Frozen Producer Wins an Oscar

Þ Alum Profile CFA’80 Peter Del Vecho worked in theater for 15 years before Frozen joining Disney Animation. Producer most of them at Min- neapolis’ famed Guthrie Wins an Theater. It was there, he says, that he learned the importance of story Oscar development and visual Peter Del Vecho (CFA’80) gets storytelling. Both of those skills made him attrac- Best Animated Film nod tive to Disney Animation, which at the time was One reason Frozen is different from turning out hits such as Disney films of yore is that the storied The Lion King and Beauty princess doesn’t need to be rescued by and the Beast. The studio a handsome prince. For that you can approached him in 1995 thank the film’s producer, Peter Del with a job offer Del Vecho Vecho (CFA’80), who guided Frozen’s couldn’t refuse. transformation from a traditional prin- “I think it was because cess tale to a quirky, touching story about they found great success O H the relationship between two sisters. in the past with direc- C The film, released in November 2013, tors and producers who has grossed more than $1 billion at the had come from a theater box office worldwide—surpassing the background,” Del Vecho F PETER DEL VE studio’s blockbuster The Lion King in says. “At the time, the stu- O ticket sales—and it won this year’s dio was being run by two URTESY URTESY Oscars for Best Animated Film and theater veterans—Thomas CO for Best Original Song. It earned Del Schumacher and Peter Vecho, who has been a producer and Schneider—and so they valued that sort Snow Queen character was a stum- animator for 30 years, the Outstanding of work.” bling block. Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion He began in production management, It wasn’t until the success of another Pictures honor at the Producers’ Guild developing films that include 2002’s animated film about an atypical princess, Awards ceremony in January. There Treasure Planett and 2005’s Chicken Lit- 2010’s Tangledd, that the studio decided are even plans to turn the movie into a tle, and later, as a producer for the studio, to again try developing The Snow Queen, Broadway musical, à la The Lion King. he worked on 2009’s The Princess and the opting this time for a 3-D treatment. “The response to this film is over- Frog and 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. “Originally we portrayed Elsa, the whelming and quite humbling to us,” Del Vecho says his job is to understand Snow Queen, as a true villain,” Del Vecho says Del Vecho. the film the director is trying to make, says. “But that evolved over time, because A Quincy, Mass., native, Del Vecho and then help get that film made. He is we weren’t connecting with her in a way studied theater production at BU and involved from the beginning, hiring writ- that we could understand what she was went on to work in theater for 15 years, ers and artists, overseeing scripts and doing. We found making her a sister and storyboards, and deal- making her driven through fear made her ing with schedules and relatable. So the theme of our movie is budgets. The goal, he ‘love versus fear.’” F DISNEY O says, is to “protect the The film has Anna (Kristen Bell) creative from the busi- embarking on an epic quest to save her URTESY URTESY ness side of what we’re estranged sister, Elsa (Idina Menzel), CO doing, so they can do whose icy powers have trapped their what they do best and kingdom in eternal winter. Anna is aided get their artistic vision in her efforts by a thrill-seeking moun- up on the screen.” tain man (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer, The idea for turning and a bucktoothed snowman (Josh Gad). Hans Christian Ander- “From the very beginning, the director sen’s story The Snow had the bold idea to tell the story about a Queen into an ani- different kind of love, not necessarily ro- mated film had been mantic love,” Del Vecho says. “Was there kicking around the a way to tell a classic story in a new, fresh studio for decades. The way? It was something that resonated Del Vecho believes project was attempted with us as filmmakers, and we hoped it Frozen tells a classic several times, but dif- would resonate with audiences as well.” story in a new and ficulty with the wicked Amy Laskowski fresh way. Summer 2014 BOSTONIABOSTONIA 6633.

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