When Peter Del Vecho (Producer) and Chris Buck (Co-Director) finished working on Frozen, they didn’t get much of a break. To say the film was a success would be an understatement and the creative team found themselves swamped with interview requests and meetings about what the next moves would be. Obviously, one of the quickest ways to give the world more Frozen was to make a short. The Frozen unit was allowed to go on a much-deserved vacation for two weeks before returning to work on the next Frozen project.
The idea started off Olaf-centric, but it quickly became clear that audiences would want Anna and Elsa to be in it more. After brainstorming in story meetings, someone had and idea: What would happen if Elsa had a cold? And because Anna and Elsa were separated most of the first movie, they decided Elsa would want to make up for lost time with a birthday party for Anna. The team felt it was important to have an event for the short to be centered around.
Production on the short took seven months, which is the average length of a Walt Disney Animation Studios short. The team worked around the clock from June 2014 to January 2015 to get it ready in time to be released with Cinderella on March 13th. In the short, Anna has to follow a string from surprise to surprise. The idea came from an event that happened in Chris’ life. He and his wife used string to help their kids find their baskets one Easter morning. It was an absolute mess and they never did it again, but it ended up working perfectly for this story to get Anna around Arendelle.
Peter and Chris couldn’t have predicted the massive success of Frozen. They knew they had a good movie from early previews, but never expected the phenomenon that it became. The fan letters they receive have been very touching and they still get lots of them. Stories include a near suicidal person who was inspired by Elsa to stay strong and a family with an autistic child who were able to connect with him through the film. “It’s bigger than us,” they said, but they are also aware of the animosity many parents have developed towards it.
Hinting at where Frozen is going next, Peter and Chris are both members of the “Frozen Franchise Team,” which reviews anything the company does with the characters. “It’s daunting because there’s so much happening.” They get to review and approve or deny theme park products as well, including the new “Frozen Fun” at Disneyland and the attraction that’s under construction at Epcot. Both Peter and Chris would love to do more with Olaf, perhaps even an Olaf feature film. They give Josh Gad a lot of credit for his improved lines.
By the way, if you’re looking for the next must-have Frozen merchandise item, they predict it will be the “Snowgies” (the little snowballs that manifest when Elsa sneezes). The toy version will repeat what they hear at a higher pitch. Pairing two together allows them to keep repeating each other until the break the sound barrier.