How Frozen took over the world

Frozen takes Disney's themes of love, royalty and the search for independence and turns them on their head.

Do you want to build a global phenomenon? That’s exactly what Disney did with its stratospherically successful animated film, Frozen. Kat Brown explains what went so right.

Do you want to build a snowman? No? Well, sorry, but you no longer have the choice. That lyric, from Disney's animated behemoth, Frozen, has become a siren call to the millions who have lapped up the story of orphaned princesses Elsa and Anna. It isn't even a year since it was released, but it has become a success of monster proportions, taking Disney as much by surprise as it has parents, who have spent the year frenziedly trying to track down Elsa Snow Glow dolls.

Frozen has left countless children and adults powerless against its charms, me included. I lack small children to take to the cinema, but with Frozen, I didn't need an excuse. Pixar's successful navigation of the kid-adult divide has long made it acceptable to watch children's films sans enfant. And in Frozen, a nostalgic nerve has been hit among a generation who grew up in the 80s and 90s age of renaissance Disney.

Over the past 30 years, female characters have been getting stronger and more independent - and then ended up with a kiss and a wedding. One of the reasons that Frozen is such a joy is that it delivers a true Disney happy ending with something better. This time it's a princess story where the girls win the day, without the help of a royal boyfriend. My favourite Frozen fan picture shows a bundle of Disney heroines squashed together, with Elsa on her own, looking smug. The caption: "So you're a princess? How nice. I'm a queen."

Frozen takes Disney's themes of love, royalty and the search for independence and turns them on their head. One of the biggest cheers comes when the lonely, isolated Anna is banned from getting married to someone she's only known a few hours - a classic Disney premise. When Elsa gets a magical makeover, it's one she gives herself. True love does indeed save the day, but it's the love between estranged sisters. And Anna's apparently perfect prince turns out to be a terrible cad.

"They've been working to refine the format since 2009's The Princess And The Frog, which was perceived as an underperformer," says British film journalist Helen O'Hara. "It's about getting the right balance of character, comedy, romance and songs, and they've sort of nailed it with Frozen."

Disney's well-trodden plot points have been gloriously reimagined. What makes it a smash is that it does this while still delivering the much-needed "warm hugs", and excellent gowns. Olaf the snowman delivers the wisecracks in the sidekick role, but is innocent and charming enough that they become funnier and more subversive. Prince Hans is a textbook love interest, but so normal that you fall in love with him too - which makes his later villainy all the more hardcore. And Kristoff the iceman - not a prince, not magic - is the rarest thing of all: a really nice bloke.

The Oscar-winning song, Let It Go, has taken on a life of its own, co-opted as an LGBT anthem, a self-motivator, and a damn good karaoke choice. One YouTube commenter summed up the film's appeal on Disney's sing-along Let It Go video (377,553,262 views at the time of writing): "It has likeable characters, a lot of focus on interpersonal relationships, and subverts or plays with common Disney tropes. Plus the songs are nice, and not just this one."

People really love the songs. Thousands of equally excitable children and adults descended on London's Royal Albert Hall for three sing-along shows recently. There's also a sing-along DVD, released in time for the film's anniversary.

Videos of people singing the soundtrack have flooded YouTube, and they're being allowed to stay. Disney, not usually a company famed for laughing at itself (see copyright lawsuits passim), has finally loosened up its attitude to the digital world - and it's paid off in spades. There are countless YouTube clips, makeup tutorials, memes, fan art and parodies, but rather than seeing them as the enemy, Disney has embraced them as free advertising. All of which has helped Frozen to become its first big internet success.

"The internet helped build the sense that you had to be involved," says O'Hara.

"Frozen has got to the point where everyone is aware of it even if they haven't seen it. Everyone is aware of the big number and that's really incredible. I don't think that's happened with a Disney film before, and that is the internet. It broke through, and broke out."

Frozen has become that curious thing: a phenomenon that is so ubiquitous, it's more about what it hasn't been connected to, than what it has. Pokemon, Captain America, even The Shining have all had their day in Frozen's sun. Even a Breaking Bad parody called "Do You Want To Build A Meth Lab?" has been made, racking up more than a million views in a day.

In hindsight, it seems mad that Disney didn't see how successful Frozen would be, but, then, did anyone? By April, merchandise was all but unobtainable. Disgruntled buyers pointed out that Elsa's Light Up Wig was basically leftover Shimmer And Shine stock from Tangled, repurposed with a different hairclip. Not that it mattered: like everything Frozen touched, it sold out.

Frozen is by no means perfect. Elsa is a selfish old bag, and few of the songs are as memorable as Let It Go, but it all just works. Frozen wins you over like a picturesque snow day. And in one area at least, Disney has really made a seismic shift. When I asked my Twitter followers why they loved the film, one reply stood out: "Because to both of my boys, princess and prince are equally as fun to be when they play. All because of Frozen."