‘Frozen’ Short to Be Removed From ‘Coco’ Showings

Frozen‘s Olaf will soon be singing and dancing his way out of theaters where Disney-Pixar’s latest film, Coco, is being shown.

According to Mashable, Disney has given the order to pull the 22-minute short “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” from theaters effective December 8th. The move will allow theaters to show extra screenings of Coco each day.

The new Frozen short has not been a hit with kids or parents. “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” is twice as long as the usual Pixar shorts that preceded each new Disney-Pixar release, causing Coco to not actually begin playing until 40-minutes after the advertised showing time.

Some have also complained that, where traditional Pixar shorts are standalone original pieces, “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” relies too heavily on a familiarity with Frozen, Disney’s 2013 animated hit, and that children who haven’t seen that film, perhaps because they were too young at the time of its release, lose interest and become restless during the extended short.

Some more mature viewers have criticized the short of essentially being a glorified advertisement for Frozen 2, which will release in 2019, in place of one of Pixar’s own creative pieces.

Disney has not commented on the report.

Despite complaints about “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” Coco has been well-received by audiences. The film had the fourth-highest Thanksgiving opening weekend of all time, $50 million, following three previous Disney releases: Frozen with $93 million in 2013, Moana with $81 million in 2016, and Toy Story 3 with $80 million in 2010. Coco has kicked off December with a $28 million second frame earned from 3,987 locations.

Inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, the film follows a boy named Miguel who is transported to the land of the dead and seeks out his great-great-grandfather, who is a legendary musician. The film’s box office total should rise to about $110 million by the end of the weekend.

Coco is now playing in theaters. Other upcoming Disney-Pixar movies include The Incredibles 2 opening June 15, 2018, Toy Story 4 on July 21, 2019, and three more still-untitled projects opening March 13 and June 19, 2020, and June 18, 2021.