The world right now is one humungous ice castle in the peaks as people have essentially shut their doors, practising social distancing as Queen Elsa once did. So, Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf in Frozen, and Hyrum Osmond, the head animator for Olaf took it upon themselves to create a series of digital shorts called At Home With Olaf so that viewers can keep receiving warm hugs from everyone’s favourite snowman.
In a live broadcast on Twitter, Gad said that Jennifer Lee, the head of Disney Animation had contacted him directly, asking if he would “provide vocal assistance and voice Olaf.” The actor of course agreed but noted that it was a “little bit of a challenge” because he’s “not good technically”. Nevertheless, they completed the task and the first short is already online.
The first episode, Fun With Snow, is only 40 seconds long. It features the ol’ boneless snowman standing in the middle of a frozen pool, chucking balls of snow into the distance. He giggles giddily at every lob until he rips the head off a little snowgie (and they said this was kid-friendly?). But don’t worry, the snowgie’s bottom half-lives on and goes out of frame to retrieve his missing anatomy, returning to Olaf after which both of them simply laugh their asses off.
You can check out Fun With Snow here:
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The fact that this short was made within the four corners of a home is pretty darn amazing. I mean, it’s just Osmond and Gad, two people creating something special for everyone to enjoy. Yes, the animator might be repurposing backgrounds and CG models from the movies, but nonetheless, the movements are so fluid that you would think a whole team worked on it.
So, before you lose your heads in confinement like a Snowgie, remember to subscribe to Walt Disney Animation Studios’ official Youtube Channel to keep up with Olaf’s charming and hilarious shenanigans. Who knows, after hearing so much about Samantha from Olaf, maybe she’ll do a face reveal in one. A new episode will debut online every week. But of course, we shall be standing next to the heater for the next one, cause some digital shorts are worth melting for.
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