Disney Brings Out 'Frozen' Cast Ahead of Oscars
9 Feb, 2014 By: Chris Tribbey
LOS ANGELES — Actress Idina Menzel (Enchanted, Rent) was halfway through a rousing performance of “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen when she made a minor mistake.
The conductor and orchestra were ready to let it slide. The small crowd the studio treated to the event didn’t mind a bit either. But Menzel wasn’t having it. “From the top,” begged Menzel (who voices Elsa in the film). She ran through it again, without a hitch, and earned a standing ovation.
Hey, it’s an Oscar-nominated song from a box office giant ($914 million worldwide), on a soundtrack that’s sold more than 860,000 copies to date, according to Billboard magazine. Nothing wrong with perfection.
“[The cast] wanted to get together one more time … consider this our love letter to all of you,” said actor Josh Gad (Jobs, Love & Other Drugs), who voices Olaf in Frozen and also took the stage to sing “In Summer” from the film. Among those in attendance at the small jazz restaurant were Frozen co-directors Chris Buck (Surf’s Up) and Jennifer Lee, score composer Christophe Beck (The Hangover, The Muppets), and Toy Story and Cars director John Lasseter.
“Apparently Disney forgot it has a concert hall named after it,” Gad joked of the cozy locale. “So instead we’re at this bar mitzvah venue.”
Actress Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars,” “Gossip Girl”), the voice of Frozen’s heroine, Anna, performed “For the First Time in Forever,” “Love Is an Open Door” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” And she didn’t hold back in sharing her excitement at being a Disney princess.
“I’ve wanted to be a Disney princess since I was 5 years old,” she said. “That’s not something I’m just saying, I really, really wanted to be one. It’s a bit surreal I actually got to be one, and help shape [Anna]. One thing I like about her, that I share, is she gets way too excited about things.”
Disney brought out Frozen’s all-star voice cast just a few weeks before the March 2 Academy Awards, where in addition to the nomination of “Let it Go” for original song, the film itself earned a Best Animated Feature nomination.
Win or lose at the Oscars, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment can count on Frozen being a top title on disc this spring, releasing it March 18 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc combo pack, with an early Digital HD (and digital 3D) release Feb. 25.
Bonus features for Blu-ray and digital include “D’frosted: Disney’s Journey From Hans Christian Anderson to Frozen,” deleted scenes, music videos, trailers and the original theatrical short “Get A Horse!”