Disney recently released via the Yahoo! Movies entertainment site new character images and bios for the main characters of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 53rd animated motion picture Frozen. Also published today on the Yahoo! Movies site is a new interview with Frozen directors Chris Buck (Tarzan, Surf’s Up) and Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph).
The images finally give us an up-close, official look at each of the main characters of the film, including Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell), Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel), the Duke of Weselton (voiced by Alan Tudyk), Hans (voiced by Santino Fontana) Kristoff (voiced by Johnathan Groff), and Olaf the snowman (voiced by Josh Gad). Make sure to read the character bios published alongside each image, too.
While the interview with Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee doesn’t reveal many new details, it does highlight that the film is a “big, epic comedy,” that it’s set somewhere in Scandinavia, and that the relationship between sisters Anna and Elsa provides “the emotional connection for the story.”
Jennifer Lee states:
“I think also that the movie, the story itself is big and complex. It’s not just a simple tale. It’s one that starts with great characters you meet and relate to but they end up on a journey that gets bigger and bigger with a lot of surprises. So, I think we’ve really pushed the scope of the film bigger than anything we’ve done before.”
The film is also a musical, with songs written by the husband and wife writing team of Robert (Bobby) Lopez (Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, Disney’s 2011 animated feature Winnie the Pooh) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (also 2011’s Winnie the Pooh). About the music, Chris Buck said:
“[Bobby] does bring a whimsy to it. It still can be fairly adult at times. You know, the adults will get it and then if the kids don’t, it won’t matter, they’ll still enjoy the songs for what they are. But, I really enjoy the songs and I think a lot of people will and have already, people that have seen it. I think it takes the Disney music to a slightly different place, which I think is refreshing.”
The directors also feel the honor and the pressure of working on the next great Disney animated feature film. Jennifer Lee said, “The pressure of knowing that you are hoping to contribute to this canon that’s extraordinary and loved by so many. That’s felt every second of the day, I think.” In response to the same question, Chris Buck said, “It’s like, ‘Okay, we’re working on the next classic.’ And we haven’t finished it yet!”
Frozen opens in U.S. theaters in 3D on November 27, 2013.
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