'I truly thought Frozen was going to be an afterthought...' Josh Gad could not predict success of Disney film
Josh Gad - who voices Olaf the snowman - never thought that Frozen would become one of Disney's most successful animations of all-time when they made the movie.
Josh Gad thought Frozen would be "afterthought" in the cannon of Disney animated films.
More than a decade after its release, Frozen remains one of Disney’s most successful feature animations, but Gad - who voices Olaf the snowman in the franchise - he had no expectation it could become a global hit.
In a recent interview with Collider, Gad revealed that he and others underestimated the film’s potential in the lead-up to its 2013 premiere.
He said: “I truly thought Frozen was going to be an afterthought. I really did. Because Disney hadn't yet had that, like, second resurgence.
"I was just like, 'Yeah, it'll come out, people will like it.' It wasn't until right after that first weekend when I started to hear people playing 'Let It Go' in their cars and singing it that I was like, 'What is going on here?' But you never really know."
Gad noted that while 2010's Tangled - which was based on the Brothers Grimm German fairy tale Rapunzel - had performed well just a few years prior, there was still uncertainty about whether a new Disney animation could recapture the magic of its '90s renaissance, the "second golden age" of hits which included films such as Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
He said: “Tangled did well. It did really well, but it was sort of still this kind of nebulous, like, ‘Will Disney movies ever reach the level of that second golden age of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King?”
Released in November 2013, Frozen went on to gross over $1.2 billion worldwide, win two Academy Awards; Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Let It Go.
Frozen 2 followed in 2019, surpassing its predecessor by banking $1.45 billion at the global box office. Disney has since confirmed two more sequels.
Gad, 44, will be reprising his role as Olaf in the new movies and has teased that it will be the "grandest story" ever told with the characters, which are led by Queen Elsa and Princess Anna who rule Arendelle.
He said: “We have not started recording. We have not heard songs yet. I was lucky enough to get sort of a preview of what the movie is, and it's going to be worth the wait.
"It's pretty extraordinary what they're doing. Pretty extraordinary. For me, my whole thing was don't do a sequel unless there's a reason to do a sequel. If you have a story worth telling, then call us up and let's do it. To [director-and-writer] Jennifer Lee's credit, she really took that note and gave herself that note and has created something that's going to be worth the wait.
"I think the plan, what they've announced, is that there is a Frozen 3 and 4 in the works. The story that I've been kind of previewed is the grandest story we've ever done, so I anticipate it's going to be a little too much for one movie."
