Ice Age 2014: Remembering the Year ‘Frozen’ Took Over
Frozen, Disney’s November 2013 princess flick, tells the story of two reclusive sisters, Anna and Elsa, who inherit the kingdom of Arendelle and must defend it from Duke of Weselton and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. They succeed, of course, but they also grow as people, sing a few incredibly catchy tunes and befriend a talking snowman who can’t wait for summer. If you have, interact with or understand the concept of kids, you know that they went crazy for this, but even eye-witness accounts don’t reveal the full picture.
In 2014, the film and its soundtrack (led by Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go”) outsold all other albums and DVDs. It changed where we vacation and (through an bizarre, unpredictable series of events) set the standard for viral content. Taylor Swift, Bono, Katniss and Beyoncé all had their moments, but when it comes to pop culture, this was the year of Frozen. Here are the events, milestones, records and stories to prove it.
January 2: Frozen opens the year as the biggest movie in the country, outdrawing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and American Hustle with ticket sales totaling $57,594,728. Future Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave, Number 25 this week, would make a million less in its entire theatrical run.
January 8: Frozen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack becomes the Number One album in the country, knocking Beyoncé down to Number Two by selling 165,000 copies in the week that ended on January 5th. It is the first soundtrack to top Billboard‘s album chart since Les Mis did so one year earlier, and it is only the fourth animated soundtrack to hit Number One in the chart’s 58-year history.
January 22: Bruce Springsteen temporarily freezes out Menzel and company, as High Hopes knocks the Frozen soundtrack down to Number Two. Dads across the country flock to Asbury Park in celebration.
January 29: Frozen returns to Number One. Dads return home.
January 31: Disney sends a new version of Frozen to additional theaters. This time, a bouncing snowflake leads viewers through sing-alongs of every song.
February 1: “Let It Go” becomes the first – and ultimately only – Western song to reach Number One on the Korean singles chart, displacing another ballad, Hyolyn’s “Hello Goodbye.” Ironically, Hyolyn had previously recorded a translation of “Let It Go” for Frozen‘s Korean soundtrack, and one week later Disney releases her version as a competing single. Hyolyn’s take eventually reaches the Top Five and sells nearly 600,000 copies.
February 25: Frozen – the film – is made available for download. It becomes Hollywood’s fastest-selling digital release of all time.
March 2: Idina Menzel performs at the Academy Awards. John Travolta, the man tasked with introducing her, walks to the stage and receives the audience’s applause with the words, “Thank you, I love you.” He then mispronounces four of the syllables in the singer’s name and elides the fifth, asking the crowd to give a round of applause for the “wick-edly talented, one and only Adele Dazeem.” In lesser news, the film wins Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.
March 3: Slate introduces “The Adele Dazeem Name Generator,” a widget that attempts to guess how Travolta would interpret any text that you enter. Princess Elsa, for instance, morphs into “Preston Edbrards,” Prince Hans comes back “Paige Hayzes” and Bruce Springsteen returns “Bryce Seempzon.”