Frozen (Darth Multiverse's Version)

Frozen is a Disney media franchise, beginning with the 2013 American animated feature film of the same name, which was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, screenplay by Lee and produced by Peter Del Vecho, music score by Christophe Beck, and songs written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. John Lasseter, then-chief creative officer Walt Disney Animation Studios, served as the film's executive producer. The original film was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, "The Snow Queen".

Since the film's release in November 2013, the franchise has expanded very rapidly. To date, the franchise includes various Disney theme park attractions, merchandise, video games, books, a Disney on Ice show, a Broadway stage musical and two short animated films. Disney has also released an animated film sequel, and a new book series. In November 2014, TheStreet.com explained that "Frozen is no longer a movie, it's a global brand, a larger than life franchise built around products, theme parks and sequels that could last into the next century". Boxoffice chief analyst Phil Contrino was quoted as saying "it's become massive".

History
Frozen was released in 2013 and was inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Snow Queen". The film earned two Academy Awards in 2014 (best animated feature and original song) and took in $1.28 billion globally and sold 4.1 million soundtracks by June 2016. The soundtrack has also been streamed over 51 million times since its release in 2013.

On March 12, 2015, at Disney's annual meeting of shareholders officially announced a full-length sequel was in development at Disney Studios. The Frozen Fever short film was released with Disney's full-length live-action Cinderella in 2015. With the success of the movie, Disney began work on three musical adaptations, for Disney California Adventure, Broadway and Disney Cruise Line, with the first starting in May 2016.

In June 2016, Disney announced a franchise extension called Frozen Northern Lights. This brand extension includes books, animated shorts and a TV special.

Board games
At least 24 board games have been released in conjunction with the Frozen films. The games include special editions of classic games including Monopoly, Don't Break the Ice, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Labyrinth, and Yahtzee.

Television
The first Frozen film played a factor in the fourth season of Once Upon a Time, a series produced by Disney-owned ABC Studios. The conclusion of the show's third-season finale on May 11, 2014, revealed a new storyline that would incorporate elements from Frozen, centering on the arrival of Elsa, after her urn was accidentally thrust into a time-traveling portal from the Enchanted Forest back to present-day Storybrooke, Maine. The show's executive producers later explained that Disney had not asked them to do a crossover. Rather, they fell in love with Frozen when it premiered in November, saw it three more times, then developed a story idea in February and successfully pitched it to ABC Studios, the ABC network, and then Disney brand management. The producers shared that "their writers' room was "basically a 'Frozen' appreciation room" and they would be "completely honored" if the original movie stars wanted to reprise their roles. Producer Adam Horowitz said that they were not going to "redo" the film: "We're very aware of what we think makes this character from 'Frozen' so special and we want to honor that and make sure that what we do is in the universe of [what] everyone fell in love with this past year."

Anna, Elsa and Kristoff appeared in the show, the cast consisting of Georgina Haig as Elsa, Elizabeth Lail as Anna, and Scott Michael Foster as Kristoff. Other Frozen characters in the show included Hans (who appears in the third episode of season 4), portrayed by Tyler Jacob Moore and John Rhys-Davies as the voice of rock troll Pabbie. The show's fourth season depicted a storyline taking place two years after the animated film's events. The arc ended after the season's twelfth episode, "Heroes and Villains". The characters would occasionally be referenced and locations seen from then forward.

A one-hour special titled The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic aired on September 2, 2014, on ABC. It featured interviews with some of the cast and the creative team of the film, footage from Norway that inspired the look of Frozen, announcements of what is next for the franchise, and a preview of Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff's appearance in Once Upon a Time. The special also included a sneak peek of Walt Disney Animation Studios' Big Hero 6.

Olaf made an appearance in an episode of Sofia the First titled "The Secret Library: Olaf and the Tale of Miss Nettle", premiered February 15, 2016 on Disney Channel and Disney Junior, where he is once again voiced by Josh Gad.

Arendelle Castle Yule Log, an animated yule log television program, was released to Disney+ in mid-December 2019. The program, which lasts about 3 hours, features a yule log burning in Arendelle Castle's fireplace while Kristoff, Olaf and Sven make appearances. An updated version was released in December 2020.

Frozen Fever (2015)
Main article: Frozen Fever

Frozen Fever is a short sequel that was released in early 2015. The short film was teased during The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic by Lasseter. Lee and Buck returned as directors and Del Vecho and Aimee Scribner as producers of the short, featuring a new song by Lopez and Anderson-Lopez. The short involves Elsa and Kristoff throwing a birthday party for Anna, but Elsa's icy powers put the party at risk. Frozen Fever debuted in theaters with Disney's Cinderella on March 13, 2015. The short film was released on the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack on August 18, 2015. It was also included on the Blu-ray, DVD, and digital HD releases of Cinderella on September 15, 2015.

Myth: A Frozen Tale (2020)
A prequel short to Frozen II titled Myth: A Frozen Tale was released on June 11, 2020, and is directed by Jeff Gipson. The short features Evan Rachel Wood portraying an Arendelle mother as she narrates the story of the elementals. The short was virtual and only available through Oculus Rift. A "flat" version was made available on Disney+ on February 26, 2021.

Once Upon a Snowman (2020)[edit]
Main article: Once Upon a Snowman

The short film Once Upon a Snowman was released exclusively on Disney+ on October 23, 2020, featuring the voice of Josh Gad as Olaf. The short details Olaf's origin from the moment he was created by Elsa during "Let It Go", to his first meeting with Anna, Kristoff and Sven in the original film.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017)
Main article: Olaf's Frozen Adventure

A Frozen holiday special Olaf's Frozen Adventure premiered in 2017. It is directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton (Prep & Landing, Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa), and is produced by Roy Conli (Tangled, Big Hero 6). Teased during the airing The Making of Frozen: Return to Arendelle, the 21-minute special received a limited time theatrical release, premiering in theaters with Pixar's Coco on November 22, 2017, and made its television debut on ABC on December 14 the same year. The Blu-ray/DVD for the short film was released in the US and Canada on November 13, 2018.

At Home with Olaf (2020)
Disney released a series of short clips centered entirely around Olaf on their YouTube and Twitter pages on April 6, 2020. The shorts feature Josh Gad reprising his role as Olaf, and were animated by Hyrum Osmond and a few other animators, from their homes. These shorts were made during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series ended on May 13 of that year with a special musical montage short entitled I Am with You. The latter contains clips from other Disney animated films, such as Dumbo, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, Wreck-It Ralph, the original Frozen, and more. 21 shorts were released in total.

Olaf Presents (2021)
Olaf Presents was released on Disney+ on November 12, 2021, to coincide with Disney+ Day. The series of shorts center on Olaf narrating Disney stories "as only he can". The series is inspired by a scene in Frozen II in which Olaf recapped the entirety of the first film in 90 seconds. The five recapped films in the series are The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, Tangled and Moana.

Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II (2020)
Main article: Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II

A documentary series about the making of Frozen II was launched on Disney+, entitled Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II, starting on June 26, 2020. Throughout six episodes, the series follows the production crew and voice cast of Frozen II in the film's final year of development. It was directed by Megan Harding, and produced by Lincoln Square Productions. Harding aimed to represent the production process honestly and the crew filmed for 115 days.