‘Frozen’ returns in new holiday short
LOS ANGELES - One thing is certain. When it comes to “Frozen,” the Walt Disney Animation Studio is not going to let it go.
The latest work to spring from the 2013 Oscar winner for Best Animated Film is a new 21-minute short, “Olaf ’s Frozen Adventure.” It’s being shown with the feature film “Coco,” which opened in theaters Wednesday.
Because Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) were kept apart when they were young due to Elsa’s chilling touch, they never got to share any holiday moments. Olaf (Josh Gad) wants to help them find a holiday tradition.
Returning to the recording studio for the short took a little extra preparation for Gad.
“Before both the short and the sequel, I always go back to the original movie just to recalibrate my brain to it because the more I do the voice it gets higher. It’s like ‘Hi, I’m Olaf ’ (said in a high voice),” Gad said. “It’s terrifying. It’s not the character. And it’s always good to remind myself that there’s a warmth to it.”
Along with the regular voice work comes the necessity for Gad to be able to match the energetic voice of Olaf in musical numbers. “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” features four new original songs by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson: “Ring in the Season,” “The Ballad of Flemmingrad,” “That Time of Year” and “When We’re Together.”
Gad recalls being with Bell and Menzel when they heard the new musical numbers and how impressed they were. He found “When We’re Together” to be particularly catchy, and warned parents to be ready for the song to get the kind of attention from young fans that “Let It Go” got from the original film.
The task of being able to sing in a voice higher than his regular way of speaking is nothing new for Gad. When he appeared in the stage production of “Book of Mormon,” Bobby Lopez (who also composed the music for “Frozen”) would always write his part an octave higher.
“That tradition was carried over to ‘Frozen.’ So when the brilliant songwriters came in and did this, I was like, ‘Oh, great, they’ve been speaking to Bobby,’ ” Gad said.
“Olaf ’s Frozen Adventure” is all about holiday traditions. And in the Gad household, both Hanukkah and Christmas are celebrated. His favorite tradition is on Christmas Eve, when he writes a letter to his daughters. Gad quickly makes it clear it is Santa Claus who writes a letter and all he does is oversee the process.
The strangest tradition is his reading “Frozen” books to his children using Olaf’s voice. They often will ask him to stop speaking like the snowman.
“It’s a very surreal thing for them I’m sure having Olaf reading Olaf when I’m sitting there,” Gad said.