Anna and Elsa ring the bell to mark the beginning of Arendelle’s yuletide season, their first since the gates have reopened, but then the crowds disperse, leaving the Frozen ladies to contemplate their lack of holiday traditions. Moved, their good buddy and everyone’s favourite snowman, Olaf, goes off in search of other people’s customs in order to find the right ones to adopt.
Originally Disney planned for this to be a televised episode but as production continued they felt it was too “cinematic” and deserved to be on the big screen, which is how it wound up in front of Pixar’s Coco. It’s only the second time that a 
non-Pixar short is in front of a Pixar film (the first time, for Toy Story, was the Roger Rabbit short, Roller Coaster Rabbit) but like any blended family, the Disney-Pixar merger has now been solidified, and when better to spend time together than the holidays? In fact, the two do seem to be appropriate companions since they’re both about appreciating different cultures. However, audiences in Mexico were less than thrilled with the “short” (it’s 21 minutes!); impatient to get to the movie that pays homage to their country, they rebelled until theaters dumped the short altogether.
Like Frozen Fever that came before it, the ladies seem to be confronted yet again with emotional loose ends, as it were, which means this short serves as a bridge to the inevitable sequel. And Olaf is evolving too. A kid favourite, the child-like snowman with a sense of wonder has always entertained, but in this short, he’s becoming more thoughtful and self-aware. He’s not just a side-kick anymore. And at 21 minutes, this short has time for 4 new original songs; That Time of Year is a particular stand out, and I was tickled by the mental comparison between Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad) knocking on villager’s doors, and Gad doing door to door with the ding-dong song Hello from Book of Mormon.
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure is fun in a giddy kind of way and fans of Frozen will be glad to revisit their old friends – though I do wonder if the fans aren’t sort of ageing out of the Princess phase by now. But Elsa and Anna still have a long way to go before their healing’s complete, so there are plenty more ways for Olaf to save them, and he’s always going to be enchanting as heck while he does it.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
And, I now know why at least one of my nieces is very anxious to go to “Coco,” and it has nothing to do with the main movie.
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Yeah, this is a substantial piece so it’ll be a big attraction.
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Haven’t seen Frozen, the song put me right off, so this probably won’t cross my screen, but thanks for the review as always 😊
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I like the song well enough but tend to dislike anything that gets played ad nauseum. And as for the movie, I was disappointed. Again, it’s harmless and fine but did not live up to the hype at all for me. I didn’t think it was Disney’s best.
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I’m not the biggest fan of Frozen and I found Olaf annoying so I’ll skip this. I will see Coco, but it probably won’t be until it’s streaming or on blu-ray.
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I didn’t love Frozen either but I had a fondness for Olaf, possibly just for the Josh Gad connection.
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from my understanding the frozen short was only going to be shown on the 22nd. I had no idea as i went to see coco. I really liked it. Josh gad is a treasure what he did with beauty and the beast was ballsy and magnificent and he is a great olaf. Oh yeah Coco is phenomenal as well.
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Haha, yes, Coco is good too! 😉
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I gotta admit to getting a little fidgety myself the longer this went on, but this was a really wonderful little intro. But hopefully next time they can trim it to like 15 mins lol
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I know. I don’t think it dragged but because I knew we weren’t even at the main event I was like – wow, this is really still going!
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I’m sure this one would be delightful for the youngin’s!
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I’ve managed to avoid Frozen (even the song) and I don’t plan on that changing anytime soon…
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wow, that’s hard to do, congrats.
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21 minutes? No wonder the Mexicans are pissed. I wouldn’t want to deal with Olaf for 21 minutes either. Puta madre. That is abuse. Is it bad enough we stupid Americans are building a wall on the Mexican border and now torture them with Olaf for 21 minutes. They have every right to be angry with us.
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Well the good news is they revolted and movie theatres dropped it, so now you’d no longer see it in Mexico. They also got this about a month before we did – in time for actual day of the dead, so they’re probably over it.
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Thank goodness. I don’t want to do anymore damage to them. It’s bad enough we have a moron in the White House insulting them.
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It’s a very long short and the movie itself isn’t short either. It’s going to mean some bathroom breaks for the kids during the movie 🙂
Coco was amazing though…still have to see this short as it wasn’t shown at the press screening I went to.
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I haven’t even seen “Frozen”. But that’s because it’s based on my favourite fairy tale stories I loved as a kid…I can kinda watch it when they appear in Once Upon a Time, but…
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I personally liked this short. It cute, fun, and kind of felt good to reconnect with Frozen (haven’t watch the movie in awhile). However, I rather just see Frozen 2 than another short.
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That’s true, but I guess most kids don’t have your patience!!
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The original fans may be aging out, but there are new young fans…
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I was watching Screen Junkies where they wondered if Disney put the Olaf short in as a sweetner to entice people to see Coco that may not have. The idea being Coco is so good it would win them over and build word of mouth. All I know is this, I enjoyed Frozen but Olaf didn’t blow up my skirt too much and if Dan Murrell and Roth Cornet are digging Coco then colour me interested. Also hasn’t Hollywood learned from the Fast and Furious franchise that there’s gold in dem Latino audience hills! No need to entice anyone to make money other than make a good movie.
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Yeah, it’s a bit sad when you have to convince people to give this movie a chance – but we are talking about the country who elected trump to build a wall to keep those people out.
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