In Frozen, fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna’s sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arandelle in eternal winter.

Recently, we sat down with directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, who also wrote the screenplay, to get more details on this project that took 4 years to come to light. Although there are similarities between Frozen and the classic old tale The Snow Queen, they assured us this is an original story. Also adding that The Snow Queen was a story that even Walt Disney wanted to do. “It’s a very hard story. Looking at the original, it’s very symbolic, and the Snow Queen itself is not clearly drawn,” said Lee.

The team looked very deep to see what was powerful to them within these characters. Lee adds, “Anna, who is an ordinary person, who just has this giant heart, to a fault, is trying to go against the power of fear, which is what Elsa represents. To fight her way through and save her own kingdom and save her sister at the same time.”

Buck believes that the title, Frozen, is very strong and really ties in the story, and that it not only describes the landscape, but it also relates to “the relationship of the two sisters and how it’s frozen in time.” Anna and Elsa’s relationship is stuck emotionally, so in a way, it is frozen.

In this world of ice and snow, adventures and danger, there is also comedy. Olaf, the snowman, comes to bridge the relationship in between the sisters. “He was the last and most wonderful memory she [Elsa] had before they were divided,” said Lee. Buck adds, “he became the real emotional bond.”

They knew the songs for this film had to be as strong as the story they were trying to tell, and also move along with it, so they brought in Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, famous for their work in “The Book of Mormon” and “Avenue Q,” award winning Broadway musicals. “They really made us think about who are these characters, what is their simple want,” Buck said. “[The story] is big and complex in every way and we want the songs to always keep driving it forward,” Lee added. “They push you all the time,” she said.

Frozen, a story that children and adults will enjoy, is the version of a story Walt Disney was passionate about and director Buck hope they did him proud.

Frozen opens nationwide on November 27.