Directors Trent Correy & Dan Abraham Talk Disney+ Animated Film ‘Once Upon A Snowman’

Very recently Disney+ held a virtual press conference with the filmmakers of its upcoming “Frozen” prequel short film, “Once Upon a Snowman.” Moderated by Vice President of Communications and Publicity Amy Astley, the panel included directors Trent Correy and Dan Abraham, Creative Consultant Peter Del Vecho, and Head of Animation Becky Bresee.

What happened to Olaf within the moments after Elsa created him as she was “letting it go” and building her ice palace, and when Anna and Kristoff first meet him in the forest? And how did Olaf learn to love Summer? Once Upon a Snowman is the previously untold origins of Olaf, the innocent and insightful, summer-loving snowman who melted hearts in the Academy Award winning 2013 Disney animated feature, Frozen, and its acclaimed 2019 sequel.

The film follows Olaf’s, voiced by award-winning actor Josh Gad, first steps as he comes to life and searches for his identity in the snowy mountains outside Arendelle. Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff also return for the short which will launch on the Disney+ service this coming Friday October 23rd.

Amy Astley (Moderator): Trent, we have the short circuit program, we have the theatrical shorts program, but the inception of this short happened in a really unique, totally different way. Can you talk about the inception of the short? When you shared it with Jen and when you really got the green light to make it?

Trent Correy: Of course. Thanks Amy and thanks for the intro and it's good to have the Olaf team back together. Look at this group. Yeah, this idea dates back, like Amy mentioned, I started in the training program at Disney in 2012. Actually my very first film at Disney was the first Frozen where I got to meet Becky and Peter and later I met Dan, but this idea came from... I started as a crowd animator during the first Frozen and my very first character to animate was Olaf. I was very lucky to get to animate Olaf for the rest of the show and I very clearly remember seeing Chad Sellers, animator shot during Let It Go, while I was a trainee and Elsa meets Olaf and it's beautiful and then she just walks away. She creates life and she walks away and I was like, there's got to be a story there.

I love Pinocchio, I loved Bambi and I'm like, I want to see what Olaf's first steps are like and we don't see them for another 20 minutes in the film. I actually found sketches last week when I was moving of original ideas from 2013, little deep boards and writing and ideas of Olaf taking his first steps and learning about who he is. Cut to last year, Jennifer Lee, our fearless leader, stood on stage and said, we're going to be partnering with Disney Plus and I thought right then that this is the perfect opportunity to have this short come out eight years later and that's when I got to work with all these fine folks, Peter, Becky and Dan.

Amy Astley (Moderator): That's wonderful. Dan, you had just finished doing your story work on Frozen II, which you did one of my favorite sequences in the movie, story boarding lost in the woods. That sequence is bananas and legendary and I love working that. What was the experience for you? How did you come to partner with Trent as his fellow director on this project?

Dan Abraham: Thank you, Amy, for the compliment. I had a ball working on that song and I also got the opportunity in Frozen II to work on the Olaf song. I got to storyboard that as well. Working with Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck and Peter, and I guess they liked what I had done with the old song and they're like, oh, this guy has a handle on who Olaf is and so Jennifer asked if I would partner with Trent and...

And so Jennifer asked if I would partner with Trent and direct this great idea that he had all these years ago. And so the two of us just kind of went arm-in-arm from there. We had a ball.

Amy Astley (Moderator): That's awesome. What makes Olaf so adorable and beloved? What is it about this character?

Dan Abraham: I would say that Olaf has this overwhelming optimism and sincerity about him. And that just never gets old. It's something that we all sort of aspire to and sometimes fall short. But Olaf is always there charging ahead with just this eternal optimism and sweetness that I think is a part of all of us, but maybe we wish we had more of. And it's sort of aspiring.

Trent Correy: I'll just put in there really quickly, Amy, that I grew up on Disney movies in the '90s. I loved Aladdin, by far my favorite movie. And the genie was my favorite character. And I think what I loved about the genie was that he could be hilarious and change shapes, but he could also be sincere. And from an animator's point of view, Olaf's just everyone's favorite character to animate because he can be very emotional. Like Becky mentioned, he's connected to the sisters. But he's also fun to just break apart.

Amy Astley (Moderator): You really can't talk about Olaf without talking about Josh Gad, of course. How much of the story was written versus how much did Josh improvise?

Trent Correy: That's a great question. You know what? Dan and I and Jennifer, we all kind of put our heads together for the script. And Josh, he is just as funny in the movie and on his Instagram and social media as he is in person. He is hilarious. In fact, Dan and I were in the recording booth with him, not behind glass. And I think the hardest part about that was just trying not laugh so we didn't mess up the take. I was covering my mouth most the time, just spitting while Josh just having a blast. But he is so generous with his time. He came in right after Frozen 2 to record this with us. He gives you so much as an actor and a comedian. I just love working with him.

Amy Astley (Moderator): And if you guys wouldn't mind sharing, I was really personally touched about him coming to the wrap party if you guys want to share that with the group here.

Trent Correy: Yeah. I'll tell a quick story. I'd love to hear everyone else too. Josh came in excited, he brought his family and his little kids, which was adorable. And this cracked me up. I still think about it all the time. His little daughter came up to me. I'm not sure how old she is, but she came up to me and she kind of shakes my hand and she says, "I didn't like the short. I loved the short." And I was like, "She is Josh Gad's daughter." The timing was perfect that even I fell for a three-year-old's joke.

Amy Astley (Moderator): "What are some of the fun Easter eggs we should be looking for in Once Upon a Snowman?"

Trent Correy: Oh, well, there's a lot of little fun tidbits throughout the short, because we're showing it from a different perspective, obviously. One of the ones I love is Oaken selling Anna's coronation dress.

Amy Astley (Moderator): What was Josh Gad's response when he was invited back to come back as Olaf for this?

Trent Correy: Well, Josh's so gracious. He understands the process better than any of us. He understands the collaboration and he seems just always thrilled to play the character and to find new things to bring to the character. And I think he found some little unique things to bring to the short.