During a press conference for the upcoming animated short Frozen: Once Upon a Snowman, director/writers Trent Correy and Dan Abraham, along with Disney Head of Animation Becky Bresee and Creative Consultant Peter Del Vecho, reflected on their time working with Olaf, how important Josh Gad is to the character -- and what makes him an appealing player in the Disney franchise.
Olaf, the lovable and eternally curious snowman created by Elsa in the first Frozen, has quickly become one of the most popular Disney characters of the last decade. On top of his appearance in Frozen and Frozen II, he's also been at the center of marketing, advertising and his own short films. The soft-natured snowman is one of the most famous aspects of the franchise and it's something the creators at Disney Animation are well aware of. The question is, what makes Olaf such a beloved character?
"I would say," Del Vecho explained, "that Olaf has this overwhelming optimism and sincerity about him. And that just never gets old. It's something that we all sort of aspire to and sometimes fall short. But Olaf is always there, charging ahead, with just this eternal optimism and sweetness that I think is a part of all of us, but maybe we wish we had more of. It's sort of inspiring... I think we can all relate to his sort of innocence as a child. That's a slightly naive look at the world, but in doing so... he can really hit on some profound, emotional things. You can zero in on things that maybe, as adults, we miss."
For Correy, some of the appeal of Olaf as a character is inherent to his ability to morph and shift. As a living snowman, he's a natural character to play with in animation. Correy related how one of his earliest assignments at Disney was working on the first Frozen, and Olaf was who'd worked on.
"I grew up on Disney movies in the '90s. I loved Aladdin, by far my favorite movie," Correy said. "And the Genie was my favorite character. I think what I loved about the genie was that he could be hilarious and change shapes, but he could also be sincere. And from an animator's point of view, Olaf's just everyone's favorite character to animate because he can be very emotional. Like [Bresee] mentioned, he's connected to the sisters. But he's also fun to just break apart."
Recalling the development Once Upon a Snowman, Correy said the original idea came to him while working on the first Frozen. Now, years later, he's gotten the chance to bring it to life. While he, Abraham and Frozen co-director Jennifer Lee worked on the script, Correy and Abraham were quick to explain how vital actor Josh Gad is to the success of the character. Abraham explained how, "when you get Olaf and Josh Gad together, all the little improvisations of laughing, giggling, screaming -- he makes the script come to life. He makes the short come to life."
"[Gad] is just as funny in the movie and on social media as he is in person," Correy revealed. "He is hilarious. In fact, [Abraham] and I were in the recording booth with him, not behind glass. And I think the hardest part about that was just trying not laugh so we didn't mess up the take. I was covering my mouth most the time, just spitting while [Gad] was just having a blast. But he is so generous with his time. He came in right after Frozen II to record this with us. He gives you so much as an actor and a comedian. I just love working with him. The animators love him."
Del Vecho revealed the impact Olaf has had and how it's left Gad "genuinely appreciative of all the work on the films and on the shorts. He often talks about the fact he gets to sort of be in front of the public a lot, but he very much recognizes all the work that is put into these films, the animation, everything. It's a true partnership."
The creators all reminisced about Gad's performance and his ability to work well with the script as it's presented to him -- while also finding room to improvise, such as during a scene where Olaf tries to settle on his name in Once Upon a Snowman.
The short sees the moments between Olaf's birth by Elsa's magic and when he first encounters Anna and Kristoff as they trek to find Elsa atop the mountain. This gave artists like Bresee the chance to revisit their work on the original Frozen and explore Olaf's journey from a different angle.
"The whole project was neat," Bresee said, "in that we know who animated the first moments and then seeing those moments from a totally different angle... it's just so interesting because I have it in my head who animated the shot, the movements they did, the acting, and you have the insight to what's happening next and before and all that. So it's just really fun to see it all connect. Anna and Olaf narrowly miss each other. Except that all that gets smashed by the door, so she didn't miss him. She got him. But yeah, it's just neat to see these moments play out in a different way."
"We didn't want to force it in any way," Correy expanded. "So the story of what Olaf was trying to accomplish and discover who he was and all that sort of led us to these different locations. And then we're like, 'Oh my ... You know what's happening right here at Oaken's right now?' So it sort of guided us. When we knew the story we wanted to tell, it took us to these places and sort of behind the scenes, putting the camera in a different place. It just mostly worked naturally, really."
Frozen: Once Upon a Snowman will be available on Disney+ starting Oct. 23.