Into The Research Behind Disney’s FROZEN #DisneyFrozen

Coming to theaters in November, Disney’s latest animation film FROZEN will captivate audiences worldwide with amazing technological advances and warm our hearts with a beautiful, endearing story. Brought to us from the same animators and studio as “Tangled” and “Wreck-It-Ralph”, Disney’s FROZEN is a perfect combination of funny and heart.

Set in the magical world of Arendelle, two princesses, the eternal optimist Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and the guarded and icy Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel), Disney’s FROZEN takes us on an adventure of love and loyalty. FROZEN was based loosely on the 1845 Hans Christian Andersen fairytale “Snow Queen”. A story Walt Disney himself always wanted to tell, “Snow Queen” and “FROZEN” is about the base philosophy of the power of Fear and Love. The princess Anna and Elsa personify these emotions in the film as they become who they truly are and realize their potential.

I was invited as a member of the press to attend a press coverage event at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California and meet the makers of Disney’s FROZEN. Being surrounded by the film itself, the animators, the directors, producers and story creators of FROZEN made me feel as though I was responsible for the film myself, if only in a minuscule way and if only for a brief instant. The enthusiasm and genuine emotional connect everyone we met had about the film was palatable. I left the day fully charged to share with the world just how amazing FROZEN will be. I also left a little poorer after the day because I hit up the Disney Studio store like a crack addict and I spent oodles of money on FROZEN merchandise. Of course.

Much like baking a cake, the process of creating an animated film such as FROZEN requires many steps. Each step being intricate and requiring a great amount of collaborative skill from leaders of their technical fields, the result is the complete film we see on the screen. The basis of each of the layers of the film is the research behind it.

The Research

Possibly the single most important aspect of creating FROZEN was the intense amount of research each team undertook. As we heard several times during the course of the FROZEN press day, John Lasseter is crazy huge into research to create an authentic story.

• Art director Mike Giaimo and his team traveled to Norway to soak up the atmosphere, check out the architecture, research the local culture and mythologies, and garner inspiration from the environment for their fictional kingdom of Arendelle. Via cars, trains and boats, they visited fortresses, castles, shops museums, cathedrals, fjords and glaciers.
• Animators and effects artists traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and donned (even the boys) heavy dresses like what Anna wore and gallivant through the snow. Of course, none of the men would admit to wearing dresses. However when I asked, they concluded that they learned that the heavy dresses skidded across the snow with ease.
• Several members of the production team traveled to Quebec to experience the Ice Hotel as inspiration for Elsa’s ice palace featured in FROZEN. They were specifically interested in seeing how the light reflects and refracts in the ice. Although the artists were inspired and amazed by the icy architecture of the Ice Hotel, not even one of them opted to spend the night in the chilly abode.
• In an effort to perfect Elsa’s icy magic, filmmakers called on Dr. Thomas Painter, a scientist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena known as “Dr. Snow” to learn about snowflakes on a molecular level. While in a conference room with the Art Direction team during the press day, Michael Giaimo Art Director of Disney’s FROZEN admitted that the rigging and technological teams of FROZEN ate up the information Dr. Snow proposed, where as he and his team were a little lost. I love that.
• Filmmakers invited a real-life reindeer into the Walt Disney Animation Studios, observing the animal’s physical makeup and mannerisms, which were later caricatured in the making of Kristoff’s reindeer buddy Sven in the film. During the press day, we learned that that real-life reindeer was missing an antler, he didn’t do to much but stand there and he did pee in the Studios!

The 3 Big Take Away’s From Norway:

The Norwegian Fjords

Unique to Norway, the majestic vertical rock face formations known as the Fjords are the backdrop for the kingdom of Arendelle. The Fjords created the setting of a huge adventure in a huge topical environment with a beautiful powerful danger element of the environment. What is unique to Disney’s FROZEN kingdom of Arendelle as opposed to previous Disney films, Arendelle is nestled on the floor of a valley surrounded by huge Fjords as opposed to the top of a mountain.

The Stave Churches

The country churches of Norway dating back to the 1200’s inspired the architectural feeling of Disney’s FROZEN. They provide inspiration for the castle and a rustic elegance and richness to the film.

Rosemaling

A small but very integral part of the research yet can be found everywhere throughout Disney’s FROZEN is rosemaling. From the clothing to the architecture to everywhere in between, this slight graphic floral design provides elegance and whimsy. Each character of FROZEN dons some sort of Rosemaling on their wardrobe.

Having seen a very large chunk of the film, I cannot wait to take my kids to see FROZEN, they are going to love it. It is going to be the movie of the winter season. Disney’s FROZEN is an epic journey of a snowy proportion that will hit theaters everywhere on November 27, 2013.

And then YOU DIED OF CUTE TOO (the animators made these for us!):

For more information, check out Disney’s FROZEN
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