Once Upon a Snowman Filmmakers Tease Other Disney Easter Eggs

Over the weekend, Disney+ subscribers were treated to Once Upon a Snowman, a short film that serves as the latest extension of Disney’s monumentally successful Frozen franchise. The short – which is set smack-dab in the middle of the events of Frozen – showcases the first steps and first moments of Olaf, the lovable snowman voiced by Josh Gad. Given the short’s place in the overall Frozen franchise – and Disney’s love for throwing in Easter eggs and references – it was safe to assume that fans could expect some delightful nods in Once Upon a Snowman. As the film’s creative team explained during a recent virtual press event for Once Upon a Snowman, there are a handful of nods — including to previously-unseen moments from Frozen itself.

“Oh, well, there’s a lot of little fun tidbits throughout the short, because we’re showing it from a different perspective, obviously,” co-director and co-writer Trent Correy revealed. One of the ones I love is Oaken selling Anna’s coronation dress. …love that idea that, in the movie, you see Anna walkout in her new, winter clothing to go up the North Mountain and we get to show what happened to that dress and that Oaken made a small profit.”

In addition, the short also contains a few nods to other Disney titles, through the locations that Olaf sees while looking through a stereoscope.

“There [are] other little Easter eggs within the cards that Olaf looks at in the stereoscope,” creative consultant Peter Del Vecho explained. “There are a few different shots in there that people might be keen on from other films in that. …We might see a Moana [shot] in there. You might see a little Moana. …Then, I think there might be a Tangled image?”

You can check out the official synopsis for Once Upon a Snowman below!

“The previously untold origins of Olaf, the innocent and insightful, summer-loving snowman who melted hearts in the Academy Award®-winning 2013 Disney animated feature, Frozen, and its acclaimed 2019 sequel, are revealed in the all-new Walt Disney Animation Studios animated short, Once Upon a Snowman. The film follows Olaf’s first steps as he comes to life and searches for his identity in the snowy mountains outside Arendelle.”

Once Upon a Snowman is now available to stream exclusively on Disney+.