Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Is The Best Animated Holiday Gift

November 15th, 2017 by justJENN

Let the holidays, begin! Winter is right around the corner and that chill in the air means Olaf is nearby! This season the friendly little snowman is back in the entertaining new featurette Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, which opens in front of Disney•Pixar’s original feature film Coco.

Josh Gad is back as the voice of Olaf and it’s the first holiday season since the gates of Arendelle castle have been reopened. Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) host a joyous celebration but soon realize they have no family traditions of their own. Olaf tries his best to come to the rescue by combing the kingdom to bring home the best traditions and save this first Christmas for his friends.

At the press junket, producer Roy Conli was joined by directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers, and Josh Gad, to talk about the making of this special. Revolving the storyline around the holidays was a great catalyst for the story arc which gave Olaf—who started as a secondary character—a vehicle for him to star in, front and center.

“It’s a thrill to come back, to work with such a brilliant new team, who’s taken this character and opening new doors for him to go. The first movie is so much about Olaf discovering the world—Olaf is almost like a newborn waking up—and so, as we continue to tell these stories, what’s fun as an artist is to get to have Olaf be in a place where now, he’s learning and growing emotionally and his education is also growing. The things that he’s seeing, he’s processing. And I love that, I love that growth.”

As is Disney tradition, the songs in the film are spectacular. With four new original songs by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, the short brings back those old familiar Frozen feelings that you can’t help but sing along to. Gad puts it more succinctly, “Good luck parents, cos it’s gonna play a lot in your household.”

Gad joked that Olaf’s voice has gotten higher throughout the years. He reads Frozen books to his children and goes back to the original movie once in a while to recalibrate and get back in touch with the character. He said he’s still surprised at how popular the movie has become. “At its core, it’s a story about siblings. That’s a very universal thing. Any of us who’ve grown up with brothers or sisters—having two daughters, seeing it through the prism of their eyes—it’s amazing to see how important this story, and Elsa and Anna’s journey is to them.”

“This movie—I think, I hope—is an emotional reminder about the bond of family,” said Gad, reflecting on the takeaway lesson, “That to me is the power of Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. It is about traditions but more than that it’s about family, and I love that. And I hope that my girls, when they see this movie, they start to think about the traditions they want to make with each other.”

Check out Olaf’s Frozen Adventure when it opens in theatres everywhere exclusively for a limited time in front of Disney•Pixar’s original feature film Coco on November 22nd!