Josh Gad, the comedian and original star of Broadway’s The Book of Mormon, voices snowman Olaf in the new Disney animated feature Frozen. The film is loosely based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, “The Snow Queen.” “[The movie’s] traditional in the sense that it harkens back to The Little Mermaid, and it harkens back to Aladdin, and all those great movies that I grew up with during the second Golden Age of animation,” Gad told Uinterview exclusively. “But it modernizes the characters in a very interesting and unique way without making it too ‘pop culture-y.’ So, some of the themes, while they’re old, they’re approached in such a novel manner.”

Gad felt privileged to contribute to the film musically. “There’s just something about being able to sing a Disney song in one of these movies because of the grand tradition of what that means,” said Gad. “Every time I see that, that I was able to partake in something like that, I get goosebumps.”

Gad is even gaining some viral heat for one of his character’s lines promoted in the film’s trailer — Olaf tells one of the film’s two princesses, who is born with the ability to turn anything she touches into ice, that “some people are worth melting for.” “I think people are going to start melting for their friends,” Gad said. “And I don’t want to encourage that because it’s a lot less messy when you’re a snowman and you melt than if you are a human and you melt.”

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Q: What's the story behind your character Olaf? - Uinterview

My character desperately wants friendship but more than anything, he wants summer [laughs]. He's a snowman who pines for summer, which makes him, I think, a very unique snowman. While the rest of us understand that that's a death wish, he has this naivety about him. He doesn't really understand the consequences of his surroundings and the consequences of that which he longs for the most.

Q: Do you share any similarities with your character? - Uinterview

Well, I'm from Florida originally, so I'm kind of a summer guy, and I pine for winter. Granted, when I first arrived to Toronto yesterday with that brisk chill, I definitely regretted that longing desire that I had as my face nearly froze off. But I definitely share that in common with him. And I think we also both have a little bit of that gullible, naivety about us.

Q: Your co-star Kristen Bell described this moving as 'weirder and more relatable than previous Disney films.' Do you agree with that? - Uinterview

I absolutely do. I think that the characters, they're... it's traditional in the sense that it harkens back to The Little Mermaid, and it harkens back to Aladdin, and all those great movies that I grew up with during the second Golden Age of animation. But it modernizes the characters in a very interesting and unique way without making it too 'pop culture-y.' So, some of the themes, while they're old, they're approached in such a novel manner. And Kristen's character, in particular, I think is a strange princess. She's very quirky and I think very relatable because of her quirkiness.

Q: Frozen is a comedy. Do you have a favorite joke in the film? - Uinterview

Yes. Personally, I happen to love the introduction to my character and the song "In Summer," which was written by my Book of Mormon collaborator Bobby Lopez and his wife Kristen. There's just something about being able to sing a Disney song in one of these movies because of the grand tradition of what that means. So every time I see that, that I was able to partake in something like that, I get goosebumps.

Q: Your line 'some people are worth melting for' has gone viral. What's your reaction? - Uinterview

It has. I think people are going to start melting for their friends and I don't want to encourage that because it's a lot less messy when you're a snowman and you melt than if you are a human and you melt.