Frozen: 72 fun facts about the movie! (List)

1. Frozen is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.

2. It is the 53rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

3. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, the film tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer, and a naïve snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

4. Frozen underwent several story treatments for years before being commissioned in 2011, with a screenplay written by Jennifer Lee, and both Chris Buck and Lee serving as directors.

5. It features the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad and Santino Fontana. Christophe Beck, who had worked on Disney’s award-winning short Paperman, was hired to compose the film’s orchestral score, while husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote the songs.

6. Frozen premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on November 19, 2013, and went into general theatrical release on November 27.

7. It was met with strongly positive reviews from critics and audiences, with some film critics considering Frozen to be the best Disney animated feature film since the studio’s renaissance era.

8. The film was also a massive commercial success; it accumulated nearly $1.3 billion in worldwide box office revenue, $400 million of which was earned in the United States and Canada and $247 million of which was earned in Japan.

9. It ranks as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, the third highest-grossing original film of all time, the ninth highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing film of 2013, and the third highest-grossing film in Japan.

10. With over 18 million home media sales in 2014, it became the best-selling film of the year in the United States. By January 2015, Frozen had become the all-time best-selling Blu-ray Disc in the United States.

11. Frozen won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“Let It Go”), the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, five Annie Awards (including Best Animated Feature), two Grammy Awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Song Written for Visual Media (“Let It Go”), and two Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“Let It Go”).

12. An animated short sequel, Frozen Fever, premiered on March 13, 2015, with Disney’s Cinderella.

13. On March 12, 2015, a feature-length sequel was announced, with Buck and Lee returning as directors and Peter Del Vecho returning as producer. A release date has not been disclosed.

14. The film was theatrically released with a Mickey Mouse cartoon Get a Horse! (2013).

15. Anna’s horse is called Kjekk, which means “handsome” in Norwegian.

16. When Olaf sings “In Summer”, you can see the sun-balm that Oaken mentions he made.

17. The male trolls wear blue or green crystals, while in contrast the female crystals wear pink or red crystals.

18. Made over a billion dollars in the world wide box office. It is the second animated film to do it after toy story 3 and (as of 2015) the highest grossing animated film of all time.

19. Directorial debut of Jennifer Lee.

20. There are many similarities between Elsa and Elphaba, the main character played by Idina Menzel in the stage adaptation of the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire. They both are (eventually orphaned) daughters of influential parents. They both have special powers that they try to hide, yet they manifest them unwillingly in front of crowd. Eventually, both Elsa and Elphaba embrace their magic talents – and become objects of public hatred and outcasts from society.

21. Santino Fontana sang his own version of “I Feel Pretty” from the musical West Side Story (1961) for his audition for the role of Prince Hans.

22. The original Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, on which this film is based, is a personal favorite work of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark Margrethe II.

23. Whenever a specific troll sings, his or her crystals light up.

24. Peter Del Vecho explains the decision of having two directors: “In story planning we’re always together. That’s myself, the head of story, the songwriters and Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck; you can’t do anything until you get that story working. But after that, we have the ability to keep Jen working on story while Chris is working on animation, and then they come together again in editorial. The idea of two directors is that they can come together to bounce ideas off each another when they need to but also split their duties a little bit so that, essentially, they can get more work done in a straight day.”

25. The words “door” and “anymore” form a rhyming couplet five times in the songs, once each in “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” (I never see you anymore, come out the door), “For the First Time in Forever” (The window is open, so’s that door, I didn’t know they did that anymore), “Love is an Open Door” (Say goodbye to the pain of the past, we don’t have to feel it anymore, love is an open door), “Let It Go” (Can’t hold it back anymore, let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the door), and “For the First Time in Forever (reprise) (Please don’t slam the door, you don’t have to keep your distance anymore).

26. When Oaken is standing talking to Anna within his Trading Post, you can see small figurines of the original concept art for Frozen’s Trolls. They appear on the right side; looking a bit like fur-balls with eyes, legs, big noses, and arms. Pictures of the concept art can be found in “Disney; The Art of Frozen.”

27. Although they are together several times in the movie, Elsa and Kristoff never speak directly to each other.

28. Olaf’s name is a clue to his character’s purpose in providing comic relief. It can be interpreted to mean “oh laugh.”

29. A whole plot regarding Elsa and Anna being seen as the heir and the spare (mentioned in the cut-out “More Than Just a Spare”, Anna’s “big introductory song” at the time according to Kristen Anderson-Lopez, similar to “For the First Time in Forever”).

30. A prophesy made by the trolls about an evil queen that would freeze the land (mentioned in the cut-out songs “Spring Pageant” which is sung by their daughters Katie (who sings 5-year-old Anna’s part in “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”) and Annie, and “Life’s Too Short” (a song ultimately replaced by “For the First Time in Forever (Reprise)”).

31. According to Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the film’s songwriters’ voice notes on the outtakes featured in the deluxe version of the soundtrack, some of the previous rewrites of the script included plot elements like.

32. A line from “Let It Go” was originally written, “Couldn’t keep it in, God knows I tried.” The songwriters were ultimately not allowed to use the name of the Lord in that context, hence the switch to “Heaven knows I tried.”

33. Michael Eisner, then-CEO and Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, was very interested in “The Snow Queen” project when it was in early development in 2002. Even though he had much less involvement in production of Disney movies in the 2000s than he had in the 1980s and 90s, he had a special passion for the story and characters of the Snow Queen. Eisner offered his support to the project and even suggested doing the film with John Lasseter at Pixar Animation Studios, when the two studios would get their contracts renewed.

34. Alan Menken was originally going to write the songs for the movie, prior to becoming a less direct adaptation of the Snow Queen, he even wrote a song called ‘Love Can’t Be Denied’. However it didn’t make it, because Menken left the project.

35. The King’s first and last words in the movie are both “Elsa.”

36. When the snow monster scares Hans and the other men, the monster’s initial gesture and facial expression are almost exactly like Sully’s when he scares Boo in Monsters, Inc. (2001).

37. Co-director Jennifer Lee, who has no prior animation experience, was given the task to develop the characters and story with more complexity on screen.

38. Santino Fontana told The Hollywood Reporter that the biggest challenge of working in animation “is that you have no idea what it’s gonna look like. Any acting in front of a camera or on stage, you have to be aware of the whole arc, the whole through line, whereas in animation the script is constantly changing, so you are really only responsible for that scene. That’s a huge difference and a huge weight off your shoulders. You don’t have to get something right, because it’s going to change and they are going to edit it, so that’s great.”

39. When Elsa is holding the scepter and orb, the bishop proclaims (In Icelandic): “Sem hón heldr inum helgum eignum ok krýnd í þessum helga stað ek té fram fyrir yðr…” In English this means: “As she holds the holy properties, and is crowned in this holy place, I present to you… Queen Elsa of Arendelle.” In the script, it reads: “Sehm hon HELL-drr IN-um HELL-gum AYG-num ok krund ee THES-um HELL- gah STAHTH, ehk the frahm FUR-ear U- thear…”

40. Beginning of the movie when showing the town of Arendelle and you see Kristof and Sven (grownup) sharing a carrot you also see a few people raising a green pole (Maypole) with 2 big green rings/circles, it is famous in Sweden during “Midsommar” to celebrate the summer.

41. In this movie, Princess Anna is berated by her older sister, Queen Elsa, (as by her friend Kristoff) for falling in love and getting engaged after knowing someone for only one day. This is similar to a plot point discussed by several characters in Enchanted (2007) which also starred Idina Menzel.

42. With the release of Frozen, Idina Menzel became the first person to voice/play two different Disney princesses. She voices Elsa in Frozen and Nancy, the “alternate princess” in Enchanted (2007).

43. Santino Fontana, the voice of Hans, originally auditioned for Kristoff. After the movie was changed, he auditioned for Hans.

44. After Oaken throws out Kristoff during the “Big Summer Blow-out” scene, Oaken offers Anna “Lutefisk” which appears to be fish in a jar. Lutefisk is a traditional dish of Nordic countries e.g. Sweden, Norway and Finland. It is whitefish soaked in lye and is served in northern states (e.g Minnesota, Wisconsin etc.) during the holidays and enjoyed by the people of Nordic descent in the United States.

45. During the song “In Summer”, there are two hidden outlines of Olaf’s body: one in his drink cup formed by ice cubes, and one formed by the clouds in the sky when he’s lying on the picnic blanket.

46. This film took 600 people 2.5 years or three million hours to complete.

47. The Duke of Weselton is the second consecutive Disney character to be voiced by Alan Tudyk following Wreck-It Ralph (2012).

48. The two snowmen, Olaf and Marshmallow, represent Elsa’s personalities when she made them. Olaf, who was built by Elsa when she played with Anna as a little girl, is friendly and affectionate. While Marshmallow (the Golem-like creature), who was made by Elsa when she wanted Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf to leave her castle and never return, was rough and fierce.

49. Frozen’s soundtrack has spent 13 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200.

50. Elsa’s ice castle changes color with her emotions. Blue is happy, red is fear and yellow is anger.

51. Hans’ horse, that prevents Anna from falling in the water early in the movie, is named “Sitron,” Norwegian for “lemon.”

52. In an interview on “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” Josh Gad (Olaf) said that when he took his older daughter (then about four years old) to her first movie in a theater ever (Monsters University), there was a trailer beforehand for Frozen that didn’t contain any of Olaf’s lines or songs but did feature the brief sound of Olaf laughing. Gad said that as soon as his daughter heard that laugh, she said, “that’s Dada, more Dada.” And Gad started crying in the movie theater.

53. During early development of the film, when Elsa was still meant to be the villain of the film, the design of Elsa was inspired by Bette Midler.

54. In a magazine interview, Idina Menzel claimed her young son boasted to his classmates that his mom sings the songs in Frozen. To this, another child replied, “So does everyone else’s.”

55. Many viewers have wondered how Kristoff knew to travel in a winter sled in what was, until a few minutes ago, the middle of summer. The junior novelization explains that the sled is convertible and can be fitted with wheels or runners as desired, presumably like changing a spare tire by the side of the road.

56. The first non-sequel animated film to cross the $400 million mark since The Lion King (1994).

57. The minor characters Kai and Gerda are named for the main characters of the original story of The Snow Queen.

58. Visual development artist and WDAS-contracted art director Brittney Lee is the sister of the film’s writer and director Jennifer Lee; their relationship partially served as an inspiration for the relationship of Anna and Elsa.

59. Over 24 minutes of the film is dedicated to musical sequences.

60. During “Let It Go,” Elsa releases the clasp on her purple cape, which the wind promptly takes away, far from the mountain. Purple is the traditional color of royalty; this moment can be seen as her “letting go” of the responsibilities of being a queen.

61. The horses featured in the film are all Norwegian Fjord horses. They are one of the oldest breeds and have been used in Norway for hundreds of years, and as the film shows, are known for their distinct dark stripe that runs through the center of the mane. Manes are typically cut to a Mohawk-like crescent shape to emphasize this feature and the breed’s neck. The one minor liberty taken in the film is that this is a very short, if robust, breed; horses in this film are shown to be a good 4-6″ taller than their real-life counterparts.

62. Much of the U.S. had a colder than average winter in 2013, prompting many jokes about the powers of Elsa and Disney’s marketing department.

63. In the musical number “In Summer,” Olaf is on the beach and passes three different sand sculpture. The first one he passes furthest on the right is a nod toward the Coppertone sunscreen girl. Instead of a dog pulling down her bathing pants, the movie uses a seagull.

64. Kristen Bell improvised the line “Wait, what?” that Anna says at one point during her first meeting with Hans.

65. The most complex frame in the movie required over 132 hours to render.

66. The production crew went to Norway on a two-week long trip before production begun, and the movie is largely inspired by this trip. The landscape, clothes, music, buildings and names resemble a lot of Norwegian culture. The Arendelle castle is loosely based on Akershus Fortress in Oslo, the Arendelle town is inspired by Bryggen in Bergen, a west-coast Norwegian city, and the landscape around Arendelle is similar to the Nærøyfjord, also on the west side of Norway. The names Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Sven, Kristoff and Hans are normal or resemble Scandianaivan names. And of course; trolls are one of the well-known trademarks of Scandinavian culture.

67. For the song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”, three different actresses respectively provided the singing voice of Anna: Katie Lopez as Young Anna, Agatha Lee Monn as Teenage Anna, and Kristen Bell as Anna. Agatha is the daughter of the film’s writer/director Jennifer Lee and Katie is the daughter of its songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. In fact, Katie and her sister, Annie, sang the film’s deleted song, “Spring Pageant”, along with their parents. The song can be found on the film’s two-disc Deluxe Edition Motion Picture Soundtrack.

68. Elsa’s castle needed at least 50 animators to create.

69. A live reindeer was brought into the animating studio for animators to study its movements and mannerisms for the reindeer character, Sven. Co-director Jennifer Lee said it was the best moment during production for her.

70. In early designs, the giant Snow Monster that Elsa creates was a giant version of Olaf, who addressed him as “little brother.” But it was later decided that although it was cute and kind of funny, it ultimately looked a bit dumb.

71. The characters of Hans, Kristoff, Anna and Sven are a reference to Hans Christian Andersen, the author of The Snow Queen. Say the names quickly in sequence and hear the similarity.

72. According to Jennifer Lee, Anna is 18 years old in the film, while both Elsa and Kristoff are 21 years old and Hans is 23 years old.