Patty Vincent has been pretty busy since Disney's hot animated movie "Frozen" was chosen to go on ice.

It certainly was a perfect fit for an ice show, she said, and Vincent, the director of Disney's "Frozen on Ice" — heading to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia from Dec. 25 through Jan. 4 — is still excited about this version of the extremely popular movie.

"It's so much fun to work on a project like this," said Vincent. "We were given this incredible gift with this film ... with incredible songs and a great storyline. We took something from the screen — with this amazing animation — and brought it to life."

Vincent, who said she saw the movie during a screening before it was released, hasn't been able to get it out of her mind.

"It was jaw dropping," she said.

So being given the opportunity to set "Frozen" to ice has been very rewarding, she said. As an ice skater herself — a Toronto native, she started skating when she was 4 — she said she automatically "moved to the music" when she first heard the songs while watching the movie.

"Some films aren't all that musical, but this one happens to be," she said. "The songs are really story-driven."

With songs such as "Let it Go" and "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" you can't go wrong, she said. Inspired by a 1844 tale by Hans Christian Andersen called "The Snow Queen," "Frozen" fans can't get enough of those songs either.

"Kids love it," Vincent said. "It's really fun and exciting to hear them sing."

It was Vincent's job, as director, to work with the producers and writers to come up with the show's concept and then work with the choreographers to determine staging, acting and the overall performance, she said.

And for this show, there were a few challenges.

For instance, how do you make a giant snow monster — aptly named Marshmallow — that attacks Anna, Kristoff and Olaf come to life on the ice?

It's actually a "huge balloon and it has all these special effects built inside," said Vincent. The actors — Anna and Kristoff — appear so "small" beside Marshmallow, she said. And actual steam comes out of its mouth.

"It's so believable," she said.

Also, you can't put "Frozen" on ice without that huge blizzard — at the end of the film — making an appearance, can you?

"We needed to match that blizzard at the end of the movie," Vincent said.

And that's just what they did.

"We use snow machines to create that blizzard vortex ... we use fans with the snow machines down on the floor so you get that cross wind," she said. "It's really quite cool and effective."

All of that wind and snow was difficult at first for the skaters, she said. But "they got used to it," she laughed.

"We wanted to make a believable comparison. We had to work with real human beings and they loved the idea of it looking so authentic. That was really important to us."

They worked closely with Disney creators to make sure it looked as close to the film as possible, she said.

"Ultimately, we wanted to honor the film," Vincent said.

If you go: Disney presents "Frozen on Ice" at the Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, from Dec. 25-Jan. 4. Tickets are $30 to $105. www.ComcastTix.com.

Kristie Rearick may be reached at krearick@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KArearick. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.