Friday debut for Frozen short
Josh Gad’s character’s popularity has clearly melted away since Frozen became a global phenomenon in late 2013, writes
Love him or hate him, Frozen’s Olaf is returning to Kiwi cinemas from Friday, but only for a limited time.
The Walt Disney Company New Zealand has confirmed that the much-maligned animated short Olaf’s Frozen Adventure will screen in front of Coco during the weekend advance previews planned before its nationwide Boxing Day release. However, from December 26, ‘‘it is the cinemas’ choice as to whether they play this featurette’’, a spokeswoman said. ‘‘We expect this to be on select sessions only.’’
While the Day of the Dead-set Coco has topped the US box office charts for the past two weekends, American audiences have been less-than-impressed with Olaf’s Adventure.
News came earlier this week that the short was being pulled from US screenings from Friday (New Zealand time), with many linking that to its poor reception. However, Disney said it was always only intended to have a limited run.
Many fans have been vocal in their vitriol for the 21-minute short, which was originally planned for a half-hour TV special. Pixar’s much-loved cinematic shorts are usually five to eightminutes long. Rotten Tomatoes‘ audience score for the short is currently sitting at a paltry 38 per cent.
Set during the first Christmas after the events of Frozen, Olaf’s Adventure features four songs and silly jokes that cinemagoers have complained as at odds with the more serious tone of Coco.