Once Upon a Snowman is a 2020 computer-animated Short Film part of the Frozen franchise. It tells the story of snowlem Olaf between his creation and meeting the heroes in the first Frozen film.
Once Upon a Snowman provides examples of:
- Backstory: The short tells the story of what happened to Olaf before Anna and Kristoff meet him.
- The Darkness Gazes Back: When Olaf leaves Wandering Oaken's with his new sausage nose, a pack of wolves peer at him through the trees.
- The Door Slams You: Olaf gets whacked with the door of Wandering Oaken's by Anna as she exits the store.
- Failure Montage: When Oaken tries to help Olaf find a nose, the short cuts between several shots of Olaf wearing a different item from the shop and rejecting each one.
- Interquel: The short tells the story of what happens between Elsa creating Olaf and Anna and Kristoff finding him in Frozen.
- Logo Joke: The Disney logo at the end has Olaf is seen doing a leap from one snow slope on the right to another on the left before skiing offscreen.Olaf: SKILL!
- Name Amnesia: Having just come to life for the first time, Olaf can't recall his own name until the end of the film.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: A wolf makes big, pleading eyes, asking Olaf for the sausage.
- Quest for Identity: Olaf spends the short trying to find his name, as well as a nose.
- Savage Wolves: Played with. The wolves that were chasing Anna and Kristoff in Frozen show up and chase Olaf, but an explanation is given this time: they're hungry and after a sausage that Olaf has. When Olaf gives up the sausage, the wolf he gives it to becomes much friendlier.
- Shout-Out:
- When Olaf first wakes up, he sits with arms outstretched, the classic Frankenstein pose.
- Olaf, realising he's alive, quotes another famous talking snowman.Olaf: I can talk, I can think, I can juggle! No, I cannot.
- Significant Anagram: Olaf lampshades that "Wandering Oaken" is an anagram for "Naked Norwegian", despite the fact that he can't read or write at this point in the story.
- Stock Footage: The only characters with new dialogue are Olaf and Oaken. All the other characters' lines are taken from the first film.
- Synchronous Episodes: This short takes place in the middle of Frozen, and scenes from the film can be seen in the background behind Olaf's antics. Specifically, Elsa building her ice palace can be seen from afar, and Olaf briefly flies past Anna and Kristoff arguing about Anna's engagement.
