'Frozen Fever' brings new princess dresses

Bryan Alexander | USA TODAY

It's summer in the Frozen kingdom, and that posed some exciting challenges for the filmmakers behind the new Disney short Frozen Fever.

One big question for directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck: How do you adapt those universally beloved princess dresses to a new season?

Frozen art director Michael Giaimo was tasked with designing the warm-weather frocks for the mini-movie, which will be seen in theaters before Cinderella (opening March 13).

"That was a lot of fun, to design a dress that Elsa would make in the summer, but still be true to herself being made of ice," says Lee.

Onscreen, Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) magically makes her own full-length emerald gown and a playful birthday frock for sister Anna (Kristen Bell). "All that wonderful art direction you saw from the feature is in the short. They really look spectacular," Lee adds.

Giaimo had jokingly complained that the dramatic downshot seen in the original 2013 movie — when Elsa created her ice castle dress while singing the anthem Let It Go — didn't fully highlight his design.

"In this short, we let him have his way,' says Buck. "We don't have a downshot. That allows you to have a really good look at the dress."

Meanwhile, the snowman Olaf manages to survive the rising temperatures, thanks to the magic winter cloud created at the end of Frozen. Josh Gad was excited to voice the feel-good character again.

"Olaf has that smile. He has that everything-is-good quality and is ever-optimistic," says Gad. "It's a wonderfully delicious character to revisit."