All the ways Frozen changed the world – from a theme song streamed three BILLION times to 40 dolls sold every minute
IT’S hard to believe, but Frozen turns ten this month.
The Disney blockbuster, which tells the story of Snow Queen Elsa, her loveable, goofy sister Anna and Olaf the snowman, became an instant classic when it premiered in November 2013.
It earned a staggering $1.2billion (£972million) worldwide and became the fifth highest-grossing film of all time – and by far the most profitable animation.
A decade on and it is still melting hearts.
It doubled the popularity of the name Elsa and increased tourism to Norway, which the location leans on, by 40 per cent, and spawned a song that has been watched on YouTube more than 3BILLION times.
We take a look at the facts surrounding the phenomenon . . .
READ MORE DISNEY NEWS
Norwegian tourism up
ELSA and Anna live in the fictional Arendelle, which is heavily influenced by Norwegian nature, culture and tradition.
Clearly many kids (and adults) wanted to experience Norway for themselves thanks to the film.
The country reported an impressive 40 per cent rise in tourism by 2014, with firms such as Up Norway offering Frozen-inspired tours.
The cold never bothered us anyway . . .
Most read in Film
Creating influencers
LONG before lipsyncing on TikTok was a thing, Frozen’s soundtrack became a karaoke smash.
Videos such as “Real Grandparents Sing Frozen’s Love Is An Open Door” racked up millions of views in 2015, just as the older generation began using Facebook more.
One couple from Texas, Sam and Nia – who have 2.5million subscribers on YouTube – had their first viral hit with “Good-Looking Parents Sing Disney’s Frozen”, which has been watched 23million times.
Hello doll
TOYS from the new Barbie movie are set to top children’s Christmas lists this year.
But last year Elsa and Anna dolls were still the absolute must-have.
Between 2019 and 2022 forty were sold every MINUTE around the world, which would have been boosted by the film’s sequel, released in 2019.
Unlike Barbie, Elsa and Anna sing their most famous songs, Let It Go and For The First Time In Forever, when you press them.
Famous fans
MANY celebrities have admitted to being huge fans of Frozen – but Taylor Swift is probably the most famous.
In 2015, as part of her 1989 tour, the pop superstar took a moment to perform Let It Go dressed as Olaf, accompanied by movie vocalist Idina Menzel, with 55,000 fans in Tampa singing it right back at her.
From Arendelle to the West End
A MUSICAL movie this big was always going to be turned into a stage show.
And having opened in the West End in September 2021, it has become just as big a hit as the film.
Some 1.5million Frozen fans have been to see the London theatre production, which is about to celebrate its 1,000th performance.
N-ice work!
Idina gets more views than Adele
FROZEN fans worldwide are still desperate for their shot at belting out the film’s most famous tune, Let It Go, by Idina Menzel.
Disney’s singalong video has been watched a massive 3.2billion times on YouTube.
That is more than Adele’s chart-topper Hello, which has only 3billion views, and Justin Bieber’s Baby, with 3.1billion.
Five-hour queue for Florida ride
FANS waited FIVE HOURS to experience Frozen Ever After when the ride opened at Disney World in 2016.
The attraction is located in Epcot’s Norwegian pavilion and takes visitors on a journey through Arendelle from the Troll Valley to the North Mountain, where Elsa’s ice palace is located.
The cast even recorded songs and dialogue specially for the ride.
More streams than Ed
THE touching story of sisterhood isn’t Frozen’s only draw.
There is absolutely no doubt that the music is also a massive part of the movie’s appeal.
The soundtrack has garnered more than a million sales, and albums from the first and second films combined have had more than 4billion streams on Spotify — more than Ed Sheeran’s debut album, +.
Copycat Plaits
ELSA’S cute fishtail plait had fans desperate to replicate it.
Girls and women of all ages began wearing their locks just like the animated movie icon, including singer and actress Selena Gomez.
The look remains popular, today, with thousands of pins on Pinterest and web videos giving styling tutorials.
Hashtag #Elsa on TikTok has had 13.4billion views.
Princess parties
KIDS love to play dress-up — and more than two million little ones here have owned an Elsa or Anna costume.
Beth Revens, 25, of Hertfordshire, pictured, is proud to wear Elsa’s famous blue gown as she performs at multiple princess parties each weekend.
She says: “Children nearly always want Elsa. The majority, probably 85 per cent, of my parties, are Elsa or Elsa and Anna together.
“She’s so popular because the film is about how strong she is, and having difficulties in how different she is.
“It’s not the love story for her, like it is for the other Disney princesses.
“That’s what makes her unique compared to everyone else.”
You havin' an Olaf
THE name Elsa was considered pretty old-fashioned until Frozen.
But following the film’s success it featured in the top 100 baby names in the UK for the first time in nearly a century.
The number of babies with the moniker almost doubled from 243 in 2013 to 537 2014.
Parents even started calling their kids after snowman Olaf, with 52 babies named after him in 2014, and 76 the next.
Kids warm to Frozen books
DESPITE literary experts finding that more than half of kids and young people do not enjoy reading in their free time, the Frozen books are among the most popular items of movie merch.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Research showed that out of everyone who bought a themed souvenir after watching the film, 33 per cent opted for a book.
That equated to around 1.6million children across the UK.
Frozen set to shine on
By Dulcie Pearce
CAN I just say something crazy?
Frozen is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best Disney film ever made.
The exquisitely put together production, with badass female leads, a hilarious snowman and songs that are the ultimate earworms, means there is nothing not to love.
Yes, I can bang on about how good Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is.
Or how I’ll always have to catch Shawshank Redemption if it’s on the telly.
But with Frozen, I choose to watch it at least four times a year.
And I don’t even have children, so there’s no outside pressure whatsoever to make me want to see Elsa & co.
I just love watching them blast out their power ballads and laugh in the face of romantic love to rule Arendelle.
These Disney versions of feminists are the antidote anyone needs to a bad day or a break-up.
For the first time in for ever, it’s a Disney film that will not date or gather dust.