It’s so easy to overlook the fact that lovable Olaf is a wonderfully layered character in the Frozen franchise. Beyond his loveable nature and goofy giggles, is a snowman that carries some emotional weight. In fact, the recently released Frozen: Once Upon a Snowman short makes that point evident, acting as filler between Olaf's creation and when he first meets Anna and Kristoff. On top of that, the short also serves as an important window into the heart of Olaf’s journey of self-identity, which only hits its stride in Frozen 2.
Frozen: Once Upon a Snowman gives a foundation to Olaf’s quest to find where he fits in and what he means to himself. This has been a consistent theme for the Frozen franchise, with Elsa spending much of the first movie running away from her true calling. The short even goes as far as to shows how Olaf really taps into the "inner child" -- that purity of heart that comes with being so earnest and naïve.
Early on in the short, Olaf proclaims his sense of confusion and wonders aloud if he’s "having a bit of a crisis of identity.” From there, he enters Oaken’s shop in the woods, where he is in search of a nose. It’s another one of those touchstone moments in life, quietly on display. Olaf’s desire to feel a sense of completeness and confidence as the world gets bigger is easy to relate to. Then, while looking for the nose, Oaken shows the snowman photos of summer, which leads to his sense of identity taking hold. One look at the sunny season and it was like Olaf had found that huge piece of himself that was missing.
Before heading off, Oaken gifts Olaf with a nose in the form of summer sausage. Armed with his first real sense of purpose, new-nose and all, Olaf really starts his life journey -- one marked with boundless curiosity and confusion. This was necessary to portray because, while Olaf is just a snowman, it’s important to illustrate that everyone has a personal stake in life. Purpose is what drives motivation, and Olaf deserves to have a snowy platform to showcase his, even if it was just a few minutes long and over too soon.
As he heads out with his new sense of adventure, Olaf runs into a pack of wolves he has to escape. Once he believes he's avoided the ravenous animals, a stray one comes looking to take his nose. It turns out that the wolf is just hungry, so Olaf, being the kind-hearted snowman he is, gives the sausage to the animal. It's at this moment Olaf realizes he enjoys helping others, and, of course, warm hugs.
While Olaf doesn’t age in the normal sense, this short does give a starting point for why and how the snowman's journey began. It’s something the ever-growing Frozen franchise has worked to do for its main players but had yet to do for everyone's favorite snowman. At first glance, it seemed like enough that Olaf was such a fan of warm hugs, but now, fans get to share in understanding the true reason behind his joy for them.