Frozen

Frozen is a 2013 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, who wrote the story with Shane Morris, drawing inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen". The film was produced by John Lasseter and Peter Del Vecho, and it stars the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, and Santino Fontana. Frozen follows Princess Anna as she teams up with Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf to find her estranged sister Elsa, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped their kingdom in eternal winter. Thematically, it explores feminism and sisterly bonds over romance, challenging traditional gender norms and Disney fairytale conventions. Development began after Lasseter, who was intrigued by Disney's earlier unsuccessful attempts to adapt "The Snow Queen", successfully persuaded Buck to join the project. Buck wanted to explore a fresh perspective on true love rather than Disney's traditional prince and princess narrative. The story underwent extensive rewriting and testing, leading to a final version that emphasized the bond between Anna and Elsa and the themes of love and sacrifice. During animation and cinematography, the team used a careful blend of visuals and lighting to create realistic and appealing snow and ice among other elements. Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez wrote the songs, and Christophe Beck composed the score. Frozen premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on November 19, 2013, and went into its general theatrical release on November 27. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and it received two awards at the 86th Academy Awards among numerous other accolades, making it the first Disney film to win Best Animated Feature. During its theatrical run, the film was a significant commercial success, earning $1.285 billion in worldwide box office revenue, overtaking Toy Story 3 (2010) to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and carried its position until it was overtaken by the remake of The Lion King in 2019. It also became the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time and the highest-grossing film of 2013.