One of the most memorable parts of Disney’s 2013 animated movie Frozen is the song, “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” which would go on to become a bonafide earworm. As it turns out, the song was not originally in the film. Actor Josh Gad, who plays Olaf the snowman in the movie, told PeopleTV that the song was only added after the first test screenings for Frozen came back ice cold.
As Gad tells it, songwriter Robert Lopez told Gad that the movie was a “mess” with its first screenings. Lopez’s idea was to address the problem by adding a new sequence that showcased a “moment where we really see the girls’ affection for each other early on.”
Lopez, who co-wrote “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” with his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez, came to the producers with the song, and six months later, it was in a new cut of Frozen that was much more well-received.
The “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” sequence in the movie, is, as Lopez alluded to, very impactful in helping the audience understand the relationship between Anna and Elsa. The scene shows Anna–over the course of many years–trying to bond with her sister by building a snowman.
After years of waiting, Disney released Frozen 2 in theatres in November 2019. It was a gigantic success, bringing in more than $1.4 billion at the global box office, though you could argue it did not spawn any songs that were as popular and prolific as “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” except for maybe “In the Unknown.”
