Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" is a song from the 2013 Disney animated feature film Frozen, with music and lyrics composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. As of 25 November 2016, the total sales of the digital track stands at 1,600,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan, placing it second on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in SoundScan history (behind Mariah Carey's 1994 hit single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You").[2]
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" | |
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Song by Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez | |
from the album Frozen | |
Published | Wonderland Music Company |
Released | November 25, 2013 |
Recorded | 2012[1] |
Genre | Show tune |
Length | 3:28 |
Label | Walt Disney |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
|
Synopsis
After Elsa accidentally harms Anna with her ice powers, she locks herself in her bedroom. The song captures three different moments at which Anna tries and fails to persuade Elsa to spend time with her - as children, teenagers, and adults. Within the film, the last of these moments occurs after the sisters' parents have died at sea in a storm.
Production
At one point Disney considered removing the song from the film because as originally composed, it was too sad and it was also too complicated in that it contained too much exposition.[3] However it was put back after being well received by the Disney staff. StitchKingdom explains, "due to pacing of the film, this song was constantly being cut and put back in during the film’s development. Ultimately, studio employees demanded it stay in."[4] During the film's development, Lopez at one point had to travel to Los Angeles to work in person with the production team to try to fix the song, and they had to sit down and work through how Elsa sounds versus how Anna sounds.[3] Christophe Beck, who wrote the film's score, added the interlude for the montage scenes.
After the film was released, a fan put together a version of the song to show how a reprise could have worked at the climax of the film, when Elsa realizes that Anna is completely frozen. Commenting on the fan clip in January 2014, Anderson-Lopez mentioned that at one point, she actually had pitched a reprise of the song for the film's climax.[5] Lopez added, "if you watch it in the flow of the movie, it would be jarring to have them break into song at that moment."[5]
When the same clip was mentioned in an interview, director Jennifer Lee explained that according to Disney music producer Chris Montan (who has worked on nearly every Disney and Pixar animated film from the start of the Disney Renaissance), it is traditional in Disney animated musicals to have no more songs after the end of the second act.[3]
International versions
![](../I/m/Serena_Rossi%2C_2014.jpg)
When the movie was first released in 2013, it numbered complexively 42 versions worldwide, to which 3 more versions where added in the following years, raising the number of official versions to 45.[6]
Several other language versions of the song have been successful. The Japanese-language version called "Yukidaruma Tsukurō" (雪だるまつくろう, "Let's Make a Snowman") was sung by Sayaka Kanda, who played 15-year-old and 18-year-old Anna, as well as Sumire Morohoshi and Natsuki Inaba, who played Anna aged 9 and 5 respectively. It appeared on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in April and May 2014, peaking at number 39, and was popular enough to be certified platinum for 250,000 digital downloads by the RIAJ in January 2015.[7][8] The Korean-language version was sung by Yoon Si-young, Lee Ji-min and Park Ji-yoon. In March 2014, it reached number 115 on the Gaon Singles Chart, after being downloaded 17,000 times.[9][10]
The Italian version, along with the whole Italian adaptation of the movie, was awarded best foreign dubbing worldwide.[11]
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" worldwide | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Language | Performers | Title | Translation | |
Young Anna | Anna[6] | |||
Arabic | خلود عمر (Kholoud Omar)[12] | شروق صلاح (Shorouq Salah) | "تريدين رجل الجليد؟" ("Turidin rajul aljalid?") | "Do you want a snowman?" |
Bulgarian | N/A | Весела Бонева (Vesela Boneva) | "Искаш ли да поиграем?" ("Iskaš li da poigraem?") | Unknown |
Cantonese | 梁菀桐 (Leung Yun-Tung)[13] | 黃山怡 (Kandy Wong) | N/A | N/A |
Catalan | Rita Martínez Arantxa Rodas[14] |
Paula Ribó | "Véns a fer un ninot de neu amb mi?" | "Will you come out and build a snowman with me?" |
Croatian | N/A | Sementa Rajhard | "Snjegovića sa mnom gradi" | "Build a snowman with me" |
Czech | N/A | Monika Absolonová | "Ráda sněhuláky stavíš" | "You like building snowmen" |
Danish | Marie Dietz Natasha Jessen[15] |
Kristine Yde Eriksen | "Skal vi ikke lave en snemand?" | "Won't we build a snowman?" |
Dutch | Manou Jue Cardoso Chelsea Hegener[16] |
Noortje Herlaar | "Zullen wij een sneeuwpop maken" | "Shall we make a snowman?" |
Estonian | Hanna-Liisa Peenmaa Maria Rander[17] |
Hele Kõrve | "Kas me lumememme teeme?" | "Will we make a snowman?" |
Finnish | Neve Sirkiä Iris Kovalainen[18] |
Saara Aalto | "Lumiukko tehtäisiinkös" | "Can we build a snowman" |
Flemish | Jo Leyers Lotte De Clerck[19] |
Aline Goffin | "Kom dan maken we een sneeuwman" | "Come and then we make a snowman" |
French (Canada) | Marguerite D'Amour[20] | Véronique Claveau | "Je voudrais un bonhomme de neige" | "I wish I had a snowman" |
French (Europe) | Coralie Thuilier Emmylou Homs[21] |
Emmylou Homs | ||
German | Magdalena Hailer Valeska Gerhart[22] |
Pia Allgaier | "Willst du einen Schneemann bauen?" | "Do you want to build a snowman?" |
Greek | N/A | βάσια ζαχαροπούλου (Vássia Zaharopoúlou) | "Θες χιονάνθρωπο να φτιάξεις" ("Thes chionánthropo na ftiáxeis") | "Do you want to build a snowman" |
Hebrew | N/A | עינת אזולאי (Einat Azulay) | "את רוצה לבנות איש שלג" ("Att rotsa livnot ish sheleg") | "Do you want to build a snowman?" |
Hindi | Samika Shinde Aparnaa Bhaagwat[23] |
ऐश्वर्या मजमुदार/ઐશ્વર્યા મજમુદાર (Aishwarya Majumdar) | "क्या बर्फ का पुतला बनाएँ?" ("Kya barph ka putala banaen?") | "Do you want to build a snowman?" |
Hungarian | N/A | Bernadett Vágó | "Csak egy pici hó kell" | "We just need a bit of snow" |
Icelandic | Emilía Bergsdóttir Arna Marín Thorarensen[24] |
Þórdís Björk Þorfinnsdóttir | "Viltu koma gera snjókarl?" | "Do you want to come and build a snowman?" |
Indonesian | N/A | Nadia Rosyada | "Yuk, buat boneka salju? " | Unknown |
Italian | Elisa Rinaldi Lucrezia Cesari[25] |
Serena Rossi | "Facciamo un pupazzo insieme?" | "Shall we build a snowman together?" |
Japanese | 稲葉菜月 (Natsuki Inaba) 諸星すみれ (Sumire Morohoshi)[26] |
神田沙也加 (Kanda Sayaka) | "雪だるまつくろう" ("Yukidaruma Tsukurou") | "Let's build a snowman" |
Kazakh | N/A | Назерке Серікболова (Nazerke Serikbolova) | N/A | N/A |
Korean | 윤시영 (Yun Si-Yeong) 이지민 (Lee Ji-Min)[27] |
박지윤 (Park Ji-Yun) | "같이 눈사람 만들래?" ("Gachi nunsaram mandeullae?") | "Do you want to build a snowman together?" |
Latvian | Signe Loca Elza Freivalde[28] |
Beāte Zviedre | "Vēlies uzcelt sniegavīru?" | "Do you want to build a snowman?" |
Lithuanian | Laura Norkūnaitė[29] | Neringa Nekrašiūtė | "Nulipdykim sniego senį" | Unknown |
Malaysian | N/A | Amylea Azizan | "Nak tak bina orang salji?" | "Do you wanna build a snowman?" |
Mandarin Chinese (China) | N/A | 李潇潇 (Eva Li) | "你想不想堆雪人?" ("Nǐ xiǎng bùxiǎng duī xuěrén?") | Unknown |
Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan) | N/A | 劉軒蓁 ("Liú Xuān-Zhēn"; Ray Liu) | "想不想要做個雪人" ("Xiǎng bùxiǎng yào zuò gè xuěrén") | "Do you wanna build a snowman?" |
Norwegian | Oline Hopen Sofi Charlotte Funner[30] |
May Kristin Kaspersen | "Skal vi lage snømann" | "Shall we build a snowman" |
Polish | Malwina Jachowicz Julia Siechowicz[31] |
Magdalena Wasylik | "Ulepimy dziś bałwana?" | "Shall we build a snowman today?" |
Portuguese (Brazil) | Gabi Guimaraes Hannah Zeitoune[32] |
Gabriela Porto | "Quer brincar na neve?" | "Do you want to play in the snow?" |
Portuguese (Europe) | Luz Fonseca[33] | Isabel Jacobetty | "Vem fazer bonecos de neve" | "Come and build snowmen" |
Romanian | N/A | Cătălina Chirţan | "Hai afară la zăpadă" | "Come outside in the snow" |
Russian | Varvara Novoshinskaya[34] | Наталия Быстрова (Natalia Bystrova) | "За окном опять сугробы" ("Za oknom opyat' sugroby") | "There are snowdrifts outside the window again" |
Serbian | Ивона Рамбосек (Ivona Rambosek) Анђелија Миленковић (Anđelija Milenković)[35] |
Лејла Хот (Lejla Hot) | "Да ли би да правиш Снешка?" ("Da li bi da praviš Sneška?") | "Would you like to build a snowman?" |
Slovak | N/A | Lucia Molnárová Bugalová | "Poďme stavať snehuliaka" | Unknown |
Slovene | Klara Šmuc Katja Ajster[36] |
Tanja Ravljen | "Hočeš narediti snežaka?" | "Do you want to build a snowman?" |
Spanish (Europe) | Naima Barroso Emma Amselem[37] |
Carmen López Pascual | "Hazme un muñeco de nieve" | "Make me a snowman" |
Spanish (Latin America) | Andrea Rebeca Gómez Arias Sara Paula Gómez Arias[38] |
Romina Marroquín | "¿Y si hacemos un muñeco?" | "What if we built a snowman?" |
Swedish | Niji Dyall Prince Zoë Ackerman[39] |
Mimmi Sandén | "Vill du inte ut och leka?" | "Wouldn't you like to come out and play?" |
Thai | พรสรวง รวยรื่น (Phonsuang Ruairuen)[40] | หนึ่งธิดา โสภณ (Nuengthida Sophon) | "ปั้นมนุษย์หิมะด้วยกันไหม" ("Pan manut hima duai kan mai") | "Do you want to build a snowman together?" |
Turkish | N/A | Deniz Sujana | "Kardan adam yapsak senle" | "What about making snowman together" |
Ukrainian | N/A | Марія Яремчук (Mariya Yaremchuk) | "Сніговик на нас чекає" ("Snihovyk na nas chekaye") | "The snowman is waiting for us" |
Vietnamese | Trần Khả Hân[41] | Võ Ha Trâm | "Ra đây chơi người tuyết với em nhé?" | Unknown |
Critical reception
![](../I/m/Do_You_Want_to_Build_a_Snowman%3F.jpg)
The song received widespread acclaim from film critics, music critics, and audiences. Kyle Smith of The New York Post dubbed it a "classic".[43] USA Today called it "a lovely musical number that illustrates Anna's emotional yearning, sung with heartfelt sweetness by Bell."[44] Alonso Duralde of The Wrap labeled it "poignant".[45] Moviefone describes the song as "sob-inducing", and "the best song in Frozen".[46] Scott Mendelson of Forbes talks about the "richness and a subtle sadness to the core relationship between Anna and Elsa, of so much time lost to fear, self-doubt, and some questionable parenting at a key juncture", and goes on to describe "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" as a "beautiful song...it's just one of a handful of terrific songs".[47] Mendelson added, "I was deathly afraid [it] would come back as a climactic refrain should the story end badly."[47]
Sputnikmusic said "the songs complement the gorgeous visuals well, especially in the first extended cut "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" and its tear-pleading climax and conclusion", and argues "it’s one of the few vocal tracks far removed from the crushing vapidity of the other material".[48] The Rochester City Newspaper described the song as "character-establishing", and noted that along with "Frozen Heart", it "deeply resemble[s] Disney's song output under Alan Menken...and that helps them feel instantly familiar". The soundtrack review adds, "While "Snowman" works better in the film (the visuals fill in some of the song's gaps) the twee-cute vocals and gorgeous melody help its memorability".[49] AllMusic said this song and the love duet "Love Is an Open Door" have "contemporary Broadway dazzle".[50]
Charts and certifications
Charts
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Certifications
Year-end chart
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Performances
Kristen Bell sang the song live as her character throughout every stage of her life at the Vibrato Grill Jazz Club in Los Angeles to celebrate the film.[68]
Twenty-six members of the Disney Channel Circle of Stars performed a cover video of the song in July 2014.[69][70][71]
Austin & Ally star Laura Marano performed a Hawaiian version of the song at Disney's Aulani Resort & Spa for Disney Parks' Frozen Christmas Celebration on ABC with Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus singing the children's chorus.
SM Entertainment trainees Koeun, Hina, Herin, and Lami covered the song in the Korean edition of Mickey Mouse Club in 2015.
Country singer Mickey Guyton recorded the song and released it on November 6, 2015 to digital retailers and music streaming services. Her version charted at number 57 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.[72]
Lea Michele covered the song for her 2019 Christmas album Christmas in the City.
See also
References
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