"Making Today a Perfect Day" is a song from the 2015
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...
computer-animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
''
Frozen Fever
''Frozen Fever'' is a 2015 American computer-animated musical fantasy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. A follow-up to the 2013 feature film '' Frozen'', the short follows Elsa as she at ...
'', with music and lyrics by
Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Kristen Anderson-Lopez (born March 21, 1972) is an American songwriter and lyricist known for co-writing the songs for the 2013 computer-animated musical film '' Frozen'' and its 2019 sequel ''Frozen II'' with her husband Robert Lopez. The couple ...
and
Robert Lopez
Robert Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American songwriter for musicals, best known for co-creating ''The Book of Mormon'' and '' Avenue Q'', and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney computer-animated films '' Frozen'', its sequ ...
and performed throughout most of the short. It was released as a single in the United States on March 12, 2015.
Production and writing
On September 2, 2014, during the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
airing of ''
The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic'',
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...
'
chief creative officer
A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated with ...
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, ...
announced that a ''Frozen''
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
with a new song would be released in the future. On the same day, ''
Variety
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* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' announced that the short would be released in early 2015 under the title ''Frozen Fever'', with
Chris Buck
Christopher James Buck (born February 24, 1958) is an American film director, animator, and screenwriter known for co-directing ''Tarzan'' (1999), '' Surf's Up'' (2007) (which was nominated for the 2007 Oscar for Best Animated Feature), '' Fr ...
and
Jennifer Lee returning as co-directors,
Peter Del Vecho
Peter Del Vecho (born April 6, 1958) is a film producer at Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he is also senior vice president of production. He is best known for producing '' Frozen'' and ''Frozen II'' together with directors Chris Buck and J ...
returning as producer and a new song by
Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Kristen Anderson-Lopez (born March 21, 1972) is an American songwriter and lyricist known for co-writing the songs for the 2013 computer-animated musical film '' Frozen'' and its 2019 sequel ''Frozen II'' with her husband Robert Lopez. The couple ...
and
Robert Lopez
Robert Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American songwriter for musicals, best known for co-creating ''The Book of Mormon'' and '' Avenue Q'', and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney computer-animated films '' Frozen'', its sequ ...
. In a mid-October interview,
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honorif ...
revealed that the cast had already recorded their vocal tracks, stating "We just worked on a short for ''Frozen''." On December 3, 2014, it was announced that Aimee Scribner would be a co-producer and that ''Frozen Fever'' would debut in theaters alongside
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...
' ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' on March 13, 2015.
In late December, the co-directors told the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
"There is something magic about these characters and this cast and this music. Hopefully, the audiences will enjoy the short we're doing, but we felt it again. It was really fun." Around the same time, Dave Metzger, who worked on the orchestration for ''Frozen'', disclosed he was already at work on ''Frozen Fever''.
In March 2015, the directors revealed that Walt Disney Animation Studios had brought up the possibility of creating a short film in April 2014.
Buck and Lee were initially reluctant because they were still trying to determine why ''Frozen'' had been such a success, but agreed to start brainstorming possibilities.
After early discussions about
Olaf
Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...
, head story artist Marc Smith pitched the idea of what might happen if
Elsa had a cold, which became the basis for the short's plot.
The directors began working on the short in June and by August were back in the recording studio with the cast to lay down vocal tracks.
The short features the song "Making Today a Perfect Day", by Anderson-Lopez and Lopez.
At the premiere of ''Cinderella'' and ''Frozen Fever'' at the
El Capitan Theatre
El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as th ...
in
Hollywood,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, on March 1, 2015,
Josh Gad
Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...
told ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', "I want to apologize to parents everywhere for the fact that children are going to be singing a whole new ''Frozen'' song..."
Gad's wife noticed he was still humming it two days after he recorded his lines.
Composition
In "Making Today a Perfect Day" there is a lyrical reference to "Let It Go"—Elsa notes to
Anna
Anna may refer to:
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* Anna (name)
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* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
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* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
that "a cold never bothered me anyway", this time re-purposing the line by referring to an
actual cold. ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' suggests that the songwriting duo included this
Easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
because they "know exactly what the fanbase wanted".
The beginning of the song also includes a passage to the tune of ''Life's Too Short'', one of the songs that were deleted from the film after the prophecy storyline and Elsa's role as a villain were dropped. The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said that "dedicated ''Frozen'' fans" have pointed out similarities between the two songs.
Robert Lopez
Robert Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American songwriter for musicals, best known for co-creating ''The Book of Mormon'' and '' Avenue Q'', and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney computer-animated films '' Frozen'', its sequ ...
said via Twitter: "To everyone who's noticed Life's Too Short in ''Frozen Fever'', good ear. We wrote the lyric for the intro, and then realized it would fit the old tune, so we couldn't resist using it. It's our favorite cut song and the one we bled most for."
Release
Though the short was only officially released alongside the 2015 film ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', the audio was released online on March 12. The lyrics was posted by the official Disney blog on March 13, and the lyric video was released online on March 20.
The song is heavily advertised on the front cover of the ''Cinderella'' soundtrack CD.
The song was also sung by the cast of the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
show ''
Best Friends Whenever
''Best Friends Whenever'' is an American comedy television series created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas that premiered on Disney Channel on June 26, 2015. Its final episode aired on December 11, 2016, after two seasons. The series stars Land ...
''.
Critical reception
The song has received mixed to positive reviews. Though deemed a lesser effort than "
Let It Go
"Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...
", it is still praised as being a competent catchy piece that adequately furthers the narrative of the short.
''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''s Claudia Puig described the new song as "pleasant", and noted its potential as a song to be played at young girls' birthday parties, while noting it's not as catchy as the majority of the Frozen soundtrack. Natalie Jamieson, writing for ''
Newsbeat
''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for a specifically you ...
'', called the new song "catchy and fun", though stated that it is unlikely to emulate the "phenomenal success" of "Let It Go".
Danny Walker of the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' compared the catchiness of this "new favourite" to its predecessor "Let It Go", writing "everyone will be singing '
akingToday a Perfect Day' once it hits the big screen"; he added it will make the former hit "a thing of the past". While noting that it isn't the same calibre of smash as "Let It Go", "upbeat", "peppy", and "catchy" were some of the words ''Billboard'' used to describe the number.
PopSugar deemed the song "cute", "original", "happy" and "upbeat", and suggested it "borrows distinctively from 'Let It Go'". Music Times notes that the song has been released "just when you thought you got a break from Frozen tunes". Kat Brown of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' referred to the short film as a "musical video", due to such a large proportion of it being taken up by this song. ''
Us Weekly
''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...
'' negatively compared its catchiness to "Let It Go", though described the ditty as "fresh", "bright", and "fun".
In a negative review, ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' felt that "the song itself, while hummable, is fatally damaged by its need to do too much."
Charts
References
{{authority control
2010s ballads
2015 singles
2015 songs
American songs
Kristen Bell songs
Idina Menzel songs
Songs written for animated films
Songs written by Robert Lopez
Walt Disney Records singles
Songs written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Songs from Frozen (franchise)