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Once Upon a Snowman
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Once Upon a Snowman
| image = File:Once Upon a Snowman Poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Film poster
| director =
| producer = Nicole P. Hearon
Peter Del Vecho
| writer =
| based_on =
| starring =
| music =
| cinematography = Tracy Scott Beattie (layout)
Mohit Kallianpur (lighting)
| editing = Jeff Draheim
| studio =
| distributor = Disney+
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
(Disney Media Distribution)
| released =
| runtime = 8 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
'Once Upon a Snowman' is a 2020 American computer-animated fantasy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy. It premiered on the streaming service Disney+ on October 23, 2020.
Taking place during the events of 'Frozen' (2013), it follows Olaf right after he was created by Elsa, before he met Anna, Kristoff, and Sven.
Plot
During Elsa's song "Let It Go", Olaf the snowman is brought to life. Before he can do anything however, Elsa releases her cloak which flies and knocks him down the mountain side until he crashes into a tree. Not knowing who he is, or why he is alive, Olaf decides to find an identity for himself. He comes upon Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna (where Kristoff can be heard singing "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" from the barn) and gets flattened by the front door by Anna who exits not noticing him and carrying a bag of carrots (which she will eventually give to Kristoff and Sven as payment).
Olaf enters the Post and meets Oaken. Olaf asks for a nose, possibly a carrot, for his face, but Oaken explains that he sold the last batch and decides to help him out by trying a variety of other objects. One of the objects is an old fashioned view master that features images of "Summer". Olaf is immediately taken by it and wants to experience it before settling on a sausage for his nose.
As Olaf happily leaves with his new nose, a pack of wolves suddenly appear and begin to chase him through the snowy tundra, during which Anna and Kristoff can be heard arguing with each other over the concept of love. Olaf passes by them, again unnoticed, which gets the wolves to suddenly shift their attention to them. Olaf continues to slide and witnesses Anna, Kristoff and Sven making a leap across the gorge while ditching their sleigh. Olaf makes it to the bottom where he spots one of the carrots that gets dropped, but it gets crushed by the sleigh.
Olaf's sausage nose breaks, which saddens him. Upon seeing one of the wolves whimpering pitifully at his nose, Olaf gives it to him, believing that he needs it more than him. The wolf happily licks him before leaving. Olaf comments that it felt like a warm hug to which suddenly causes him to remember Anna and Elsa's time playing together as children. Finally realizing who he is, he comments "I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs."
During the credits, Olaf is seen coming across Anna, Kristoff and Sven who will eventually give him his carrot nose.
Cast
*Josh Gad as Olaf
*Kristen Bell as Anna (archive audio from the first film)
**Livvy Stubenrauch as Young Anna (archive audio from the first film)
*Idina Menzel as Elsa (archive audio from the first film)
**Eva Bella as Young Elsa (archive audio from the first film)
*Jonathan Groff as Kristoff (archive audio from the first film)
*Chris Williams as Oaken
*Frank Welker as Sven
Track listing
#"Let It Go" by Idina Menzel
#"Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" by Jonathan Groff
#"In Summer" by Josh Gad
#"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" Kristen Bell & Idina Menzel
Reception
Critical response
Ryan Britt of 'Fatherly' stated that 'Once Upon a Snowman' is a refreshing Christmas short, and said that it manages to provide more amusement than expected regarding its length. Drew Taylor of 'Collider' gave the short film an A rating, stated that the short movie's humor manages to be entertaining through its narrative, acclaimed Josh Gad's portrayal as Olaf, and found the animation very attractive. Emily Ashby of 'Common Sense Media' rated the film 5 out of 5 stars, praised the short film for depicting curiosity and self-discovery through Olaf, while complimenting the portrayal of optimism and perseverance through the short movie. W. Andrew Powell of 'TheGATE.ca' rated 'Once Upon a Snowman' 4 out of 5 stars, found that Gad manages to provide a very well portrayal of Olaf, while complimenting the humor through the narrative, but stated that the movie could have last longer. Matt Fowler of 'IGN' gave the short film a 6 out of 10 rating, complimented Gad's performance and the story, but found that the short does not bring anything substantial to the 'Frozen' franchise.Accolades
The short is nominated for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.References
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