Filmmakers like to have some special fun, often inserting inside jokes into their productions. This has become especially popular in animated features. The recent film Frozen from Disney contains a number of hidden gems in the form of characters and odes to previous movies. WELCOME TO ARENDELLE - Elsas coronation draws guests from far-away lands-and movies. From Tangled, Eugene Fitzherbert aka Flynn Rider and Rapunzel even made the guest list.
SWEET REPEAT - Annas affinity for chocolate summons sweet treats all the way from the land of Sugar Rush in Wreck-It Ralph.
ITS A MOUSE! - Disneys famous icon makes the quickest of cameos in Frozen. A small Mickey Mouse plush sits on one of the lower shelves in Wandering Oakens Trading Post and Sauna.
REPURPOSED PAINTING - Artist Lisa Keenes painting-completed during the development phase of Tangled and based on The Swing by Jean-Honor Fragonard-made such an impression on Frozen filmmakers, it became part of Annas signature song, For the First Time in Forever, when she leaps into the air and mimics the paintings pose.
Walt Disney Animation Studios, the studio behind Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, presents Frozen, a stunning big-screen comedy adventure. Fearlessoptimist Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) sets off on an epic journey-teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven-to find her sister Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf (voice of Josh Gad), Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.
The film is directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan, Surfs Up) and Jennifer Lee (screenwriter, Wreck-It Ralph), who also wrote the screenplay. It is produced by Peter Del Vecho (Winnie the Pooh, The Princess and the Frog). Featuring original songs from Kristen Anderson-Lopez (In Transit, Winnie the Pooh) and Tony winner Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q), and an original score by Christophe Beck (The Muppets, Oscar -winning short Paperman), Frozen hits theaters in 3D on Nov. 27, 2013.
In Frozen, fearless optimist Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf (voice of Josh Gad) in a race to find Annas sister Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.
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Kristen Bell will star in the feature film Veronica Mars, reprising the title role. Her film credits include the comedy Hit & Run, written and directed by Dax Shepard and co-produced by Bell, as well as Movie 43, Some Girl(s), You Again, Burlesque, When in Rome, Couples Retreat, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and David Mamets Spartan. On the small screen, Bell stars in Showtimes House of Lies with Don Cheadle, and has also starred in Heroes and Veronica Mars. Broadway credits include The Crucible and Tom Sawyer.
Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award as best actress in a musical for her role as Elphaba in Broadways Wicked (2004), landed her first role on Broadway in 1995 in the Tony Award-winning musical Rent. Film credits include Enchanted and the feature film Rent. She has appeared in a recurring role on TVs Glee and recently released Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony, a live concert with an orchestra led by composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch. Menzel is currently on a North American concert tour.
Jonathan Groffs film credits include Taking Woodstock, Twelve Thirty, The Conspirator and C.O.G., which was part of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. TV credits include Foxs Glee, the Starz series Boss and CBS The Good Wife. Groff received a Tony nomination for his performance in the Tony -winning musical Spring Awakening, and appeared in the Public Theaters revival of Hair and off-Broadway plays Prayer for My Enemy and The Submission, among others. He made his West End debut in Ira Levins Deathtrap, and appeared in the 2010 Tony -winning Red by John Logan at the Mark Taper Forum.
Josh Gad, veteran of the Groundlings Improv troupe and founder of The Lost Nomads Comedy Troupe, appears alongside Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in The Internship. He stars as Apple co-creator Steve Wozniak in the biopic Jobs, and as Sam Kinison in the upcoming biopic directed by David Permut. Gad also stars in the Zach Braff Kickstarter-funded indie project Wish I Was Here. His credits include Thanks for Sharing, Love & Other Drugs and Crossing Over. On Broadway, he was nominated for a Tony for his role in The Book of Mormon, and also appeared in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Kristen Anderson-Lopez made her off-Broadway debut at Primary Stages with In Transit, a musical performed entirely without accompaniment, inspired by the rhythms and sounds of life on the subway. Robert Lopez is the Tony -, Grammy -, and Emmy - winning co-creator of the worldwide smash hit Broadway musicals Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon. Together with his wife and collaborator, he co-wrote songs for the feature film Winnie the Pooh and Finding Nemo: The Musical, a beloved fixture at in Disneys Animal Kingdom since 2006. Their next project for stage is an original musical called Up Here.
Director Chris Buck helmed the 1999 Disney classic Tarzan (with Kevin Lima) as well as the 2007 Oscar -nominated Surfs Up (with Ash Brannon). His animation credits also include 1989s The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and Pocahontas (1995).
Director/screenwriter Jennifer Lee is one of the screenplay writers of last years hit arcade-hopping comedy adventure Wreck-It Ralph. Her screen adaptation of John Steinbecks The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Kn
