Frozen became a hit for Disney with critically acclaimed songs, with the film taking an arguably unconventional approach to the cast members who actually sing the movies’ tracks. Following the first movie’s release in 2013, Frozen and Frozen II broke box office records and garnered various awards wins and nominations for their compelling narratives and original music – a trend that Disney’s Frozen 3 is expected to continue. Still renowned for its catchy soundtrack a decade later, the release of Frozen saw its 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. Tthe Frozen soundtrack won an Academy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and had a second nomination. It was not just the music that made Frozen so beloved, but its killer cast and the dynamic characters they played. Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell led the casts of Frozen and Frozen II as the royal sisters Elsa and Anna. Joining them were Josh Gad (Olaf), Jonathon Groff (Kristoff), and Santino Fontana (Hans) to give 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
While somewhat surprising given such a renowned group of voice actors, the entire Frozen cast sang their own songs as well. Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf all have solo songs in Frozen and Frozen II, while Anna and Hans share a song, and Anna shares multiple songs in Frozen. Anna finally gets her own solo song in Frozen II alongside the rest of the main cast.
Menzel, Groff, Gad, and Fontana each received critical acclaim for their musical performances prior to being cast in Frozen, so it is no surprise they sang their own songs. Demi Lovato also recorded a version of “Let it Go!” that was released as a single, which is considered the pop version of Menzel’s rendition.
While Kristen Bell has previously sung on Broadway, she has not always sung her own songs in movies, such as when Bell didn’t sing in Burlesque, though that also plays into her character’s arc as she is jealous of another woman getting to sing instead of lip sync. Anna’s songs are completely Bell’s own in Frozen and Frozen II.
Menzel’s Broadway fame since the mid-1990s has earned her a Tony nomination for Rent, a Tony win for Wicked, and 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-action Beauty and the Beast remake. Frozen has a full Broadway cast, with both Groff and Fontana having acclaimed Broadway musical careers long before their Disney movie roles.
Frozen’s Entire Cast Singing Avoided A Major Disney Problem
Disney Didn’t Cast Singers In The Past
The entire Frozen 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 some major voice actors throughout the years, but their voices are not always fit for the singing roles, so it is not uncommon to cast someone else for the musical parts instead. For instance, Linda Larkin memorably voiced Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, but the character’s singing voice 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 these Disney songs are still iconic to this day, having separate voice and singing casts causes an issue 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 Singing Backgrounds
Following the release of Frozen, Disney has actually made a concentrated effort for their animated musicals to feature voice talent that can both portray the characters and sing the songs. Since the release of Frozen, Disney has also released Moana, Encanto, and Wish, which are all musicals. All of those movies featured casts that 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 Janice in the recent Mean Girls musical. She and Moana costar Dwayne Johnson are actually reprising their Moana voice and song roles for Moana 2 in 2024 as well.
In the case of Encanto, not only did Disney cast voice actors who could both sing and act, but they also employed a primarily Latin cast to portray the characters, adding a layer of authenticity to the roles. The entire cast of Encanto, including 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 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 movie’s villain continues the trend of getting musically talented actors to fill the roles. DeBose appeared in the West Side Story remake while Pine appeared in Into The Woods, both to critical acclaim. Casting them in Wish proves that Disney is taking the right direction with its voice casting after the success of Frozen.
This New Vocal Trend Has Helped Boost Disney Movies
Casting Talented Singers Is Ushering In A New Era Of Disney Success
The 2010s marked the start of something of a renaissance for Disney, with Frozen, alongside 2010’s Tangled, widely being regarded as the movies that marked the beginning of it. A key reason Frozen, Tangled, and more recent movies like Moana, are so beloved is their soundtracks. The return to casting musicians for the voices of Disney characters is a core component of this.
While there were a few notable exceptions, like 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 didn’t meet expectations. Coincidentally, many animated Disney movies during this period also didn’t feature musical numbers.
Then Rapunzel came in 2010, and felt like Disney had 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 in Rapunzel that won over fans. Memorable tracks like “Mother Knows Best” and “When Will My Life Begin?” wouldn’t have been received anywhere nearly as well if cast members Donna Murphy and Mandy Moore weren’t accomplished singers.
The trend then continued with the likes of Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff in the cast of 2013’s Frozen, and it’s a formula Disney appears to have stuck with ever since. It’s certainly proved successful, as Frozen II became the highest-grossing animated Disney movie of all time. The Disney animated movie renaissance of the 2010s has been fueled by the songs and soundtracks of its releases, and having talented singers in the cast of movies like Frozen was the secret ingredient.