Olaf

"Oh, I don't know why, but I've always loved the idea of summer. And sun, and all things hot."

- Olaf

Olaf is an enchanted snowman and a major character in Disney's 2013 animated feature film, Frozen.

Official Description

 * He's Olaf and he likes warm hugs. Sprung from Elsa's magical powers, Olaf is by far the friendliest snowman to walk the mountains above Arendelle. His innocence, outgoing personality and uncanny ability to disassemble himself at good and not-so-good times lead to some awkward, albeit laughable moments. He may also have the world's most impossible dream, but what he doesn't know won't melt him—or will it?

Development
In early versions of the movie, Olaf was supposed to be one of the first guards of Elsa's castle when the concept of Elsa controlling a legion of menacing snowmen was still in the story (notably, the only snowman minion to remain in the film would be Marshmallow). Chris Buck compared that version of the character to a trial run of someone's first pancake where the cook throws out the pancake after the cook finds out that it is burnt on the bottom.

In this version of the film, according to Jennifer Lee, Olaf was acerbic and often came off as mean-spirited as his attitude and persona greatly differed from what he would become in the final project. This actually led Jennifer Lee to advise the filmmakers to revamp the character entirely once she came onto the project.

In order to keep him from getting too complex, Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee wanted Olaf to have a childlike innocence. Akin when a child makes a snowman for the first time where the heads are never perfect, and the body is disproportionate. That was the idea for the directors when they were thinking what kids would think of a snowman.

Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf, did plenty of improvements during the course of the recording sessions. But the directors were very careful not to have him in too many of them or risk him taking over the story. He is there to interject levity to the scenes. But they also gave him proper screen time. One of his major scenes will be when he sings his musical number "In Summer", which the songwriters Bobby and Kristen Lopez wrote specifically to fit Gad's vocal talent, as the two were fans of Gad's previous work.

Olaf had to earn his place in the film. Jennifer Lee says that he couldn't just be thrown in, that he had to have a purpose, and one of his purposes is that he is the embodiment of the love between Elsa and Anna.

Personality
"When Elsa flees Arendelle...she starts playing with the very magic she’s been hiding for so long. The snowman she creates comes form memories of the happy times she shared with Anna when they were young. Olaf represents that pure innocence and childhood joy."

- Jennifer Lee, Frozen screenwriter

Olaf is goofy and naive, but extremely lovable and caring towards his friends, especially Anna and Elsa. Because he was built during their childhood, Olaf retains the childlike personality that filled Anna and Elsa during those years, appearing to be very whimsical and playful when he returns as an enchanted snowman years later. He takes on aspects of both of the girls as well; he is artistic like Elsa, because when he first speaks, he thinks about what colors would go well with snow and said to Sven that "the sky's awake" when they arrived at Kristoff's home, just as Anna said to Elsa years ago. He has an odd fascination for summer, possibly because young Elsa made him a snowman who loves warm hugs, and according to Olaf, he sometimes fantasizes about what summer would be like for a snowman, completely unaware of the tad consequences of his ambitious dream, making the poor snowman hapless. Olaf is also very giggly and tends to laugh a lot.

Aside from his dominantly goofy side, Olaf is shown to have some intelligence to him, seen during his time with Anna in the library. Here, he teaches Anna what true love is, and that it's putting someone else before yourself, using Kristoff as the perfect example, finally giving Anna the true meaning of love. And after the climax, when Anna sacrifices herself for Elsa, thus breaking the icy curse, Olaf was the first to realize Anna's sacrifice was an act of true love (it didn't have to be romantic), and that act is what saved the kingdom. He is also not as oblivious as he seems, as he was quite skeptical about the trolls at first when he thought they were just rocks, and even warns Anna to run because he cares for her and thought Kristoff was delusional.

Olaf is also prone to making considerably sassy remarks in several scenes; the most notable example arguably being his jab at Kristoff, calling the mountain man a "funky-looking donkey" upon their first meeting. It should be noted that, due to his innocence, Olaf likely makes such remarks without any realization of the slight impudence, meaning he's merely speaking his mind and giving a genuine thought.

Physical appearance
Olaf is a small snowman divided into three balls of snow (five, if one counts his legs), though he has the ability to rearrange his appearance at will. Three black rocks modeled as buttons are on his body, one on his midsection and two on his bottom. Underneath his bottom are two stubs of snow that serve as his legs to move around. He has two stick arms and three twigs on his head that resemble small strands of hair. On each arm are four fingers. His head takes up a third of his body, and is oval-shaped with a stretched face. The snow around the top of his mouth is shaped to resemble a buck tooth. In between his eyes and mouth is a carrot nose. When he was inanimate, his eyes were also made of rock. However, when living, his eyes are cartoony with black pupils. He also has eyebrows above them. Olaf's body parts are also capable of autonomy, and can be rearranged or separated from Olaf without any harm happening to him. He cannot feel pain either - when he walks onto an ice spike, resulting in the spike passing through his mid-section, he merely looks down and says "Oh, look at that. I've been impaled." and giggles. However, he can feel some pain, shown when Anna pushed his carrot nose in too hard. He seems to be ticklish when Kristoff pushed him away from Sven. Despite being made of snow, Olaf has human characteristics, such as sleeping, eating (despite lacking a digestive system), breathing, and senses of smell, taste (despite not having taste buds), sound, touch, and obviously sight.

Frozen teaser
Olaf and Sven star in the animated short used as the teaser trailer for the film. It begins with Olaf wandering around the snowy landscapes of the forest when he comes across a Saffron Crocus flower. Intrigued by its beauty, Olaf takes a whiff which causes him to sneeze, his carrot nose flying off into the center of an icy lake, where's it's spotted by Sven, who's on the other side of the lake. The sight of the carrot was enough to get Sven extremely excited and head onto the slippery platform to fetch it, having Olaf believes he's trying to eat it. A race for the carrot then ensues, and the duo finally reach it, but Olaf accidentally flings it back onto the snowy land. Sven's able to escape the lake and retrieve the carrot before Olaf, much to the snowman's sadness. However, Sven returns and places the carrot onto Olaf's face, revealing he was merely trying to help get it back. Overjoyed, Olaf thanks the reindeer, the two form a new friendship just before Sven's shedding causes Olaf to sneeze once again, though it's his head that goes flying off as opposed to the carrot.

Frozen
When Anna and Elsa were children, Elsa would use her snow magic to play with Anna. A favorite pastime activity for the two sisters was building snowmen. On one such occasion, Elsa helped Anna build their own snowman who Elsa named Olaf to play with. At this point, Olaf isn't alive, but Elsa does voice him, saying, "Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!", to which little Anna says, "I love you, Olaf!" Many years later, Elsa would exile herself from Arendelle after her snow magic was discovered and deemed dangerous. In the midst of embracing her abilities at her new ice palace home, Elsa recreates Olaf, but because of her greatly strengthened abilities, he is enchanted and given a mind and will of his very own, though Elsa was completely oblivious of her newfound creation. However, the enchanted Olaf has no memory of the moments spent with Anna and Elsa as a lifeless snowman years ago.

Olaf then wanders around the mountains alone and blissfully lost, until he bumps into Anna, Kristoff and Sven the reindeer, who seek to bring Elsa back to Arendelle so that she can bring back summer after she accidentally caused an eternal winter. Though initially phased by him, Anna decides to add a carrot nose to the snowman, much to his delight. After making introductions to each other (and Olaf mistakes Kristoff and Sven to have the same name as the latter), Anna soon recognizes Olaf and quickly assumes it was Elsa who built him, to which he confirms. Kristoff then tells Olaf of their mission to bring back summer after Olaf constantly asked what their intentions on finding Elsa were. Extremely giddy with the idea of summer and its warmth, Olaf decides to happily guide the group to Elsa's castle, though Anna refrains from telling him about the dangers of summer for a snowman, so not to disappoint, leaving Olaf comically in the dark.

After a short journey, Olaf and the others find Elsa's ice palace, and the little snowman couldn't have been more eager, rushing up the icy staircase and to the main entrance door. However, Anna decides it may be best to enter alone, without Olaf and Kristoff, and request they remain outside for a minute. Olaf does just that, sitting outside beside Kristoff and counts to sixty, rushing inside once he does, completely overjoyed to see Elsa again. His presence proves there's love and beauty in her powers, and remind her of the joyful moments she spent with Anna. However, their childhood memories also remind Elsa of the haunting night when she nearly killed her sister, prompting her to leave the scene, asking Anna to leave once again. Anna refuses to leave without her sister, but the stubbornness only makes Elsa uncomfortable, causing her to lose control over her powers once again and accidentally freezes Anna's heart. Olaf and Kristoff run to her aid, but Anna claims all's well. She tries once again to get Elsa home, but the Snow Queen refuses yet again, forcefully prompting her next action due to Anna's stubbornness.

In order to keep them away, Elsa creates a personal bodyguard named Marshmallow, a giant snowman. Olaf is thrilled to see another enchanted snowman, but is immediately kicked out along with Anna and Kristoff. The harming of Olaf angers Anna, and the princess fiercely (or as fierce as she can seem) throws a snowball at the snow beast, provoking him and leading to a chase. Olaf tells the gang to move ahead as he'll distract him, but with his body dismembered, that immediately proves to be difficult. Anna and Kristoff reach the cliff of a mountain, and begin making a snow anchor to lower themselves down safely. Olaf meets up with them seconds before Marshmallow, and tries his luck again in taming the monster, but to no avail. Marshmallow continues his pursuit for Anna and Kristoff, but Olaf tries to battle him, leading the smaller snowman to be kicked over the cliff edge, leaving Anna and Kristoff to be captured by Marshmallow, only to escape due to Anna's quick thinking, causing them both to plummet down alongside Olaf, though they all survive.

Once they recover their energy, Kristoff notices Anna'a hair turning white, rather alarmingly. To help, he takes the gang to a valley filled with mystical trolls. Along the way there, Olaf and Sven bond, forming a friendship, as does Kristoff and Anna, though in a romantic light. Upon arriving in the valley, Anna and Olaf only see what seem to be inanimate rocks. Judging Kristoff to be insane, Olaf urges Anna to run while he distracts him by pretending to acknowledge one of the rocks, just before the trolls awaken and welcome back Kristoff. Olaf joins in the trolls' cheer before realizing he was mistaken about Kristoff's name. Kristoff's adoptive mother, Bulda, believes Anna and Kristoff are a couple and the trolls gather to begin forming a wedding for the two, not realizing Anna's in danger. During it all, the two actually begin harboring affection towards one another, though Kristoff won't admit it in the least, and while that may be, Olaf and Sven are aware of the matter. However, before the wedding is complete, Anna nearly faints due to the powerful curse, and Pabbie, the king of the trolls, arrives upon sensing the magic, informing Anna that if she doesn't perform an act of true love, she'll freeze to death. The friends immediately rush back to Arendelle, believing a kiss from Hans, a prince Anna's engaged to, will break the curse.

Along the way, Olaf is accidentally separated from the group, and informs them that he'll meet with them at the castle. When he arrives, he finds Anna in the library, on the ground and quickly dying. She tells him Hans betrayed her and was never really her true love, and Olaf doesn't hesitate to start a fire to keep the princess warm. Fearing he'll melt, Anna tells Olaf to leave, but not wanting to abandon his friend, the snowman stays by her side, nearly melting during this time. Still heartbroken by the betrayal, Anna tells Olaf she doesn't even know what love is anymore, upon hearing his inquiry as to whether or not she has any ideas on an act of true love that can save her. Olaf then replies by telling Anna love is putting someone else's need before your own, using Kristoff as an example, thus revealing his true feelings to Anna, much to the princess' surprise. Suddenly, the library's window bursts open due to the strong winter winds, and Olaf rushes to close it.

Before he does, he notices Kristoff and Sven rushing back to the castle. Knowing Kristoff is truly the one that loves Anna, the two try to head out to meet him, with Olaf aiding the dying princess out of the castle and into the fjords. However, the powerful storm blows Olaf away, and once he reunites with everyone, he finds Elsa mourning for Anna, who unfortunately froze to death sacrificing her life to save Elsa from Hans. Just as Olaf mourns to this, Anna is miraculously returned to life, and Olaf exclaims that her self-sacrifice for her elder sister was an act of true love. His words help Elsa realize that love is the key to controlling her ability as she thaws Arendelle, bringing back summer. Overjoyed, Olaf smiles with glee, but quickly melts due to the summer heat. Elsa restores him and gives him a small flurry cloud to hover over his body and keep him completely cool, finally allowing the snowman to live his dream of experiencing summer and all its warm wonders.

During the kingdom celebration, Olaf is seen throughout the village enjoying the sights and sounds of the warm season, taking a whiff of some flowers. The pollen causes him to sneeze, however, and his carrot nose lands directly into Sven's mouth. The reindeer doesn't hesitate to suck it up, saddening the snowman. However, this was only a playful trick, and Sven immediately places the carrot back onto Olaf's face, where it belongs, prompting the overjoyed snowman to hug his friend affectionately. Olaf is last seen in the castle courtyard, enjoying the newly made ice skating rink created by Elsa for the kingdom's enjoyment.

Frozen Fever
Taking place nearly a year after the events of the film, Anna's birthday has arrived, and Elsa is determined to make the day perfectly special for her younger sister. To help ensure every detail is precise, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven are stationed in the castle courtyard to assist with decorations. After putting the finishing touches on the cake, however, a mischievous Olaf takes a bite, immediately being told he's not allowed to, by Elsa, as the cake is for Anna and must remain in one piece until the princess' arrival. Understanding, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven are then left in charge to keep the courtyard intact until Elsa returns with Anna. Some time afterwards, miniature snow-babies (known as Snowgies) randomly appear, and instantly catch Olaf's attention.

Though the snowman is fascinated and excited by the sight of new "little brothers", the Snowgies soon begin causing a mess of things, and eventually make the birthday cake their target. Kristoff is able to use his swift movements to protect the cake, but the Snowgies soon tear down the "Happy Birthday" banner. Olaf volunteers to remanage it, but to disastrous results. By the time Anna and Elsa arrive at the courtyard, the Snowgies have been tamed, and Olaf excitedly welcomes the princess of honor, and unveils the surprise party attended by several friends and citizens of the kingdom.

At the end of the short, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven travel to Elsa's ice palace in the North Mountain, to have the Snowgies reside with Marshmallow. As Olaf walks them into their new home, he has appeared to have taken a shine to the Snowgies, even giving them names.

Cameos
Olaf makes a small cameo in the animated mini-series, It's a Small World: The Animated Series, in the episode "Little Birds, Frost and Pine", being built by Anna and Elsa.

In an advertisement promoting Sky Movies, Olaf makes a notable appearance sliding down a blanket of snow as he encounters the commercial's host family, only to accidentally ram into a tree. He is later seen, seconds later, alongside Anna and Elsa.

In the 2014 animated feature film, Big Hero 6, a statue of Olaf can be briefly seen during Hiro and Baymax's first flight through the city.

Printed media
Since early promotion for the film began, Olaf has been a recurring character in several printed stories in the form of books, novels, comics, and other outlets.

Anna & Elsa: Sisterhood is the Strongest Magic
Olaf is a supporting character in these series of stories centering the relationship of Anna and Elsa, and their lives alongside their extended family (consisting of themselves, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven). Olaf plays several memorable roles in certain stories, including All Hail the Queen, where he spends the day with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Sven. At one point, Kristoff takes the group to meet and view the ice harvesters, where Olaf adopts a block of ice as his "cousin".

In A Warm Welcome, Olaf believes there is a queen equivalent to Elsa in a far away kingdom, but with powers over fire and heat. Believing her kingdom is trapped in eternal summer, the group travels over to give assistance.

Olaf and Sven On Thin Ice
After believing Kristoff is taking a day off, Olaf decides to take the role of Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer for the day, but causes havoc, alongside Sven, in the process. This story also confirms that Olaf now resides in the castle, alongside Anna and Elsa.

Olaf's Night Before Christmas
In the upcoming storybook, Olaf discovers and celebrates his first Christmas. The book will also feature a CD narration read by the snowman.

Video games
Olaf has made a few video game appearances so far. He notably served as the star of his own app entitled Olaf's Adventures, featuring a variety of mini-games. Additionally, costumes of Olaf were also featured in the Club Penguin episode, "Frozen Party", and LittleBigPlanet as part of the "Frozen Costume Pack". It should be noted that in Penguin, Olaf, himself, also makes a special appearance.

Disney INFINITY
The snowman's likeness is also featured in the popular Disney INFINITY, as a costume for the townspeople. Anna also mentions him, when she says to wait until he sees the new world in the Toy Box and that he would like it.

He was later confirmed as a playable character for Disney INFINITY 3.0 but only playable in the Toy Box. His attacks include detaching his arm to use as a weapon, sneezing his nose off to attack enemies from afar, and a special attack based on "In Summer", where he summons the warmth of summer to melt the enemies around him, while posing in a lounge chair.

Frozen Free Fall
Notably, Olaf is also a companion character in the popular app Frozen Free Fall. He is unlocked upon reaching level 111. His special ability is "Hot Chocolate", which enables him to melt a selected tile, and every tile under it.

Before he was released as a companion, Olaf served as the game's mascot, appearing on the game's map, as well as the results board.

Frozen: Olaf's Quest
In promotion for the film, the tie-in game Frozen: Olaf's Quest centers around Olaf going on an adventure to find gifts for Anna, facing dangers such as the wolves and Marshmallow in the process.

Disney Parks
During the winter season, Olaf was the host of the winter renditions of both World of Color in Disney California Adventure, as well as Disney Dreams! in Disneyland Paris, alongside Anna. Beginning in November of 2013, an animatronic Olaf began hosting Anna and Elsa's meet and greet in Disneyland, speaking to guests as they wait in line to meet the two princesses. Olaf also appears on Anna and Elsa's float in Disneyland Paris' Disney Magic on Parade as well as onboard the opening float for the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Olaf is also the host character of Olaf's Frozen Ice Rink in Disneyland's Downtown Disney.

Olaf also makes an appearance being built by young Anna and Elsa in the Frozen segment of Celebrate the Magic at the Magic Kingdom.

Olaf also appeared with Anna and Elsa in a Frozen themed float as part of the pre-parade for Mickey's Soundsational Parade in Disneyland. The float was integrated into "A Christmas Fantasy" parade in 2014, and also appears in "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade", in the form of a walk around character.

Throughout the summer season, Olaf serves as a co-host (along with Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff) of the Frozen Summer Fun! event at Disney's Hollywood Studios. As of July 2015, Olaf makes a cameo during the bubble montage scene in Fantasmic!, alongside Anna and Elsa.

Olaf made his live, Disney theme park debut as a walk-around character on November 5, 2014, taking part in the nighttime event, A Frozen Holiday Wish. Prior to that, he debuted in the Disney On Ice: Frozen show. The huggable snowman also makes meet-and-greet appearances during the Frozen Fun promotion at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. His meet-and-greet spot is at "Olaf's Snow Fest", which is located within Stage 17 of Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure.

Olaf will appear in the show Mickey and the Wondrous Book, performed in Storybook Theater at Hong Kong Disneyland on November 2015. The show is set when Mickey opens a magical book that can bring stories to life in a magical library, which Olaf falls out from. While Mickey tries to get the snowman back inside, the former is magically drawn into the book. From here, Mickey sets out to find Olaf's story after discovering the magic of the book and the power of its stories. Finally, Mickey and Goofy come across the incredible story of Frozen and restore Olaf to his rightful place.

Reception

 * Since the release of the film, Olaf has gained critical acclaim for his comedy and voice work of Josh Gad, many critics comparing him to Genie from Aladdin, another "comic relief" character that received universal acclaim upon the film's original release. This arguably makes Olaf the most popular character from the film among critics.
 * For his work on the film, Josh Gad won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production at the 41st Annie Awards.

Trivia

 * His name may be derived from the popular Norwegian name: Olav.
 * In the film, Olaf represents the happiness Elsa and Anna shared as young children. And, his desire to experience summer is symbolic of how Elsa wants to return to the old days of her childhood with her sister as her best friend.
 * Olaf's very creation is an expression of how hard Elsa's self-imposed isolation from Anna was on her. The first voluntary act she performs with her power (as soon she decides to "let it go"), is to build the snowman that Anna spent those long years begging her to make with her. As she creates him, she sings the words "Can't hold it back any more," revealing how dearly she always wanted to go play with her sister whenever she asked her to. It's possible that the sheer intensity of this long held desire was what brought Olaf to life, and if so, Elsa's later surprise when she discovers Olaf is alive may indicate that she never even admitted to herself how just badly she wanted to rekindle her friendship with Anna.
 * The destruction of the original Olaf marked the precise moment that Elsa and Anna's happy childhood friendship came to an end. Also, original Olaf, much like Anna and Elsa's friendship, was destroyed by Elsa's power running amok due to her internal personal distress.
 * If you look closely when Elsa was making Marshmallow, Olaf was the only one who was thrilled to see him.
 * Olaf may have been inspired by "The Snowman", another Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, where the eponymous snowman falls in love with a warm stove but cannot be with it because he would melt from it. As a result, he does not enjoy the cold weather. Eventually, the weather changes, causing the snowman to melt away.
 * As another coincidence, Olaf – a living snowman who desires to experience summer – is similar to the title character of a German animated short-film from 1944, "" ("The Snowman"), about a snowman that comes to life and then wishes so much to experience the summer, that he puts himself into a refrigerator until July. The Snowman then melts away when he goes outside, but does so happily, having had his brief moment to enjoy summer.
 * In the film, Olaf's elbows were specifically animated to never move with the exception of his fantasy sequence during "In Summer".
 * Olaf was specially designed to appear as if a child had created him, with an uneven shape and such, which is a reference to how Elsa models him at the beginning of Frozen when she and Anna are young.
 * Olaf unintentionally showed Elsa how strong her powers are when he sees her at her ice palace. While she created him earlier, she had no idea he had come to life. This evidently was the inspiration for Marshmallow.
 * Olaf thinks of Marshmallow as his brother, since they were both created by Elsa, but for different reasons (Marshmallow to get rid of intruders, and Olaf to remind Anna and Elsa to remember their childhood bonds).
 * When Elsa created Olaf, during the "Let It Go" sequence, she was still letting loose her reigns and didn't have complete control yet, which explains why she was surprised to find that Olaf was alive.
 * Once again, symbolizing her yearning for happier times with her sister. Marshmallow, on the other hand was created for precisely the opposite reason; to keep Anna, and other citizens of Arendelle out. Which is why Olaf is small, kind, and delicate; while Marshmallow is big, monstrous, and tough.
 * In the Brazilian voice casting, Olaf is dubbed by a stand-up comedian called Fábio Porchat.
 * The animation and staging of the scene between Olaf and Sven during the epilogue of the film is similar to the teaser trailer's animation and staging, right down to Olaf's exclaiming, "Hello!"
 * In the original storyboard of Frozen, Olaf was meant to be one of Elsa's soldiers, but ended up as a failed attempt, so she cast him off, and he found Anna and Kristoff. But the idea ended up being scrapped.
 * Before being portrayed as a snowman, he was originally going to be a penguin.
 * In the blizzard scene, Olaf is blown away into the sky by a strong gale, similar to Scuttle in the storm scene in The Little Mermaid.
 * Early on in the film, when Anna and Elsa were seen as kids, Anna tells Elsa "the sky's awake." Olaf would later said this to Sven when they enter the Valley of the Living Rock. Also, as kids, Elsa helped Anna ice-skating with Olaf. Then by the end of the film, Olaf helps Anna ice-skating with Elsa. These are likely to reflect the childhood Anna and Elsa once shared.
 * His role resembles that of the sparrows that assist Gerda in The Snow Queen.
 * Olaf's name came from an Old Norse name "Aleifr," which means "ancestor's descendant" (referring to the fact that Olaf is Elsa's "descendant"), and is Nordic for "treasure". It is also pronounced "oh, laugh", referring to his role as comic relief.
 * Olaf makes a cameo in 's video for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
 * Olaf is the only significant Frozen character to not appear on Once Upon a Time in its pseudo-sequel storyline, presumably due to being superfluous and too difficult to have around in terms of special effects.
 * In Frozen Fever, it is revealed that Olaf cannot spell or read.
 * John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, was used as a performance reference for Olaf's line "He's craaazy...".