Frozen (2013 film) Frozen is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated ers, with which she is able to produce ice, frost and snow musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney at will. One night while playing, she accidentally injures Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pic- her younger sister, Princess Anna. Their shocked parents, tures.[4] It is the 53rd animated feature produced by Walt the King and Queen, seek help from the troll king, who Disney Animation Studios. Inspired by Hans Christian heals Anna and removes her memories of Elsa’s magic. Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, the film tells the The royal couple isolates the children in their castle until story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic jour- Elsa learns to control her powers. Afraid of hurting Anna ney alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer and again, Elsa spends most of her time alone in her room, a naive snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy causing a rift between the girls as they grow up. When powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal the girls are teenagers, their parents die at sea during a winter. storm. Frozen underwent several story treatments for years, be- When Elsa comes of age, the kingdom prepares for her fore being commissioned in 2011, with a screenplay writ- coronation as Queen. Among the guests is the Duke of ten by Jennifer Lee, and both Chris Buck and Lee serv- Weselton, who seeks to exploit Arendelle for profit. Ex- ing as directors. It features the voices of Kristen Bell, cited to be allowed out of the castle again, Princess Anna Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad and Santino explores the town and meets Prince Hans of the South- Fontana. Christophe Beck, who had worked on Disney’s ern Isles, and the two quickly develop a mutual attraction. award-winning short Paperman, was hired to compose Despite Elsa’s fears, her coronation goes off without in- the film’s orchestral score, while husband-and-wife song- cident. During the reception, Hans proposes and Anna writing team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez hastily accepts. However, Elsa refuses to grant her bless- wrote the songs. ing and forbids their sudden marriage. The sisters argue, culminating in the exposure of Elsa’s abilities during an Frozen premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on Novem- ber 19, 2013,[5] and went into general theatrical release emotional outburst. on November 27. It was met with strongly positive re- Panicking, Elsa flees the castle, while inadvertently un- views from critics and audiences, and some film critics leashing an eternal winter on the kingdom. High in the considered Frozen to be the best Disney animated feature nearby mountains, she casts off restraint, building herself film and musical since the studio’s renaissance era.[6][7] a solitary ice palace, and unknowingly brings to life her The film was also a massive commercial success; it accu- and Anna’s childhood snowman, Olaf. Meanwhile, Anna mulated nearly $1.3 billion in worldwide box office rev- sets out in search of her sister, determined to return her enue, $400 million of which was earned in the United to Arendelle, end the winter, and mend their relationship. States and Canada and $247 million of which was earned When obtaining supplies, she meets an iceman named in Japan. It ranks as the highest-grossing animated film Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven, and convinces Kristoff of all time, the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, to guide her up the North Mountain. On their journey, the highest-grossing film of 2013, and the third highest- the group encounter Olaf, who leads them to Elsa’s hide- grossing film in Japan. Frozen won two Academy Awards away. for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("Let [8] Anna and Elsa reunite, but Elsa still fears hurting her sis- It Go"), the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated ter. When Anna insists that Elsa return, Elsa becomes ag- Feature Film,[9] the BAFTA Award for Best Animated [10] itated and her powers lash out, accidentally striking Anna Film, five Annie Awards (including Best Animated in the heart. Horrified, Elsa creates a giant snow creature, Feature),[11] and two Critics’ Choice Awards for Best An- [12] Marshmallow, to drive Anna, Kristoff and Olaf away imated Feature and Best Original Song (“Let It Go”). from her palace. As they flee, Kristoff notices Anna’s hair An animated short film, Frozen Fever, will be released in turning white and deduces that something is very wrong. spring 2015.[13] He seeks help from the trolls, his adoptive family, who explain that Anna’s heart has been frozen by Elsa. Un- less it is thawed by an “act of true love”, she will become frozen solid forever. Believing that only Hans can save 1 Plot her with a true love’s kiss, Kristoff races back with her to Arendelle. Elsa, Princess of Arendelle, possesses cryokinetic pow- 1 2 3 DEVELOPMENT Meanwhile, Hans, leading a search for Anna, reaches • Ciarán Hinds as Grand Pabbie the Troll King[26] Elsa’s palace. In the ensuing battle against the Duke’s • Chris Williams as Oaken, the owner of Wandering men, Elsa is knocked unconscious and imprisoned in [27] Arendelle. There, Hans pleads with her to undo the win- Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna ter, but Elsa confesses that she does not know how. When • Maia Wilson as Bulda, a troll and Kristoff’s adoptive Anna reunites with Hans and begs him to kiss her to break mother[14][28] the curse, Hans refuses and reveals that his true intention [29] in marrying her is to seize control of Arendelle’s throne. • Paul Briggs as Marshmallow, a snow monster Leaving Anna to die, he charges Elsa with treason for her • Maurice LaMarche as the King of Arendelle, Anna younger sister’s apparent death. and Elsa’s father[14][28] Elsa escapes and heads out into the blizzard on the fjord. • Jennifer Lee as the Queen of Arendelle, Anna and Olaf finds Anna and reveals Kristoff is in love with her; Elsa’s mother[30] they then escape onto the fjord to find him. Hans con- fronts Elsa, telling her Anna is dead because of her. In Elsa’s despair, the storm suddenly ceases, giving Kristoff and Anna the chance to find each other. However, Anna, 3 Development seeing that Hans is about to kill Elsa, throws herself be- tween the two just as she freezes solid, blocking Hans’ 3.1 Origins attack. As Elsa grieves for her sister, Anna begins to thaw, since her decision to sacrifice herself to save her sister consti- tutes an “act of true love”. Realizing love is the key to controlling her powers, Elsa thaws the kingdom and helps Olaf survive in summer. Hans is deported back to the Southern Isles to face punishment for his crimes against the royal family of Arendelle, while Elsa cuts off trade with Weselton. Anna and Kristoff share a kiss, and the two sisters reconcile. Elsa promises never to shut the cas- tle gates again. 2 Voice cast Concept art from Disney’s shelved hand-drawn film The Snow Queen.[31] • Kristen Bell as Anna, the 18-year-old[14]:13 Princess Walt Disney Productions first began exploring a possible of Arendelle and Elsa’s younger sister[15] live action/animation biography film of author and poet Hans Christian Andersen sometime in late 1937 before • Livvy Stubenrauch as 5-year-old[14]:2 Anna[16] the December premiere of its film Snow White and the • Katie Lopez as 5-year-old Anna (singing)[17] Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length hand-drawn ani- [32]:10 • Agatha Lee Monn as 9-year-old[14]:9 Anna mated film ever made. In March 1940, Walt Dis- (singing)[18] ney suggested a co-production to film producer Samuel Goldwyn, where Goldwyn’s studio would shoot the live- • Idina Menzel as Elsa, the 21-year-old[14]:16 Snow action sequences of Andersen’s life and Disney’s studio Queen of Arendelle and Anna’s elder sister[15][19] would animate Andersen’s fairy tales.[32]:10 The animated sequences would be based on some of Andersen’s best • [14]:2 [20][21] Eva Bella as 8-year-old Elsa known works, such as The Little Mermaid, The Little • Spencer Lacey Ganus as 12-year-old[14]:10 Match Girl, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen, Elsa[21] Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes, and The Emperor’s New Clothes. However, the studio encountered • Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, an iceman accompanied difficulty with The Snow Queen, as it could not find a by a reindeer named Sven[22][23] way to adapt and relate the Snow Queen character to modern audiences. Even as far back as the 1930s and • Josh Gad as Olaf, a comic-relief snowman who 1940s, it was clear that the source material contained dreams of experiencing summer[15][24][25] great cinematic possibilities, but the Snow Queen char- • Santino Fontana as Hans, a prince from the Southern acter proved to be too problematic. After the United Isles[22] States entered World War II, the studio began to focus on making wartime propaganda, which caused develop- • Alan Tudyk as the Duke of Weselton[25] ment on the Disney-Goldwyn project to grind to a halt 3.3 Revitalization 3 in 1942.[32]:10 Goldwyn went on to produce his own live- Pixar and Disney Animation.[36][37] action film version in 1952, entitled Hans Christian An- The next attempt started in 2008 when Lasseter was able dersen, with Danny Kaye as Andersen, Charles Vidor di- to convince Chris Buck (who had co-directed Tarzan recting, Moss Hart writing, and Frank Loesser penning (1999) for the studio) to return to Disney Animation the songs.