Frozen (2013 film)

Frozen is a 2013 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's 1844 fairy tale "The Snow Queen", it was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee from a screenplay by the latter. Featuring the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, and Santino Fontana, the film follows Anna, the princess of Arendelle, who sets off on a journey alongside the iceman Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and the snowman Olaf, to find her estranged sister Elsa, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped their kingdom in eternal winter.

Frozen underwent several story treatments before being commissioned in 2011 as a screenplay by Lee. Christophe Beck was hired to compose the film's orchestral score, while Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote the songs. Frozen had its general theatrical release on November 27, 2013. It was praised for its visuals, screenplay, themes, music, and voice acting; some film critics consider Frozen to be Disney's best animated film since the studio's renaissance era. Frozen won a significant number of major awards, including the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, and two Grammy Awards.

During its theatrical run, Frozen grossed over $1.280 billion in worldwide box office revenue and became the highest-grossing animated film, a record it hold until overtaken by the remake of The Lion King in August 2019, and finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing film of 2013 and the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time. The film was described as a popular culture phenomenon with its songs, characters, storytelling elements, and appeal to a general audience. By January 2015, it was the top-selling film in the US in Blu-ray home video sales. Its popularity resulted in the launch of a franchise, including an animated short in 2015, an animated featurette in 2017, and a feature-length sequel, Frozen II, in November 2019.