Whether you’re a huge Frozen fan or you’ve only seen it because the kids insist on watching it again and again, no one can escape the phenomena.
With Frozen 2 set to be released in the next couple of years, and the possibility to buy absolutely anything Frozen-related (you can even buy a Frozen toilet seat!), the franchise has decided it isn’t going anywhere just yet.
But even if you’ve watched it a hundred times or more, and you think of yourself as a bit of a Frozen expert, we’ve got some amazing fun facts about the film that you probably never noticed.
From the crew visitng real ice hotels, to what the character’s names REALLY mean, here are 20 things about Frozen that you didn’t know until now.
1. Anna made Disney Princess history by singing with a villain
When Anna and Hans sing ‘Love Is An Open Door’, it’s the first time that a Disney Princess has ever performed a duet with a villain! Although when we first hear it we don’t know that Hans is a baddie, when his true evil nature is revealed the lyrics are meant to expose a more sinister side.
2. Elsa is the only Disney Princess who isn’t a teenager
After the death of her parents, Princess Elsa becomes Queen when she comes of age. But, at a youthful 21 years old, she is still the oldest Disney Princess ever – all the others are actually teenagers!
3. The characters names are actually a reference to the author of the original story
Hans Christian Anderson wrote The Snow Queen in 1844, which is what Frozen is based on. As a nod to the author the team decided to name four of the characters Hans, Kristoff, Anna, and Sven. See?!
4. The production team visited a hotel made of ice for inspiration – and went to Norway!
The lucky people behind the scenes of our favourite modern Disney film got to go and see an ice hotel in order to help them design Elsa’s ice castle. The crew’s research also included a trip to Norway to give them ideas for Arendelle.
5. There is a disclaimer at the end of the movie about eating boogers
Following Kristoff’s admission that guys eat their nose dirt, Disney included the following statement in the film credits: “The views and opinions expressed by Kristoff in the film that all men eat their own boogers are solely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Walt Disney Company or the filmmakers.”
6. Rapunzel and Flynn from Tangled make an appearance
Disney loves to pop a sneaky cameo in their movies, and Frozen is no exception. At Elsa’s coronation, you can see the back of Rapunzel and Flynn from Tangled.
7. Mickey Mouse also has a cameo in Frozen
And the legendary Micky Mouse is also tucked away in Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna. Did you manage to spot him on the shelf just behind Anna?
8. Frozen did wonders for tourism in Norway
After the movie, it is reported that searches for flights to Norway increased by 153%! There was also an increased interest in rosemaling, a traditional Norwegian folk art that was used in the characters costume designs.
9. Frozen became the highest grossing animated film of all time
The film pushed Toy Story 3 into second place for the title of highest grossing animated film, and has raked in over $1.2 billion worldwide!
10. The effects team hired a snow expert to learn about snow patterns!
Everyone involved in the movie was so committed to attention to detail that they even hired a renowned snow expert, Dr Kenneth Libbrecht, to show them how snow and snowflakes take shape.
11. And they made a generator to create thousands of different snowflake shapes
The animation team developed their own program which enabled them to create 2,000 different snowflake shapes which they used during the film.
12. Elsa was meant to be based on Amy Winehouse
I know what you’re thinking – WHAT? But it’s true, Elsa was originally imaged with “a deep, soulful voice” and Amy’s iconic bouffant. And artist Claire Keane has shared the original concept artwork to prove it.
13. And she was also meant to be a villain
In The Snow Queen, Elsa's character is a villain but the team behind Frozen decided to make her a goodie. Hurrah!
14. Sven was almost named something else
Originally, the cheeky reindeer that we have all come to know and love was meant to be called Thor, and the crew brought a real reindeer into the studios to study its behaviour…
15. … but he was actually based on the Executive Producer’s dog!
When the reindeer stood still and wouldn’t move, they realised that the only way they could make Sven realistic would be to model him on John Lasseter’s dog, Frankie!
16. The painting in the palace is a famous classic
When Anna is excitedly dancing around the palace on her sister’s coronation day, she jumps up into a painting which happens to be a representation of a classic artwork, Jean-Honore Fragonard’s piece called The Swing.
17. Anna’s horse is called Lemon
Well, his name is actually Sitron which is Norwegian for ‘lemon’, so it’s the same thing!
18. Kristoff's character is based on the Sami people
They are a group indigenous to northern Norway, also known as the reindeer people.
19. And Krisoff's job was an actual profession!
Ice-cutting was a real job, and those who did it would collect, store and sell ice to homes in times before refrigerators.
20. 'Let It Go' was written in a day
The Oscar-winning sound track was written so quickly, and screenwriter Jennifer Lee loved it so much when she heard it that she completely re-wrote the original script!