Crew amazed at 'Frozen' craze in Korea

From left to right, director Chris Buck, supervisor Lee Hyun-min, director Jennifer Lee, and producer Peter Del Vecho pose for pictures at the press conference for Frozen 2 held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Seoul, Monday./ Yonhap

By Jung Hae-myoung

“Frozen 2” became a global box office hit as soon as it was released last week, following the phenomenal success of the original.

The production crew rejoiced at the news.

“It's incredible to see the response,” Chris Buck, a co-director of the film, said during a news conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Monday. “We use the word 'overwhelming' a lot. It don't know how else to explain it and it is very humbling.”

Buck arrived in Seoul with other crew members ― director Jennifer Lee, producer Peter Del Vecho and Lee Hyun-min, a supervisor for the creation of Anna's character, days after the animated movie hit local theaters Thursday.

“Frozen 2” easily conquered the local box office, continuing Korea's Frozen craze.

The crew said they were overwhelmed.

Director Jennifer Lee spoke of a strong feeling that there was more to the story of the two sisters, saying she and the production team “wanted to complete the journey.”

Lee said she became even more certain after seeing the animation's popularity all around the world.

Buck said the core of the film goes back to familial love.

“As film makers we decide on stories that mean something to us. There are all different forms of true love, and Disney tackles some of the loves that could be romantic love. We wanted to do something different and the idea was that true love is more like familial love. It is love between families, love between sisters, and that was something that was very exciting to us. The power of Anna and Elsa also goes back to that love between sisters, and that is the key to the “Frozen” films, and the emotion between them.”

The directors also said the sisters ended up where they should be.

“We had this personality test online, and it turned out Anna was the leader and Elsa was the protector. And that was perfect for us because we thought that Anna would make a perfect Queen. And Elsa always has this wonderful side of that she is part of nature. To have someone who has a wonderful power and connection with nature to finally be free in nature where she belongs felt so good and right,” Buck said.

As the song “Let It Go” was the core of “Frozen” craze, producer Peter Del Vecho spoke about the pressure he had been dealing with during the making of the songs for Frozen 2.

“It is very much going back and forth of songwriting and the script. It is the story that is leading the song and the song leading the story, which makes it go forward. And there comes a point where characters cannot talk and they have to sing their emotions,” he said.

The release of Frozen 2 comes five years after the first film, and it has been grabbing attention around the world, from children to adults.

While Frozen 1 showed characters finding their own identity, Frozen 2 depicts how the characters explore the unknown in the world.

The first Frozen film made a total profit of $1.28 billion, an international record.

Currently, the number of viewers in Korea visiting theaters to watch Frozen 2 amounts to 4.4 million as of Monday, which is a similar record to the film “Avengers: Endgame.”