Did Olaf become your favorite Disney character after watching Frozen, or did it take a second Frozen for you to warm up to him? I admit I was one of the people who did not care for the first Frozen film – there were some story decisions that were made that I wish had been different. However, I fell in love with Frozen II and decided that there was more to Olaf than met the eye.
I’m so glad I gave Frozen a second chance because Olaf was the comedic relief I didn’t know I wanted – and now, we’ve got even more Olaf! If you haven’t yet seen the mini-series “Olaf Presents” on Disney Plus, you may want to gather the family up and treat yourselves to a little more merriment during the happiest season.
In “Olaf Presents”, Olaf re-tells those classic Disney stories we grew up with, all in the style of Frozen II’s re-telling of the original Frozen. We see him become Mufasa in The Lion King, Jafar in Aladdin, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel from Tangled, and a myriad of other characters from these beloved stories.
The original re-telling is also included in the mini-series, just to give the audience perspective on how this all came about – Olaf’s rendition of the plot of Frozen, including Frozen II’s cast reacting to Hans’ betrayal (“Oh, Ana!”), the trolls, and the ice giant and mini snowmen all helping Olaf re-tell Ana and Elsa’s origin story.
My personal favorite might be Olaf’s version of Tangled, which is, as he says, a story about “a close personal friend of mine.” He cavorts around as Rapunzel after escaping her tower, alternating between ecstatic glee and statements like “I need therapy.” With plenty of silly gags for the kids and sarcastic winks for the adults, this is one family-friendly series that will make everyone chuckle.
I’m hopeful that the reception of “Olaf Presents” will be high enough that Disney will commission more of these – there are so many stories I want to hear in Olaf’s words – what about Sword in the Stone, with Merlin and Madam Mim’s duel? Or Robin Hood and Little John pretending to be village-wise women and fortune tellers? Or what about Cruella DeVille being described by Olaf? I can only imagine it would be incredibly delightful.
I think one of the reasons these hit the spot for me right now is that I want comforting stories, stories I have known since I was a kid, but I also want a little something new, something a bit unexpected, a fresh, different take on something I’m already familiar with, because it will still end the same – at the end of the day, we all want to know things will turn out alright.
With the pandemic continuing to ravage the world, new variants popping up seemingly every few months, and people arguing about masks, vaccines, politics, religion, and money, there’s a lot to stress out about, even, and maybe especially, during the holidays. I’m constantly trying to find things to self-soothe with, to bring down my anxiety just for a few minutes so I can take a breath and keep going.
“Olaf Presents” is light family fare, but at its heart, it’s about controlling what we can as the world revolves in chaos around us. Olaf’s re-tellings are what I need right now, to remind myself that eventually, this story will end, and another, hopefully, happier, one will come along.
If you’d like to peruse the “Olaf Presents” series, you can find it on DisneyPlus. I hope it brings you as much joy as it has to me.
