Who said film festivals are mostly about grave films on serious issues such as war and poverty? On Saturday, the Dubai International Film Festival looked to Disney’s animated fairy tale Frozen to spread some cheer before Christmas.
Frozen, loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, is the story of Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) who sets off on a journey to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.
The film has taken the US box office by storm and is considered a leading Oscar contender for best animated film (animation fans in the UAE can see it on general release on December 19). But directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee said their intention was not to make a classic.
“We just set out to make a good movie. When you think of a classic, you think of Pinocchio and Cinderella and they have been around for a long time,” said Buck in an interview with tabloid! at Diff on Saturday. Their aim? To give their animation a unique flavour.
“Our intention was to create a world that nobody has ever seen. And it’s often the characters that make a film unique. We both love flawed characters that make them more relatable,” said Lee. It took five years and a 600-strong crew to make Frozen come alive.
“I see these movies like going to college. It takes around four years to graduate and it takes around the same time to make our films,” said Buck, who was behind the 1999 Disney classic Tarzan and 2007 Surf’s Up.
While creating those charming characters — such as the funny snowman Olaf — were relatively easy, animating ice and snow was one of their biggest visual challenges.
“The first ones we did were like Styrofoam peanuts that are used to pack stuff. It didn’t look great. So finally our guys made software that was appropriate and looked like ice. As a part of our research, we went to ice hotels in Qubec in Canada. We had to see how light reacts to ice and how we can recreate that,” said Buck.
Their efforts seem to have paid off. The reviews have been positive and they have managed to strike a chord with both adults and children.
“We think of all ages when we are making film. We want the youngest and the oldest to enjoy. The children tend to get it right away about love vs fear and the power of love. But when you show the same film to adults, they take away different feelings and emotions. We want every scene to appeal to all ages,” said Lee.
