Frozen became a hit for Disney with critically acclaimed songs, with the film taking an arguably unconventional approach to the cast members actually singing the movie tracks. After the release of the first movie in 2013, Frozen And Frozen II broke box office records and garnered various award wins and nominations for their compelling stories and original music—a trend that Disney’s Frozen 3 is expected to continue. Still famous for its catchy soundtrack a decade later, the release of Frozen Saw his number-one song, “Let It Go!”, skyrocket on the charts as well.
“Let it go!” Won both an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2014 and a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The Frozen The soundtrack won an Academy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and received a second nomination. It wasn’t just the music that made it Frozen So beloved, but its killer cast and the dynamic characters they played. Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell led the cast of Frozen And Frozen II Like the royal sisters Elsa and Anna. Josh Gad (Olaf), Jonathon Groff (Kristoff) and Santino Fontana (Hans) joined. Frozen A stellar group of voice actors with musical backgrounds.
All of Frozen’s main cast members sing their songs
The cast all have backgrounds in musical theater
Although somewhat surprising given such a famous group of voice actors, the whole Frozen Cast sang their own songs. Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf all have solo songs Frozen And Frozen IIWhile Anna and Hans share a song, Anna shares multiple songs Frozen. Ana finally gets her own solo song Frozen II Along with the rest of the main cast.
Menzel, Goff, Gad, and Fontana each received critical acclaim for their musical performances before being cast in FrozenSo it’s no surprise they sang their own songs. Demi Lovato also recorded a version of “Let it Go!” which was released as a single, which is considered the pop version of Menzel’s version.
While Kristen Bell has previously sung on Broadway, she hasn’t always sung her own songs in movies. Such as when Bell did not sing in BurlesqueAlthough this also plays into her character’s arc as she is jealous of another woman getting to sing instead of lip syncing. Anna’s songs are completely masterful Frozen And Frozen II.
Menzel’s Broadway fame since the mid-1990s earned her a Tony nomination for LeaseA Tony win for WickedAnd another nomination for If/then. In addition to his Broadway history, Frozen Is Not the only Disney movie Josh Gad sings in, as he also lends his singing voice to Le Fou In the live-fight Beauty and the Beast Remake. Frozen Has a full Broadway cast, with both Goff and Fontana had acclaimed Broadway musical careers long before their Disney movie roles.
Frozen’s full chest singing avoided a major Disney problem
Disney has not cast singers in the past
The whole Frozen The cast singing their own songs avoids a major Disney problem, as many iconic songs are not sung by the stars of the Disney movies. Disney has had several main voice actors over the years, but their voices are not always suitable for the singing roles, so it is not unusual to cast someone else for the musical parts instead. for example, Linda Larkin memorably voiced Princess Jasmine in AladdinBut the singing voice of the character can be credited to Lea Salonga. Salonga sang all of Jasmine’s songs, including “A Whole New World”.
Other Disney voice actors who did not sing their characters’ songs include Matthew Broderick (Simba), Ming-Na Wen (Mulan), Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), and Scott Weinger (Aladdin). Although the Disney songs are still iconic to this day, having separate voice and singing casts causes a problem with recognition. Not only does it cause confusion in crediting the singers for their importance to such films, but it also disconnects the voice actors from the characters.
Frozen, On the other hand, was able to promote the movie by having the voice actors perform the songs on stage and still keep big names voicing their main characters.
Disney is starting to follow the Frozen formula
Voice actors have sung backgrounds
After the release of FrozenDisney has actually made a concerted effort for their animated musicals to have voice talent that can both portray the characters and sing the songs. Since the release of FrozenDisney has also released Moana, EncantoAnd wishWhat are all musicals. All of these movies featured casts who could also sing the parts.
Moana catapulted Auli’i Cravalho into the spotlight, allowing her to take on more musical roles in the future, like that of Janis in the last Mean Girls Musical. She and Moana Costar Dwayne Johnson are actually reprising theirs Moana Voice and song roles for Moana 2 Also in 2024.
In the case of EncantoNot only did Disney cast voice actors who could both sing and act, but they also used a primarily Latino cast to portray the characters, adding a layer of authenticity to the roles. The whole attitude of EncantoIncluding lead Stephanie Beatriz, also got to perform at the Hollywood Bowl in a live show of the movie, allowing Disney to keep the cast intact instead of getting singers to perform concerts.
While wish It didn’t do as well at the box office as Disney might have liked in celebration of the studio’s 100th anniversary, Disney’s casting of Ariana DeBose as the leading heroine and Chris Pine as the villain of the movie continues the trend of Get musically talented actors to fill the roles. DeBose appeared in the West Side Story Remake while Pine appeared in In the forestBoth to critical acclaim. Add them in wish Proves that Disney is taking the right direction with its voice casting after the success of Frozen.
The new vocal trend helped boost Disney movies
Casting talented singers is ushering in a new era of Disney success
The 2010s marked the beginning of something of a renaissance for Disney, with frozen, Along 2010s flatten, Widely regarded as the movies that marked the beginning of it. A key reason frozen, flatten, And more recent movies like Mona, Are so beloved is their soundtracks. The return to casting musicians for the voices of Disney characters is a core component of this.
Although there were a few notable exceptions, such as 2009’s The Princess and the Frog, The 2000s are now widely seen as a low point when it comes to the history of animated Disney movies. The studio seemed to struggle to find its footing when it came to CGI (outside of Pixar releases), and films like Meet the Robinsons And Bolt Did not meet expectations. Coincidentally, many animated Disney movies during this period also did not have musical numbers.
Then Rapunzel Came in 2010, and felt like Disney has finally managed to merge modern technologies with the essences of their cel-by-cel Golden Era of animated musicals in the 1990s. While the story and animation were also praised, it was the songs Rapunzel That won over fans. Memorable tracks like “Mother Knows Best” and “When Will My Life Begin?” Would not have been received anywhere near as well if cast members Donna Murphy and Mandy Moore were not accomplished singers.
The trend then continued with the likes of Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff in 2013’s cast. frozen, And it’s a formula that Disney seems to have stuck with ever since. It’s certainly proven successful, as Frozen II became the highest-grossing animated Disney movie of all time. The Disney animated movie renaissance of the 2010s was fueled by the songs and soundtracks of its releases, and with talented singers in the cast of movies like Frozen was the secret ingredient.