anderson-Lopez and Lopez. Whilst the reviews were overall good when aired as a television special the reviews as a short were clouded by the length of the piece. The short was directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers, this duo had recently directed the other Disney Christmas special, Prep and Landing. The film then went on to become a Broadway show. This show opened early 2018 and went on to be a big hit. It features the same story line but includes new songs, including one for Oaken of 'Yoo-Hoo, Big Summer Blowout!’ fame. The musical also contains some adult innuendos that will go over the children’s head but will be extremely funny for adults. Gay

Oaken also caused some controversy when he introduces his family. It seemed that Oaken was in a gay relationship and the pair had children together. This was the first time that LGBT characters had been openly displayed in a Disney Animated Film. Although some complained, others didn’t notice the inclusion until it was pointed out to them at a later date. Further LGBT inclusion could come in the form of Elsa, with Fans hoping the single Queen will become Disney’s first Major Gay Character. This also is related to the long ‘Let It Go', which talks about being yourself and not having to hide things away. Others have suggested that this could also be about disabilities. Disney has not confirmed either but Anderson-Lopez says the song should be seen in the context of the film and its time. It others do get some form of empowerment from the song then she is please. Hidden Mickey

Frozen also has links with other films. Rapunzel and Flynn Rider make an appearance at the coronation party in a Hidden Mickey Moment. The Tangled Reference is the only official or on screen linking part but fans have created a short link with The Little Mermaid. It is said that the ship Elsa and Anna’s parents die on is actually the ship Ariel is searching through before being chased by a shark. Again nothing is confirmed. Director Chris Buck did say that, in his mind, the parents were not killed at sea. They were shipwrecked in Africa but were attacked by a leopard. Whilst on the boat, the queen was pregnant and gave birth to a little boy; this child would be orphaned by the leopards attack. Thankfully, a gorilla found him and brought him up as her own, he would eventually become Tarzan. Although, nothing is mentioned in the script or film about the queen being pregnant, Tarzan being their brother, or, either parent not being drowned. Phenomenon

Frozen reached new heights for a Disney Animated Classic. Reviews were positive, although some parents wished the songs were not as addictive. Kristen Bells states that her responses to people changed after the film, at the start she would be happy with the children and parents but at the end she found herself apologising for how many times the songs had been played, recited and played again. None of the cast or crew could have predicted how popular the film or songs would be. Anderson-Lopez said they just wanted to make sure that they ‘Didn’t suck!’ The Name Elsa also reached number 88 on the BabyCenter top names; this is the first time that the name had been listed on the charts. Although Anna was the bigger heroine of the film, Elsa’s name was seen as more unusual. Parents did say that when choosing a younger sibling’s name they often consult the older sibling. The film became the most searched film on Google in 2014 and became the second most illegally downloaded film of the same year. Over 30 Million copies were illegally downloaded. The dolls for the characters had sold out, with Disney not being able to get further stock sorted until nearly a year after the film’s release. By this time they had sold over three million Frozen costumes in North America alone. Publisher, Random House also stated they had sold more than 8 million Frozen related books. Queues for the Frozen Meet and Greets exceeded 3 hours and the temporary site was then made into a more permanent fixture of Walt Disney World Florida. Arendale will also be built in Disneyland Paris; the new land will feature Elsa’s Ice castle and a new lake. The film won Two Grammy awards and was nominated for a further one. This joined the Two academy awards and the Golden Globe. It became the first Walt Disney Animated film to win the Golden globe for Best Animated Feature.

Legacy

The success of this film has cemented Disney Animation back into the fold of top animated and family films. Frozen also encouraged adults to see the film and has continued their interest in the Disney Brand since. With future successes from animation with Wreck it Ralph, Moana and Zootopia, Live action Blockbusters like the Star Wars films, Marvel Cinematic Universe and Live action remakes, plus Pixar Classics like The Incredibles 2, Coco and Inside Out, these have all powered the steam train that is Walt Disney Studios and put it back in the forefront of great family film making. The animated classics that followed have grown beyond those released the decade before. Each film brings something new and the anticipation of the Frozen sequel and Disney Park lands are a testament to the longevity this film has. The Princesses remain favourites amongst children and adults alike. In the new landscape of cinema, this film will offset a new franchise era for Disney that older films like Beauty and The Beast never got the chance to do.

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