If any movie fits the term of “cultural phenomenon,” it is definitely the Disney animated film Frozen. You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing some kind of marketing related to the film. Even now, in 2018 during Christmas-time, the characters are still seen in stores, on television specials, and the music is played on radios all over the place. “Let it Go” has become synonymous with the film, and you can’t even say the phrase without someone bursting out into song.
Frozen is by far one of the most popular Disney movies ever. And beyond that, it is also one of the most popular animated movies ever. I know that in my own family, it has become somewhat of a Christmas classic. A tradition that we now sit down to and watch every winter. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas to me without throwing on Frozen while I help my family put up the Christmas decorations.
A movie that is so ingrained in American pop culture history is bound to have a few hidden details that even the most dedicated fans did not know about. And that’s exactly what this list is about. We will be looking through some of the more interesting details about Frozen that you may not have known, and hopefully will give you an even bigger appreciation of one of the most enduring and popular movies ever made.
I re-watched Frozen before sitting down to write this list and let me tell you, it still holds up.
25 Mary Poppins Reference
During one of my favorite scenes in the movie, the magical snowman Olaf finally gets his own song and dance number. What many people may not realize is that there is a dance in this number that is based on another Disney movie.
When Olaf dances with the four seagulls, it is a nod to Bert’s dance with the four penguins from Mary Poppins, which was released in 1964. I love subtle little homages like this, and this one is no exception!
24 Auditioning For Rapunzel?
One detail that might surprise even the most avid fan of Frozen, is that Idina Menzel, the actress who voiced Elsa in the movie, actually auditioned for the role of Rapunzel in Tangled. Tangled was the movie that was produced right before Frozen.
Menzel did not receive the role of Rapunzel, but her audition was so well liked that she ended up receiving the role of Elsa a few years later! I think she did a great job with the character, and especially the songs.
23 Older Characters
According to the co-writer and co-director of the movie, Jennifer Lee, the characters in Frozen are actually a bit older than you might think upon first watching the film.
They seem younger than they are.
In the film, Anna is 18 years old, Elsa and Kristoff are 21 years old, and Hans is 23 years old. I know when I first saw Frozen, I definitely thought the characters were younger than that. Maybe it’s just the way they were animated that made them younger in my mind.
22 Based On A Fairy Tale
Something many fans may not know is that Frozen is actually based off of the original fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, called The Snow Queen. In fact, the main characters in Frozen had their names modeled after Hans Christian Andersen.
If you say Hans, Kristoff, Anna, Sven fast enough, you can tell that this is true. It’s another subtle little hidden detail in Frozen that makes it a great movie. The Snow Queen and Frozen are quite different, but Frozen was based on the fairy tale.
21 Tangled Cameo
Did you know that Rapunzel and Eugene, aka Flynn, from the movie Tangled, actually have a cameo in Frozen? During the song “For the First Time in Forever” the couple can be seen walking through the crowd of people.
This is a very popular hidden detail of the film.
This cameo created a theory that Tangled and Frozen take place in the same universe, and that Rapunzel and Anna and Elsa are all related to each other! That would be pretty neat.
20 Changing Colors
One very subtle detail in the film that I definitely did not notice upon my first viewing, is that Elsa’s ice castle changes color to represent her emotions throughout the story. An example of this is that her castle changes to yellow when she is angry, red when she is afraid, and blue when she is happy.
I never noticed this detail when I watched Frozen the first time, probably because I wasn’t looking for it. But it just speaks to how much detail the animators put into the movie.
19 Winning A Golden Globe
Did you know that Frozen’s Golden Globe win for Best Animated Feature Film was the first time a full-length Disney animated feature film won this award? It was the first Disney animated film that was not from Pixar to win the award, after four previous nominations of Disney films.
Frozen was also the first Disney animated feature film since Tarzan, released in 1999, to win a Golden Globe. That’s pretty amazing when you think about it! Especially with Disney’s history of great films.
18 First Woman Director
Jennifer Lee, the writer and director of the film, was actually the first woman to direct a full-length animated feature film for Disney. It’s amazing that it took until 2013 for this to happen, but at least it finally did!
Not only that, but Jennifer Lee was also the first woman to write a full-length animated feature film since Beauty and the Beast, which was released all the way back in 1991! It has definitely been a long time coming for female directors for Disney movies.
17 A Large Olaf?
In early designs of the film, the large snow monster that Elsa creates was animated as a carbon copy of Olaf, only much bigger and meaner than the friendly magical snowman. The large Olaf monster would even address the smaller Olaf as “little brother.”
However, while this design was considered cute and funny by the animation team, it was ultimately decided that it was kind of silly-looking, and the idea was scrapped for what we see today in the film.
16 Crowned Queen
Did you know that Elsa is only the second “Disney Princess” to become Queen during the film in which she appears? The first Disney Princess to achieve this feat was Princess Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which was released in 2001.
Not only that, but Elsa is the first Disney Princess to be crowned Queen on-screen. Kida was crowned Queen during her film, but it happened off-screen. I think that is a pretty interesting detail, and one I definitely did not know about.
15 Connection To Pocahontas
Did you know that the art director of Frozen was also the art director for another Disney animated feature-length film? Michael Giaimo was the art director for Frozen in 2013 and Pocahontas in 1995. Those are some very popular movies!
What many people don’t know is that Giaimo was fired after being the art director for the film Home on the Range in 2004. Home on the Range was so poorly received that it is credited with the short-lived end of traditional animation in the mid-2000s.
14 Elsa's Cape
During the song “Let it Go,” Elsa can be seen wearing a purple cape. Throughout history, purple has been a color that is associated with royalty, so when Else releases her cape’s clasp during the song and it flies away on the wind, it can be seen as a symbol for her shedding her royal responsibilities.
This subtle detail can easily be missed during the film, especially by young children, whom the movie is aimed at. But as a grown-up, you can definitely appreciate the symbolism.
13 Twenty Four Minutes Of Songs
Did you know that over twenty-four minutes of screen time in Frozen is dedicated to song and dance numbers? For a movie that is only one hour and forty-nine minutes long, that is actually quite a lot of time dedicated to musical numbers.
It comes out to be a little over 22% of the movie is made up of the characters singing and dancing! Frozen is a musical, so it’s not too surprising, but it’s still a pretty interesting detail for me.
12 Idina Menzel's Disney Roles
Idina Menzel, the actress who is the voice of Elsa in the film, was actually also in two other Disney films! Many people assume that Frozen was her first ever Disney role, but that’s not really true.
Menzel is actually a Disney regular!
She was in the animated television series Hercules in 1998, and she also had a small cameo role as an animated Disney Princess in the combination live-action and animated movie, Enchanted, in 2007. Most people don’t realize that at all.
11 Highest Grossing Film In Japan
When the film was released in Japan in 2014, it spent over sixteen consecutive weeks as the number one highest grossing film in the country. That is a staggering amount, especially for an American film in a foreign country.
Not only that, but Frozen eventually broke the record for highest grossing animated film ever in Japan, taking the title from the smash hit Spirited Away, which was released in 2001. For me, that record-breaking performance was definitely an “upset.”
10 The Original Villain
Originally, Elsa was meant to be the villain of the film. This was the case very far into the writing of the film. However, when the producers heard the song “Let it Go,” they felt it was too appealing to be sung by a villain.
The producers thought the themes of personal empowerment and love were too positive for a villain, and so Elsa was changed to a heroine instead. This might explain the sudden twist at the end of the film, where Hans is revealed as the real villain.
9 Duet With A Villain
Did you know that the character of Anna in the film, who is one of the main characters, is the only Disney character who has ever shared a duet with the villain of the story?
That might seem like a crazy detail, but it’s true.
The reason for this is because in a secret twist to the film, Anna’s love interest, Hans, is revealed to be the real villain of the movie. So it’s no wonder why she shared a duet with him!
8 The Villain's Clothes
Traditionally, in most Disney animated feature-length films, the villains of the story wear dark clothes and the heroes and heroines of the story wear light clothes. This is to differentiate between good and bad.
However, in Frozen, because of the final twist, the villain, Hans, wears light clothes and the heroes and heroines are wearing dark clothes. This is to throw off the audience for the reveal that Hans is really the villain! I think it worked pretty well.
7 Dark Vs. Light
Speaking of clothes, there is another detail in Frozen that is playing with the dark and light colors of the character’s clothes. In the beginning of the film, Anna and Elsa’s clothes are bright, but as they drift apart, their clothes become progressively darker and darker.
At the end of the movie, when they are reunited and the kingdom is saved, they are again wearing brighter clothes. Watch closely on your next viewing, and you will see this little detail.
6 Wearing Gloves
The animators of Frozen hid a lot of subtle details in the clothing of the characters. In the film, gloves play a big part in hiding the characters emotions or true intentions.
Elsa wears gloves to hide her powers and therefore her emotions, so that her powers don’t overwhelm her and destroy the kingdom. Whereas Hans wears gloves throughout the movie and only takes them off when he reveals his true nature as the villain. I love small details like this!