Frozen Becomes The Highest Grossing Animated Film Ever

[Angeldude98]

The internet is all but in a buzz about Frozen's latest milestone. It beat out Toy Story 3 to become the highest grossing animated film of all time with over $1.07 billion. And this is no April fool's joke. Just Google "Frozen" and hit "News" and you can see it.

I love Frozen. Great movie and all. But even I'm left scratching my head. What is it about this film that has soooo resonated with audiences? Nearly five months after it's initial realease, and it just keeps going, and going, and going...

I can just imagine the atmosphere at the Mouse House. It took nearly 2 decades, but Disney finally has the success it had been hoping for, and they're finally at the top again in the animation genre. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Frozen related stuff pop all over the place! It's a no-brainer that they'll want to capitalize on this box-office behemoth of a film. Sequels? Likely. Theme Park attractions? No doubt. Merchandising? Absolutely!

What do you guys think about this? Why do you think this film has done so well when others that were just as good (and to some even better) did not?

[MeerkatKombat]

Disney will milk this like a prize winning cow. We all agree on that.
I'm all for 'Frozen' in the parks. A frozen ice castle in the middle of a future park could be very impressive.

I don't know why this one has been so popular. A huge internet presence that we didn't have in the 90's Renaissance. YouTube helped blow up 'Let it go'. It's been said often that the success of 'Tangled' gave people renewed trust in Disney. For me, I was excited about TPatF and it was the first Disney animated classic I had been seen in the cinema since Tarzan.
It's obviously had widespread word of mouth and Disney have done a hell of a lot of promotion - including a good trailer!
My boyfriend who isn't a Disney Fan, really loves Frozen. So it obviously hit somewhere with non-Disney fans.

There are many films in Disney's back catalogue that I believe are better. I don't think Frozen would make my top 10 even though I love it. I don't really think the lyrics were all that impressive as previous films but the side kicks weren't annoying. It definitely has it's flaws, after watching it again yesterday.

[thedisneyspirit]

It's funny considering how early last year everybody was sceptical of Frozen. The extreme side of tumblr was preparing to boycott it because of many dumb reasons (Anna looking too similar to Rapunzel, no being faithful to the original Snow Queen story...).

I like it, but I'm bored when people start speaking about how "Progressive" it is when compared to other Disney films. "First Disney film focused on warrior women!/Sisters!/The couple don't end up married!", when we've clearly been shown in the past other Disney films who did this trope first

(In fact, I think about the 5% of Disney films in general have a marriage ending? So people greatly exagerate that "cliche".)

[Atlantica]

Shouldn't this be in the Frozen thread? Think it's already being / been discussed on there.

[thedisneyspirit]

Shouldn't this be in the Frozen thread? Think it's already being / been discussed on there.

Angeldude got into a huge fit last time with the repeated Tangled vs Frozen posts and how he hated they merged those two threads together.

[Angeldude98]

Shouldn't this be in the Frozen thread? Think it's already being / been discussed on there.

Angeldude got into a huge fit last time with the repeated Tangled vs Frozen posts and how he hated they merged those two threads together.

Hahaha!!! That was something... It's cool. My frustration actually was more at how everyone gets so defensive with forum "etiquette" than at the issue of the merging, which I do understand if threads are the same. I won't go into any fit this time. You're welcome to reply to this if you wish, or not if you don't wish to. And if this ends up being moved, oh well... I just posted this a question for open friendly discussion on Frozen's latest milestone.

Back on subject, maybe the reason is the songs... who knows? I keep hearing "Let It Go" and "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" everywhere I go!

[The_Iceflash]

Angeldude got into a huge fit last time with the repeated Tangled vs Frozen posts and how he hated they merged those two threads together.

Hahaha!!! That was something... It's cool. My frustration actually was more at how everyone gets so defensive with forum "etiquette" than at the issue of the merging, which I do understand if threads are the same. I won't go into any fit this time. You're welcome to reply to this if you wish, or not if you don't wish to. And if this ends up being moved, oh well... I just posted this a question for open friendly discussion on Frozen's latest milestone.

Back on subject, maybe the reason is the songs... who knows? I keep hearing "Let It Go" and "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" everywhere I go!

I'd say the songs are exactly the reason. Compare Frozen's songs to that of "Tangled" and "The Princess and the Frog" and it's no wonder it shot above them. Plus it has been over a decade since a Disney film had songs that memorable. Not since the Disney Renaissance came to a close. Frozen's box office numbers show just how much people were craving Disney songs of that level.

[taei]

I think the main reason Frozen is this successful is Elsa.

Everyone is always taking about the character and her merchandise is selling through the roof.
She also got the big show stopper in the movie and I think that it's a big reason why people love the song.
I also believe that it's the reason why her screen time was cut (to allow some room for Anna's since anything Elsa is amplified) and why her character became good (parents will bash disney for making her a villain)

I mean... I was driving today, flipping through radio channels when suddenly let it go starts playing, and not the Demi Lovato version, the MOVIE version. I was just so surprised!

Another reason that I think this movie blew up to the top 10 is because it has a great replay quality.
I know people who have seen the movie at least 6 times and they never got bored!
Also, there is a lack of a good animated movie from November to March. So that's another reason.

And you know.. double the princesses = double the success.
Just listen to me Disney, this movie did not do good because of your sh*ty marketing job.. It's the fans and the public that made it what it is. Learn from your mistake and be confident in your work!

Which brings to my next point.....
When are they gonna let this movie go?
Big Hero 6 is coming out in 8 months and no body knows anything about it.
Disney themselves have nothing to do with the success, and I don't see them releasing new poster and merchandise.
They are letting people get invested in this movie and they are not announcing any of their future projects!
Announce Moana or Giants! Get the fuel pumping!
>___>

Frozen is going to be the Lion King of this era. Anything coming out after will be compared to Frozen and it will not be fair to them.

[Semaj]

Just so we're clear, Elsa is technically a queen.

For me, it was a huge coincidence that we got a movie like Frozen during what turned out to be one of the coldest winters in years. In fact, we had our first snowfall of the season the very day this film came out. This is coming from a city where, despite its reputation for snow, our winters have been inconsistent in recent times.

As for the movie, Disney HAS been improving with each of their CGI features, though I was more thoroughly entertained by Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph. But it seems now they've built enough confidence off of their most recent films that people are now taking them seriously again, even with the now-widened pool of animated feature competitors.

[robster16]

There's no market for female characters they said... There's no market for animated musicals they said... There's no market for fairy tales they said...

They should really shut up in the future and just focus on story and great characters! THAT is what makes this movie! It connects to audiences because it comes across as sincere in it's intentions and it shows! Bravo Disney. I can see the release of Giants being rushed forward and given the Frozen treatment!

[thedisneyspirit]

The only problem I see with its success is that Big Hero 6 will suffer hard. I'm afraid audiences will be cold to it because it's so different from Frozen, and the typical naysayers who'll say that Disney films not based on fairy tales are the worst.

Like, people are already in the Giants and Moana fandoms, obsessing over the characters and storylines, and those films will take ages to premiere (perhaps even get shelved). BH6 is coming this November and nobody even thinks about it.

*BH6 supporter in advance*

[DisneyFan09]

Bravo Disney. I can see the release of Giants being rushed forward and given the Frozen treatment!

I hope that "Giants" will be good.

[Angeldude98]

The only problem I see with its success is that Big Hero 6 will suffer hard. I'm afraid audiences will be cold to it because it's so different from Frozen, and the typical naysayers who'll say that Disney films not based on fairy tales are the worst.

Yes... the famed "Pocahonas Syndrome". It's what happened with that film that came in the heels of The Lion King's huge success. Everyone was expecting it to be as big, if not bigger, than TLK and it wasn't. It was too different and people were not as warm to it. I fear Big Hero 6 could suffer in the same way. However, it's too soon to tell. Wreck-It-Ralph was just about scoffed at and dismissed by most fans, and it did surprisingly well. Only time will tell.

[carolinakid]

I enjoyed Frozen but as an old school Disney fan I hope that, adjusted for inflation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs remains the fairest of them all!

[Marce82]

No need to worry there. Snow White made 1.7 billion adjusted to inflation according to wikipedia. Now... that probably also includes re-releases....

[Musical Master]

The only problem I see with its success is that Big Hero 6 will suffer hard. I'm afraid audiences will be cold to it because it's so different from Frozen, and the typical naysayers who'll say that Disney films not based on fairy tales are the worst.

Yes... the famed "Pocahonas Syndrome". It's what happened with that film that came in the heels of The Lion King's huge success. Everyone was expecting it to be as big, if not bigger, than TLK and it wasn't. It was too different and people were not as warm to it. I fear Big Hero 6 could suffer in the same way. However, it's too soon to tell. Wreck-It-Ralph was just about scoffed at and dismissed by most fans, and it did surprisingly well. Only time will tell.

Now here's my interpetation on the "Pocahontas Syndrome". Now some of you may know that The Lion King and Pocahontas were in development at the same time and Katzenberg thought Pocahontas was going to be the next Beauty and the Beast and had little hope for The Lion King because of how new and "experimental" it was; and no one thought that it would be a hit and what do you know, it was. So when Pocahontas was almost ready to be released everyone at the studio had an air of "cockyness" thinking that if The Lion King was a hit then Pocahontas was going to be as great as that one, and of course, it was not the case.

As for Big Hero 6, it won't fall victim of the "syndrome" because it doesn't fall into the same structure that Frozen does and it's a Marvel property that's obscure and no one (the public and the studio), will think it will be a smash hit like Frozen and it will do well on it's own merits, therefore avoiding the cocky behavior the previous management suffered.

[candydog]

I think there's a number of reasons that Frozen took off like it did, and as many of you have stated the biggest one was probably the internet. The songs were popular and through the internet they just exploded. How many covers pop up every day on youtube?

Also look at websites like buzzfeed that run a lot of disney articles, then there's facebook where anyone can share anything with ALL of their friends at once?

As for the movie itself, I liked it. It's not my favourite Disney movie ever but it's really good! I do prefer the darker tone of movies such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame or even the slightly more formal manner of characters in older movies such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc, but I think Frozen is very much written for today's audience and that's not a bad thing.

I think that TV shows such as Glee have really paved the way for this movie too, boosting the presence of musicals on screen in recent years after they began to fade a little post-2010.

There's also the Disney Princess Line, which like it or not, did mean that the movie already had a huge built-in fanbase before it was released.

And it's also because the characters were actually quite progressive and the writing was quite witty. We seem to be going through another wave of feminism at the moment and a movie like this really does fit into the times quite well. Not only that, but I found the MALE characters to be amazingly progressive. Kristoff calling out Anna on her mistakes, Hans charming Anna into falling in love with her just so he can take her Kingdom. It was nice seeing a movie with a strong female lead where the male characters were not made into idiots. They were both pretty strong characters too, and I think that's where movies like Mulan failed. (The only part that let Frozen down for me was when Anna punched Hans at the end. Kind of destroyed the whole "equality" point that they had going but anyway.)

Long story short, it was just a good movie made from the right ingredients that came along at just the right time. Is it Disney's best? I don't think it is. But it is a great Disney movie that we'll one day probably look back on with as much love as we do some of the 90s movies now.

[thelittleursula]

I don't think that BH6 is going to get hate on it just because it's different and people be wanting another Frozen tale straight away, because of the internet now, we know what Disney is planning and has next, so we know the future. Back in 95 we didn't have that sort of thing and guess were kind of hugely ignorant and naive about animation and assumed that Disney would create another Lion King tale for us, straight away.

I wonder what could of happened with Frozen stayed 2D and was this successful, ugh- it gives me pain. Because like Disney would been having so much more confidence in 2D movie projects now.

There's no market for female characters they said... There's no market for animated musicals they said... There's no market for fairy tales they said...

They should really shut up in the future and just focus on story and great characters!

Hopefully Tangled and Frozen slapped them in the face and told them to toughen up and be more confident 8D

[Disney's Divinity]

It was nice seeing a movie with a strong female lead where the male characters were not made into idiots. They were both pretty strong characters too, and I think that's where movies like Mulan failed.

I don't think Shang, the Emperor, Fa Zhou, Shan-Yu, or even Mushu and Cri-Kee are made out to be idiots. They do poke fun at the army trio and the Emperor's assistant, but I don't think they're necessarily treated as idiots either.

And I hope you're right about a new wave of feminism, because it seems like things have been going backwards the past few years, thanks in large part to reality TV.

[DisneyEra]

I don't see BH6 struggling this November. This was one of the criticisms WDAS had in the past, that they could only do "princess-fairy tale musicals". WiR proved that wrong. BH6 is set in a modern city "a combination of SF & Tokoyo" were the characters will rely on technology rather than super-powers. And what in the real world today drives our society: The Internet, Smart Phones, ect. We actually have more info now about BH6 than we did 2 years ago in April 2012 for WiR. We don't know the voice cast yet "other than TJ Miller" but we have that 30sec teaser trailer of San Fransokyo, WiR had no teaser trailer at all. Both Tangled/Frozen had rough-draft trailers leaked. We should get the first trailer in June, like the previous 3 films & by early september, the 2 month marketing blitz will commence.

The question is what will WDAS do after BH6? They have an off year in 2015 "Pixar's comeback year" & have Zootopia scheduled for an early March 2016 release. This is the film i'm concerned with. It just doesn't feel like it will have a major impact with audiences. It's 2 month marketing blitz in early January 2016, just a few weeks after the release of Star Wars 7. Also, you have alot of Sequeals/Franchise films from other studios that summer. Pixar's Finding Dory/Dreamworks HttyD 3 "both are scheduled for a June 17, 2016 release. Then in July you have Blue Sky's Ice Age 5 & an Angry Birds film from Sony Animation. But who knows, maybe Zootopia could become WDAS Kung-Fu Panda!

Also, will WDAS officially announce Giants & Moana or will they jump the gun & release Frozen 2? It's clear the people want Gaints & Moana. Giants continues the Tangled/Frozen saga while Moana is an original tale with a new Princess of Color.

2015 will be a big year for WDAS as they decide how to finish out this already successful/revival decade.