Frozen

Frozen is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.[5] The 53rd Disney animated feature film, it is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen".[6] It tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on a journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal reindeer, and a naive snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped their kingdom in eternal winter.

Frozen underwent several story treatments before being commissioned in 2011, with a screenplay written by Jennifer Lee, who also co-directed with Chris Buck. The film features the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, and Santino Fontana. Christophe Beck was hired to compose the film's orchestral score, while Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote the songs.

Frozen premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on November 19, 2013,[7] had a limited release on November 22 and went into general theatrical release on November 27. It was met with praise for its visuals, screenplay, themes, music, and voice acting; some film critics consider Frozen to be the best Disney animated feature film since the studio's renaissance era.[8][9] The film also achieved significant commercial success, earning $1.276 billion in worldwide box office revenue, including $400 million in the United States and Canada and $247 million in Japan. It went on to surpass Toy Story 3 (which was also distributed by Disney) as the highest-grossing animated film at the time as well as the highest grossing musical film before being surpassed by the remake of The Lion King in 2019; it also ranks as the 15th highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing film of 2013, and the third highest-grossing film in Japan. It was also the highest-earning film with a female director in terms of US earnings, until surpassed by Warner Bros. Pictures' Wonder Woman.[10] With over 18 million home media sales in 2014, it became the best-selling film of the year in the United States. By January 2015, Frozen had become the all-time best-selling Blu-ray Disc in the United States.[11]

Frozen won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("Let It Go"),[12] the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film,[13] the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film,[14] five Annie Awards (including Best Animated Feature),[15] two Grammy Awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and Best Song Written for Visual Media ("Let It Go"),[16] and two Critics' Choice Movie Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("Let It Go").[17] An animated short sequel, Frozen Fever, premiered on March 13, 2015,[18] an animated featurette titled Olaf's Frozen Adventure, premiered on November 22, 2017, and a feature-length sequel, Frozen II, was released on November 22, 2019.
Plot
Princess Elsa of Arendelle possesses magical powers that allow her to control and create ice and snow, often using them to play with her younger sister, Anna. After Elsa accidentally injures Anna with her magic, their parents, the King and Queen, take both siblings to a colony of trolls led by Grand Pabbie. He heals Anna, but alters her memories so that she forgets about Elsa's magic. Grand Pabbie warns Elsa that she must learn to control her powers, and that fear will be her greatest enemy. The King and Queen isolate both sisters within the castle, closing the castle gates to their subjects. In an effort to protect her sister from her increasingly unpredictable powers, Elsa ceases all contact with Anna, creating a rift between them. When the sisters are teenagers, their parents are lost at sea during a storm.

Following her 21st birthday, Elsa is to be crowned queen of Arendelle. She is afraid that the kingdom's citizens might find out about her powers and fear her. The castle gates open to the public and visiting dignitaries for the first time in years. Among them are the scheming Duke of Weselton and the dashing Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, with whom Anna falls in love at first sight. Elsa's coronation takes place without incident, but she still remains distant from Anna. Anna and Hans develop a romantic connection during the coronation festivities, and he impulsively proposes to her, but Elsa objects when they seek her blessing. Hurt and confused, Anna protests, begging Elsa to explain her fear and isolation. The emotional strain causes Elsa to accidentally unleash her powers before the court. Branded a monster by the Duke, Elsa flees to the North Mountain, where she finally acknowledges her powers, building a palace of ice in which to live a hermit life. In the process, her magic unintentionally engulfs Arendelle in an eternal winter.

Anna ventures out to find Elsa and end the winter, leaving Hans in command. She gets lost, collecting supplies at Wandering Oaken's shop. She meets an iceman named Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven, convincing them to take her to the mountains. An attack by wolves leads to Kristoff's sleigh being destroyed. On foot, they meet Olaf, a cheerful snowman brought to life unknowingly by Elsa, who offers to lead them to her. When Anna's horse returns to Arendelle without her, Hans sets out to find Anna and Elsa, accompanied by the Duke's minions, who have secret orders to kill Elsa.

Reaching the ice palace, Anna meets Elsa. When Anna reveals what has become of Arendelle, a horrified Elsa confesses she does not know how to undo her magic. Her fear causes her powers to manifest themselves once more and she accidentally freezes Anna's heart, poisoning her. Elsa then creates a giant snow monster named Marshmallow, who chases Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf away. Realizing the effects of Elsa's spell on Anna, Kristoff takes her to the trolls, his adoptive family. Grand Pabbie reveals that Anna will freeze solid unless "an act of true love" reverses the spell.

Kristoff races Anna back home so Hans can give her true love's kiss. Hans and his men reach Elsa's palace, defeating Marshmallow and capturing Elsa. Anna is delivered to Hans, but rather than kissing her, Hans instead reveals that he has actually been plotting to seize the throne of Arendelle by eliminating both sisters. Hans locks Anna in a room to die, and then manipulates the dignitaries into believing that Elsa killed her, but not before they were married. He orders the queen's execution, only to discover she has escaped her detention cell.

Olaf frees Anna, and they venture into the blizzard outside to meet Kristoff, who Olaf has revealed is in love with her. Hans confronts Elsa outside, claiming that she killed Anna, causing Elsa to break down and abruptly stop the storm. Anna spots Hans about to kill Elsa; she leaps in the way and freezes solid, stopping Hans. Devastated, Elsa hugs and mourns over her sister, who thaws out, her heroism constituting "an act of true love".

Realizing that love is the key to controlling her magic, Elsa ends the winter and gives Olaf his own snow flurry to survive the warmer climate. Hans is arrested and exiled from the kingdom for his attempted assassination, while the Duke's trade links with Arendelle are cut off. Anna gives Kristoff a new sleigh and the two kiss. The sisters are reunited and Elsa promises never to lock the castle gates again.

In a post credits scene, Marshmallow finds Elsa's discarded crown. Marshmallow places the crown on top of its head and smiles.

Voice cast
Kristen Bell as Anna, the 18-year-old[22] Princess of Arendelle and Elsa's younger sister[23]
Livvy Stubenrauch as 5-year-old[24] Anna[25]
Katie Lopez as 5-year-old Anna (singing)[26]
Agatha Lee Monn as 9-year-old[27] Anna[28]
Idina Menzel as Elsa, the 21-year-old[29] Queen of Arendelle who possesses magical ice powers and Anna's elder sister[23][30]
Eva Bella as 8-year-old[24] Elsa[31][32]
Spencer Lacey Ganus as 12-year-old[33] Elsa[32]
Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, an iceman who is accompanied by a reindeer named Sven[34][35]
Tyree Brown as 8-year-old[36] Kristoff[37]
Josh Gad as Olaf, a sentient comic-relief snowman that Elsa and Anna created as children, who dreams of experiencing summer[23][38][39]
Santino Fontana as Hans, a prince from the Southern Isles[34]
Alan Tudyk as the Duke of Weselton[39]
Ciarán Hinds as Grand Pabbie, the Troll King[40]
Chris Williams as Oaken, the owner of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna[41]
Maia Wilson as Bulda, a troll and Kristoff's adoptive mother[42][43]
Paul Briggs as Marshmallow, a giant snow monster[44] who guards Elsa's palace
Maurice LaMarche as the King of Arendelle, Anna and Elsa's father[42][43]
Jennifer Lee as the Queen of Arendelle, Anna and Elsa's mother[45]
Non-speaking characters include Kristoff's reindeer companion Sven, horses, and wolves.[46] The grunts and snorts for Sven were all provided by Frank Welker who was not credited in the film.[47]

Production
Development
Origins
Walt Disney Productions began exploring a possible live action/animation biographical film of author and poet Hans Christian Andersen in late 1937, before the December premiere of its film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length hand-drawn animated film.[49]:10 In March 1940, Walt Disney suggested a co-production to film producer Samuel Goldwyn, where Goldwyn's studio would shoot the live-action sequences of Andersen's life and Disney's studio would animate Andersen's fairy tales.[49]:10 The animated sequences would be based on some of Andersen's best-known works, such as The Little Mermaid, The Little Match Girl, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes, and The Emperor's New Clothes. However, the studio encountered difficulty with The Snow Queen, as it could not find a way to adapt and relate the Snow Queen character to modern audiences.

After the United States entered World War II, Disney focused on making wartime propaganda, which caused development on the Disney–Goldwyn project to grind to a halt in 1942.[49]:10 Goldwyn went on to produce his own live-action film version in 1952, entitled Hans Christian Andersen, with Danny Kaye as Andersen, Charles Vidor directing, Moss Hart writing, and Frank Loesser penning the songs. All of Andersen's fairy tales were, instead, told in song and ballet in live-action, like the rest of the film. It went on to receive six Academy Award nominations the following year. Back at Disney, The Snow Queen, along with other Andersen fairy tales (including The Little Mermaid), were shelved.[50]

Later efforts
In the late 1990s,[52] Walt Disney Feature Animation started developing a new adaptation of The Snow Queen after the tremendous success of their recent films during the Disney Renaissance era (1989–1999), but the project was scrapped completely in late 2002, when Glen Keane reportedly quit the project[48] and went on to work on another project which became Tangled (2010). Even before then, Harvey Fierstein pitched his version of the story to Disney's executives, but was turned down.[50] Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi, Dick Zondag and Dave Goetz reportedly all tried their hand at it, but failed.[50] After a number of unsuccessful attempts from 2000 to 2002, Disney shelved the project again.[49]:10–11 During one of those attempts, Michael Eisner, then-chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, offered his support to the project and suggested doing it with Oscar-winning director John Lasseter at Pixar after the then-expected renewal of Pixar's contract with Disney.[53] But negotiations between Pixar and Disney collapsed in January 2004 and that contract was never renewed.[54] Instead, Eisner's successor Bob Iger negotiated Disney's purchase of Pixar in January 2006 for $7.4 billion, and Lasseter was promoted to chief creative officer of both Pixar and Disney Animation.[55][56]

The next attempt started in 2008, when Lasseter was able to convince Chris Buck (who co-directed the 1999 film Tarzan for the studio) to return to Walt Disney Animation Studios from Sony Pictures Animation (where he had recently co-directed the Oscar-nominated 2007 film Surf's Up); that September, Buck pitched several ideas to Lasseter, one of which was The Snow Queen.[49]:6,11 Buck later revealed that his initial inspiration for The Snow Queen was not the Andersen fairy tale itself, but that he wanted "to do something different on the definition of true love." "Disney had already done the 'kissed by a prince' thing, so [I] thought it was time for something new," he recalled.[57] It turned out Lasseter had been interested in The Snow Queen for a long time; back when Pixar was working with Disney on Toy Story in the 1990s, he saw and was "blown away" by some of the pre-production art from Disney's prior attempts.[49]:6 Development began under the title Anna and the Snow Queen, which was planned to be traditionally animated.[58] According to Josh Gad, he first became involved with the film at that early stage, when the plot was still relatively close to the original Andersen fairy tale and Megan Mullally was going to play Elsa.[59] By early 2010, the project entered development hell once again, when the studio again failed to find a way to make the story and the Snow Queen character work.[60][61]

Revitalization
On December 22, 2011, following the success of Tangled, Disney announced a new title for the film, Frozen, and a release date of November 27, 2013.[62] A month later, it was confirmed that the film would be a computer-animated feature in stereoscopic 3D, instead of the originally intended hand-drawn animation due to complex elements in the script regarding strong visuals.[48] Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez joined the project and started writing songs for Frozen in January 2012.[63]:44:00 On March 5, 2012, it was announced that Buck would be directing, with Lasseter and Peter Del Vecho producing.[64]

After Disney decided to advance The Snow Queen into development again, one of the main challenges Buck and Del Vecho faced was the character of the Snow Queen, who was then a villain in their drafts.[50] The studio has a tradition of screening animated films in development every twelve weeks, then holding lengthy "notes sessions" in which its directors and screenwriters from different projects provide extensive "notes" on each other's work.[65][66][67]

Buck and Del Vecho presented their storyboards to Lasseter, and the entire production team adjourned to a conference to hear his thoughts on the project.[50] Art director Michael Giaimo later acknowledged Lasseter as the "game changer" of the film: "I remember John saying that the latest version of The Snow Queen story that Chris Buck and his team had come up with was fun, very light-hearted. But the characters didn't resonate. They aren't multi-faceted. Which is why John felt that audiences wouldn't really be able to connect with them."[50]

The production team then addressed the film's problems, drafting several variations on The Snow Queen story until the characters and story felt relevant. At that stage, the first major breakthrough was the decision to rewrite the film's protagonist, Anna (who was based on the Gerda character from The Snow Queen), as the younger sibling of Elsa, thereby effectively establishing a family dynamic between the characters.[50][68][69] This was unusual in that relationships between sisters are rarely used as a major plot element in American animated films, with the notable exception of Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002).[49]:13 To fully explore the unique dynamics of such relationships, Disney Animation convened a "Sister Summit," at which women from all over the studio who grew up with sisters were asked to discuss their relationships with their sisters.[49]:14

Writing
In March 2012, Jennifer Lee, one of the writers of Wreck-It Ralph, was brought in as screenwriter.[70][71][72] Before Lee was brought on board, the efforts of the previous screen and songwriters had "imploded",[63]:9:07 which allowed the songwriters "to put a lot of [their] DNA" into the new script.[63]:30:32 The production team "essentially started over and ... had 17 months," which resulted in a very "intense schedule" and implied "a lot of choices had to be made fast".[72]

While developing the story, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck drew influence from several sources. They said the biggest influence on the film was the country of Norway, when the art department visited the country, drawing inspiration from the country's culture and environment. They also cited the influence of several films, including Hayao Miyazaki's anime productions along with the David Lean productions Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Doctor Zhivago (1965), stating that they were inspired by their sense of "epic adventure and that big scope and scale and then the intimacy of funny quirky characters."[73]

According to Lee, several core concepts were already in place, such as the film's "frozen heart" hook: "That was a concept and the phrase ... an act of true love will thaw a frozen heart."[72] They already knew the ending involved true love in the sense of the emotional bond between siblings, not romance, in that "Anna was going to save Elsa. We didn’t know how or why."[72] Lee said Edwin Catmull, president of Disney Animation, told her early on about the film's ending: ".. you have to earn that ending. If you do[,] it will be great. If you don't, it will suck".[65] However, the final version differed sharply from the earlier ones. In the original, Elsa had been evil from the start, kidnapping Anna from her own wedding to intentionally freeze her heart and later descending upon the town with an army of snowmen.[63]:8:42 "The whole second act was about Anna trying to get to Hans and to kiss him and then Elsa trying to stop her".[72] Buck revealed that the original plot attempted to make Anna sympathetic by focusing on her frustration as the "spare" in relation to the "heir".[74] The pacing of the revised plot focused on musical comedy with less action and adventure.[70]

A breakthrough was the composition of the song "Let It Go" by Lopez and Anderson-Lopez, which forced a reimagining of Elsa as a more complex, vulnerable, and sympathetic character.[68] In The Daily Telegraph's words, the songwriters saw Elsa not as a villain but as "a scared girl struggling to control and come to terms with her gift".[75] "Bobby and Kristen...started talking about what would it feel like [to be Elsa]", Lee said. "And this concept of letting out who she is[,] that she's kept to herself for so long[,] and she's alone and free, but then the sadness of the fact [sic] that the last moment is she's alone".[72] Del Vecho explained that "Let It Go" changed Elsa into a person "ruled by fear and Anna was ruled by her own love of other people and her own drive", which caused Lee to "rewrite the first act and then that rippled through the entire movie. So that was when we really found the movie and who these characters were".[67]

Another breakthrough was developing the plot twist that Prince Hans, having not even been in the first drafts, would be revealed as the true villain only near the end.[67] Del Vecho said, "if we were going to make the ending so surprising[,] you had to believe at one point that Hans was the answer ... [when] he's not the answer, it's Kristoff ... [I]f you can get the audience to leap ahead and think they have figured it out[,] you can surprise them by turning it the other way".[67] Lee acknowledged that Hans was written as "sociopathic" and "twisted".[72] "It was difficult to lay the foundation for Anna's belated turn to Kristoff without also making Hans' betrayal of Anna too predictable, in that the audience had to "feel ... her feeling something but not quite understanding it ... Because the minute it is [understood,] it deflated."[72] In earlier drafts, Anna openly flirted with Kristoff at their first meeting, but that was changed after Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn pointed out that it would confuse and annoy viewers, since Anna was already engaged to Hans.[76]

Lee had to work through how to write Anna's personality; some of her colleagues felt Anna should be more dysfunctional and co-dependent.[70] Lee disagreed, but it took her almost a year to convincingly articulate "this is what Anna's journey is. No more than that. No less than that."[72] In the end, Lee successfully argued for a simple coming-of-age story, "where she goes from having a naive view of life and love – because she's lonely – to the most sophisticated and mature view of love, where she's capable of the ultimate love, which is sacrifice".[70] Lee also had to let go of ideas that she liked, such as a scene portraying Anna and Elsa's relationship as teenagers, because they needed to maintain the separation between Anna and Elsa.[70] To construct Anna and Elsa's relationship, Lee found inspiration from her own relationship with her older sister.[72][77] Lee called her older sister "my Elsa" in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, and walked the red carpet with her at the 86th Academy Awards.[66] Lee explained, "[h]aving to ... lose each other and then rediscover each other as adults, that was a big part of my life".[72]

The team also turned Olaf from Elsa's obnoxious sidekick into Anna's comically innocent one.[72] Lee's initial response to the original "mean" version of Olaf had been, "Kill the f-ing snowman", and she found Olaf by far "the hardest character to deal with".[72] The problem of how Anna would save Elsa at the climax was solved by story artist John Ripa. At the story meeting where Ripa pitched his take on the story, Lasseter said, "I've never seen anything like that before", followed by a standing ovation.[49]:31 Along the way, the team abandoned a lot of the detail of earlier drafts, such as a troll with a Brooklyn accent to explain the backstory behind Elsa's magical powers, and a regent for whom Lee was hoping to cast comedian Louis C.K.[72] These were excised because they amounted to a "much more complex story than really we felt like we could fit in this 90-minute film".[72] As Del Vecho put it, "the more we tried to explain things at the beginning, the more complicated it got".[78]

Given Lee's extensive involvement in the development process,[51] she was promoted to co-director by studio heads Lasseter and Catmull in August 2012,[65][79] which was announced that November,[80] making Lee the first woman to direct a full-length animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios.[51][67][68] Lee later said that she was "really moved by a lot of what Chris had done" and that they "shared a vision" of the story, having "very similar sensibilities".[65]

By November 2012, the team thought they had finally "cracked" the film's story,[49]:155 but according to Del Vecho, in late February 2013 it was realized that it still "wasn't working", which necessitated more rewriting from February through June 2013.[78][81][82] He explained, "we rewrote songs, we took out characters and changed everything, and suddenly the movie gelled. But that was close. In hindsight, piece of cake, but during, it was a big struggle."[78] Looking back, Anderson-Lopez joked she and Lopez thought they could have ended up working as "birthday party clown[s]" if the final product "pull[ed] ... down" their careers[63]:19:07 and recalled that "we were really writing up until the last minute".[83] In June (five months before the announced release date), the songwriters finally got the film working when they composed the song "For the First Time in Forever", which, in Lopez's words, "became the linchpin of the whole movie".[63]:19:24 That month, Disney conducted test screenings of the part-completed film with two audiences (one of families and the other of adults)[81] in Phoenix, Arizona,[77] at which Lasseter and Catmull were present.[72][84] Lee recalled that it was the moment when they realized they "had something, because the reaction was huge".[84] Catmull told her afterwards, "you did it".[72]

Casting
Actress Kristen Bell was cast as the voice of Anna on March 5, 2012.[34][64] The filmmakers listened to a series of vocal tracks Bell had recorded when she was young, in which she performed several songs from The Little Mermaid, including "Part of Your World".[85] Bell completed her Frozen recording sessions while she was pregnant, and rerecorded some lines after her pregnancy, as her voice had deepened.[86] Bell was called in to re-record dialogue for the film "probably 20 times," which is normal for lead roles in Disney animated films whose scripts are still evolving.[87] As for her approach to the role of Anna, Bell enthused that she had "dreamed of being in a Disney animated film" since she was four years old,[34] saying, "I always loved Disney animation, but there was something about the females that was unattainable to me. Their posture was too good and they were too well-spoken, and I feel like I really made this girl much more relatable and weirder and scrappier and more excitable and awkward. I'm really proud of that.
Idina Menzel, a Broadway veteran, was cast as Elsa. Menzel had formerly auditioned for Tangled, but did not get the part. However, Tangled's casting director, Jamie Sparer Roberts, preserved a recording of Menzel's performance on her iPhone, and on the basis of that, asked her to audition along with Bell for Frozen.[89] Before they were officially cast, Menzel and Bell deeply impressed the directors and producers at an early table read; after reading the entire script out loud, they sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" together as a duet, since no music had been composed yet.[30][68][89] Bell had suggested that idea when she visited Menzel at her California home to prepare together for the table read.[89][90] The songwriters were also present for the table read; Anderson-Lopez said "Lasseter was in heaven" upon hearing Menzel and Bell sing in harmony, and from that moment forward, he insisted, "Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel have to be in the movie!"[63]:32:07 Lee said, "They sung [sic] it like sisters and what you mean to me[,] [a]nd there wasn't a dry eye in the house after they sang."[67] Between December 2012 and June 2013, the casting of additional roles was announced, including Jonathan Groff as Kristoff,[35] Alan Tudyk as the Duke of Weselton, Santino Fontana as Prince Hans, and Josh Gad as Olaf.[39]

Animation
Similar to Tangled, Frozen employed a unique artistic style by blending together features of both computer-generated imagery (CGI) and traditional hand-drawn animation.[91] From the beginning, Buck knew Giaimo was the best candidate to develop the style he had in mind – which would draw from the best Disney hand-drawn films of the 1950s, the Disney Little Golden Books, and mid-century modern design – and persuaded him to come back to Disney to serve as the art director for Frozen.[49]:33 Buck, Lasseter, and Giaimo were all old friends who had first met at the California Institute of the Arts,[49]:33 and Giaimo had previously served as the art director for Disney's Pocahontas (1995), which Buck had worked on as a supervising animator.[92]

To create the look of Frozen, Giaimo began pre-production research by reading extensively about the entire region of Scandinavia and visiting the Danish-themed city of Solvang near Los Angeles, but eventually zeroed in on Norway in particular because "80 percent" of the visuals that appealed to him were from Norway.[93] Disney eventually sponsored three research field trips.[94] Animators and special effects specialists were dispatched to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to experience walking, running, and falling in deep snow in a variety of types of attire, including long skirts (which both female and male personnel tried on);[51][93][94][95] while lighting and arts teams visited an Ice Hotel in Quebec City, Quebec to study how light reflects and refracts on snow and ice.[78] Finally, Giaimo and several artists traveled to Norway to draw inspiration from its mountains, fjords, architecture, and culture.[94][96] "We had a very short time schedule for this film, so our main focus was really to get the story right but we knew that John Lasseter is keen on truth in the material and creating a believable world, and again that doesn't mean it's a realistic world – but a believable one. It was important to see the scope and scale of Norway, and important for our animators to know what it's like," Del Vecho said.[97] "There is a real feeling of Lawrence of Arabia scope and scale to this," he finished.[97]

During 2012, while Giaimo and the animators and artists conducted preparatory research and developed the film's overall look, the production team was still struggling to develop a compelling script, as explained above. That problem was not adequately solved until November 2012,[49]:155 and the script would later require even more significant revisions after that point.[78][81] As a result, the single "most daunting" challenge facing the animation team was a short schedule of less than 12 months to turn Lee's still-evolving shooting script into an actual film.[49]:155 Other films like Pixar's Toy Story 2 had been successfully completed on even shorter schedules, but a short schedule necessarily meant "late nights, overtime, and stress."[49]:155 Lee estimated the total size of the entire team on Frozen to be around 600 to 650 people, "including around 70 lighting people[,] 70-plus animators," and 15 to 20 storyboard artists.[98]

Del Vecho explained how the film's animation team was organized: "On this movie we do have character leads, supervising animators on specific characters. The animators themselves may work on multiple characters but it's always under one lead. I think it was different on Tangled, for example, but we chose to do it this way as we wanted one person to fully understand and develop their own character and then be able to impart that to the crew. Hyrum Osmond, the supervising animator on Olaf, is quiet but he has a funny, wacky personality so we knew he'd bring a lot of comedy to it; Anna's animator, Becky Bresee, it's her first time leading a character and we wanted her to lead Anna."[51][68][99] Acting coach Warner Loughlin was brought in to help the film's animators understand the characters they were creating.[95] In order to get the general feeling of each scene, some animators did their own acting. "I actually film myself acting the scene out, which I find very helpful," said animation supervisor Rebecca Wilson Bresee. This helped her discover elements that made the scene feel real and believable.[100] Elsa's supervising animator was Wayne Unten, who asked for that role because he was fascinated by the complexity of the character.[101] Unten carefully developed Elsa's facial expressions in order to bring out her fear as contrasted against Anna's fearlessness.[101] He also studied videos from Menzel's recording sessions and animated Elsa's breathing to match Menzel's breathing.[95] Head of Animation, Lino DiSalvo, said, "The goal for the film was to animate the most believable CG characters you've ever seen."[102]

Regarding the look and nature of the film's cinematography, Giaimo was greatly influenced by Jack Cardiff's work in Black Narcissus (1947). According to him, it lent a hyper-reality to the film: "Because this is a movie with such scale and we have the Norwegian fjords to draw from, I really wanted to explore the depth. From a design perspective, since I was stressing the horizontal and vertical aspects, and what the fjords provide, it was perfect. We encased the sibling story in scale." Ted D. McCord's work in The Sound of Music was another major influence for Giaimo. It was also Giaimo's idea that Frozen should be produced in the CinemaScope widescreen process, which was approved by Lasseter.[99] This made Frozen the first animated film to be completely produced in CinemaScope since 2000's Titan A.E.. Giaimo also wanted to ensure that Norway's fjords, architecture and rosemaling folk art, were critical factors in designing the environment of Arendelle. Giaimo, whose background is in traditional animation, said that the art design environment represents a unity of character and environment and that he originally wanted to incorporate saturated colors, which is typically ill-advised in computer animation.[99] For further authenticity, a live reindeer named Sage was brought into the studio for animators to study its movements and mannerisms for the character Sven.[103][104]

Another important issue Giaimo insisted on addressing was costumes, in that he "knew from the start" it would be a "costume film."[49]:77 To realize that vision, he brought in character designer Jean Gillmore to act as a dedicated "costume designer".[105] While traditional animation simply integrates costume design with character design and treats clothing as merely part of the characters, computer-generated animation regards costume as almost a separate entity with its own properties and behaviors[105] – and Frozen required a level of as-yet untried detail, down to minutiae like fabrics, buttons, trim, and stitching.[49]:76 Gillmore explained that her "general approach was to meld the historic silhouettes of 1840 Western Europe (give or take), with the shapes and garment relationships and details of folk costume in early Norway, circa 19th century."[105] This meant using primarily wool fabric with accents of velvet, linen, and silk.[49]:75 During production, Giaimo and Gillmore "ran around" supplying various departments with real-world samples to use as references; they were able to draw upon both the studio's own in-house library of fabric samples and the resources of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' costume division in Fullerton, California.[105] The film's "look development artists" (the Disney job title for texture artists[106]:58–59) created the digitally painted simulation of the appearance of surfaces, while other departments dealt with movement, rigging and weight, thickness and lighting of textile animation.[105]

During production, the film's English title was changed from The Snow Queen to Frozen, a decision that drew comparisons to another Disney film, Tangled. Peter Del Vecho explained that "the title Frozen came up independently of the title Tangled. It's because, to us, it represents the movie. Frozen plays on the level of ice and snow but also the frozen relationship, the frozen heart that has to be thawed. We don't think of comparisons between Tangled and Frozen, though." He also mentioned that the film will still retain its original title, The Snow Queen, in some countries: "because that just resonated stronger in some countries than Frozen. Maybe there's a richness to The Snow Queen in the country's heritage and they just wanted to emphasize that."[51]

Technology development
The studio also developed several new tools to generate realistic and believable shots, particularly the heavy and deep snow and its interactions with the characters. Disney wanted an "all-encompassing" and organic tool to provide snow effects but not require switching between different methods.[107] As noted above, several Disney artists and special effects personnel traveled to Wyoming to experience walking through deep snow.[93] Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, a professor from the California Institute of Technology, was invited to give lectures to the effects group on how snow and ice form, and why snowflakes are unique.[93] Using this knowledge, the effects group created a snowflake generator that allowed them to randomly create 2,000 unique snowflake shapes for the film.[100]

Another challenge that the studio had to face was to deliver shots of heavy and deep snow that both interacted believably with characters and had a realistic sticky quality.[107] According to principal software engineer Andrew Selle, "[Snow]'s not really a fluid. It’s not really a solid. It breaks apart. It can be compressed into snowballs. All of these different effects are very difficult to capture simultaneously."[93] In order to achieve this, software engineers used advanced mathematics (the material point method) and physics, with assistance from mathematics researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles[108][109] to create a snow simulator software application called Matterhorn. The tool was capable of depicting realistic snow in a virtual environment and was used in at least 43 scenes in the film, including several key sequences.[68][107][108][110] Software engineer Alexey Stomakhin referred to snow as "an important character in the film,"[108] therefore it attracted special attention from the filmmakers.[93] "When you stretch it, snow will break into chunks. Since snow doesn't have any connections, it doesn't have a mesh, it can break very easily. So that was an important property we took advantage of," explained Selle. "There you see [Kristoff] walking through and see his footprints breaking the snow into little pieces and chunk up and you see [Anna] being pulled out and the snow having packed together and broken into pieces. It's very organic how that happens. You don't see that they're pieces already – you see the snow as one thing and then breaking up."[107] The tool also proved to be particularly useful in scenes involving characters walking through deep snow, as it ensured that the snow reacted naturally to each step.[93]

Other tools designed to help artists complete complicated effects included Spaces, which allowed Olaf's deconstructible parts to be moved around and rebuilt, Flourish, which allowed extra movement such as leaves and twigs to be art-directed; Snow Batcher, which helped preview the final look of the snow, especially when characters were interacting with an area of snow by walking through a volume, and Tonic, which enabled artists to sculpt their characters' hair as procedural volumes.[107] Tonic also aided in animating fur and hair elements such as Elsa's hair, which contains 420,000 computer-generated strands, while the average number for a real human being is only 100,000.[93] The number of character rigs in Frozen is 312 and the number of simulated costumes also reached 245 cloth rigs, which were far beyond all other Disney films to date.[28][100] Fifty effects artists and lighting artists worked together on the technology to create "one single shot" in which Elsa builds her ice palace. Its complexity required 30 hours to render each frame, with 4,000 computers rendering one frame at a time.[111][112]

Besides 3D effects, the filmmakers also used 2D artwork and drawings for specific elements and sequences in the film, including Elsa's magic and snow sculptures, as well as freezing fountains and floors.[107][110] The effects group created a "capture stage" where the entire world of Frozen gets displayed on monitors, which can be "filmed" on special cameras to operate a three-dimensional scene. "We can take this virtual set that's mimicking all of my actions and put it into any one of our scenes in the film," said technology manager Evan Goldberg.[100]

Scandinavian and Sámi inspiration
The setting was principally based on Norway, and the cultural influences in the film come from Scandinavian culture.[113] Several landmarks in Norway appear in the film, including the Akershus Fortress in Oslo, the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, and Bryggen in Bergen. Numerous other typical cultural Scandinavian elements are also included in the film, such as stave churches,[113] trolls,[114] Viking ships, a hot spring, Fjord horses,[115] clothes,[93] and food such as lutefisk.[116][117] A maypole is also present in the film, as well as the brief appearance of runes in a book that Anna and Elsa's father opens to figure out where the trolls live.[114] A scene where two men argue over whether to stack firewood bark up or bark down is a reference to the perennial Norwegian debate over how to stack firewood properly.[118][119] The film also contains several elements specifically drawn from Sámi culture, such as the usage of reindeer for transportation and the equipment used to control these, clothing styles (the outfits of the ice cutters), and parts of the musical score.[120][121] Decorations, such as those on the castle pillars and Kristoff's sled, are also in styles inspired by Sámi duodji decorations. During their field work in Norway, Disney's team, for inspiration, visited Rørosrein, a Sámi family-owned company in the village Plassje that produces reindeer meat and arranges tourist events.[122] Arendelle was inspired by Nærøyfjord, a branch of Norway's longest fjord Sognefjorden, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site;[123] while a castle in Oslo with beautiful hand-painted patterns on all four walls served as the inspiration for the kingdom's royal castle interior.[124]

The filmmakers' trip to Norway provided essential knowledge for the animators to come up with the design aesthetic for the film in terms of color, light, and atmosphere. According to Giaimo, there were three important factors that they had acquired from the Norway research trip: the fjords and the massive vertical rock formations characteristic of fjords, which serve as the setting for the secluded kingdom of Arendelle; the medieval stave churches, whose rustic triangular rooflines and shingles inspired the castle compound; and the rosemaling folk art, whose distinctive paneling and grid patterns informed the architecture, decor, and costumes.[99]

Music and sound design
The songs for Frozen were written and composed by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, both of whom had previously worked with Disney Animation on Winnie the Pooh (2011) (also produced by Del Vecho, who then hired them for Frozen[81]) and before that, with Disney Parks on Finding Nemo – The Musical (2007).[30][125][126] Lopez first heard Disney Animation's pitch while in Los Angeles working on The Book of Mormon, but Disney was so eager to get both of them on board that the production team traveled to New York City to also pitch the film in person to Anderson-Lopez (who was busy raising the couple's two young daughters).[127] Lopez believes Disney was particularly interested in his wife's strong story talent.[128] The decision, of course, was easy: "Whenever Disney asks if you want to do a fairy tale musical, you say yes."[128]

About 23 minutes of the film are dedicated to their musical numbers.[129][130] Because they live in New York City, collaborating closely with the production team in Burbank required two-hour-long transcontinental videoconferences nearly every weekday for about 14 months.[96][126][131][132] For each song they composed, they recorded a demo in their home studio (with both of them singing the lyrics and Lopez accompanying on piano), then emailed it to Burbank for discussion at the next videoconference.[133] Lopez and Anderson-Lopez were aware of the fact that their work would be compared to that of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman from the Disney Renaissance era, and whenever they felt lost, they asked "What would Ashman do?"[134] In the end, they wrote 25 songs for the film, of which eight made it into the final version.[134] One song ("For the First Time in Forever") had a reprise and the other ("Let It Go") was covered by Demi Lovato over the final credits, for a total of ten songs. Seven of the 17 that did not make it were later released on the deluxe edition soundtrack.

In February 2013, Christophe Beck was hired to score the film, following his work on Paperman, a Disney animated short film released the year prior to Frozen.[135] It was revealed on September 14, 2013, that Sámi musician Frode Fjellheim's Eatnemen Vuelie would be the film's opening song, as it contains elements of the traditional Sámi singing style joik.[136] The music producers recruited a Norwegian linguist to assist with the lyrics for an Old Norse song written for Elsa's coronation[137] and traveled to Trondheim, Norway,[134] to record the all-female choir Cantus, for a piece inspired by traditional Sámi music.[137]

Under the supervision of sound engineer David Boucher, the lead cast members began recording the film's vocal tracks in October 2012 at the Sunset Sound recording studio in Hollywood before the songs had been orchestrated, meaning they heard only Lopez's demo piano track in their headphones as they sang.[138] Most of the dialogue was recorded at the Roy E. Disney Animation Building in Burbank under the supervision of original dialogue mixer Gabriel Guy, who also mixed the film's sound effects.[87] Some dialogue was recorded after recording songs at both Sunset Sound and Capitol Studios; for scenes involving Anna and Elsa, both studios offered vocal isolation booths where Menzel and Bell could read dialogue with line-of-sight with one another, while avoiding "bleedthrough" between their respective tracks.[87] Additional dialogue was recorded at an ADR facility on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank (across the street from the Disney Animation building) and at the Soundtrack Group's New York studio,[87] since the production team had to work around the busy schedules of the film's New York-based cast members like Fontana.[139]

Lopez and Anderson-Lopez's piano-vocal scores for the songs along with the vocal tracks were sent to Salem, Oregon-based Dave Metzger for arrangement and orchestration;[138][140] Metzger also orchestrated a significant portion of Beck's score.[126]

For the orchestral film score, Beck paid homage to the Norway- and Sápmi-inspired setting by employing regional instruments, such as the bukkehorn, and traditional vocal techniques, such as kulning.[137] Beck worked with Lopez and Anderson-Lopez on incorporating their songs into arrangements in the score. The trio's goal "was to create a cohesive musical journey from beginning to end."[137] Similarly, Beck's scoring mixer, Casey Stone (who also supervised the recording of the score), worked with Boucher to align their microphone setups to ensure the transitions between the songs and score were seamless, even though they were separately recorded on different dates.[138] The final orchestrations of both the songs and score were all recorded at the Eastwood Scoring Stage[138][141] on the Warner Bros. Pictures studio lot in Burbank by an 80-piece orchestra, featuring 32 vocalists, including native Norwegian Christine Hals.[137] Boucher supervised the recording of Anderson-Lopez and Lopez's songs from July 22 to 24, 2013, then Stone supervised the recording of Beck's score from September 3 to 6 and 9 to 10. Boucher mixed the songs at the Eastwood stage, while Stone mixed the score at Beck's personal studio in Santa Monica, California.[138]

Regarding the sound of Frozen, director Jennifer Lee stated that sound played a huge part in making the film "visceral" and "transported"; she explained, "[i]n letting it tell the story emotionally, the sound of the ice when it's at its most dangerous just makes you shudder."[142] The complete silence at the climax of the film right after Anna freezes was Lasseter's idea, one he "really wanted".[142] In that scene, even the ambient sound that would normally be there was taken out in order to make it feel unusual.[142] Lee explained "that was a moment where we wanted everything to feel suspended."[142]

To obtain certain snow and ice sound effects, sound designer Odin Benitez traveled to Mammoth Mountain, California, to record them at a frozen lake.[96] However, the foley work for the film was recorded on the foley stage on the Warner Bros. Pictures lot by a Warner Bros. crew.[87][141] The foley artists received daily deliveries of 50 pounds (22.6 kg) of snow ice while working, to help them record all the necessary snow and ice sounds for the film.[87] Because the film's visuals were finalized so late, five separate versions of nearly every footstep on snow were recorded (corresponding to five different types of snow), then one was later selected during mixing to match the snow as rendered in the final version of each scene.[87] One issue that the production team was "particular" about was the sound of Elsa's footsteps in the ice palace, which required eight attempts, including wine glasses on ice and metal knives on ice; they ended up using a mix of three sounds.[87]

Although the vocals, music, sound effects, and almost all the dialogue were all recorded elsewhere, the final re-recording mix to Dolby Atmos format was performed at the Disney lot by Casey E. Fluhr of Disney Digital Studio Services.[87][141]

Localization
Like other Disney media products which are often localized through Disney Character Voices International, Frozen was translated and dubbed into 41 languages (compared with only 15 for The Lion King).[143] A major challenge was to find sopranos capable of matching Menzel's warm vocal tone and three-octave vocal range in their native languages.[143][144] Rick Dempsey, the unit's senior executive, regarded the process of translating the film as "exceptionally challenging"; he explained, "It's a difficult juggling act to get the right intent of the lyrics and also have it match rhythmically to the music. And then you have to go back and adjust for lip sync! [It]...requires a lot of patience and precision."[145] Lopez explained that they were told by Disney to remove complex wordplay and puns from their songs, to ensure the film was easily translatable and had globally appealing lyrics.[146] For the casting of dubbed versions, Disney required native speakers in order to "ensure that the film feels 'local'."[145] They used Bell and Menzel's voices as their "blueprint" in casting, and tried to match the voices "as much as possible," meaning that they auditioned approximately 200 singers to fill the 41 slots for Elsa alone.[145] For nearly 15 dubbed versions, they cast Elsa's singing and speaking parts separately, since not all vocalists could act the part they were singing.[145] After casting all the other roles for all 41 languages, the international cast ended up including more than 900 people, who voiced their roles through approximately 1,300 recording sessions.[147] The Italian version of the movie was awarded best foreign dubbing worldwide
Frozen was released theatrically in the United States on November 27, 2013, and it was accompanied by the new Mickey Mouse animated short film, Get a Horse![153] The film's premiere was at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on November 19, 2013,[154] and had a five-day limited release there, starting from November 22, before going into wide release.[1][155]

Prior to the film's release, Lopez and Anderson-Lopez's "Let It Go" and "In Summer" were previewed at the 2013 D23 Expo; Idina Menzel performed the former live on stage.[156] A teaser trailer was released on June 18, 2013,[157][158] followed by the release of the official trailer on September 26, 2013.[159][160][161] Frozen was also promoted heavily at several Disney theme parks including Disneyland's Fantasyland, Disney California Adventure's World of Color, Epcot's Norway pavilion, and Disneyland Paris' Disney Dreams! show;[5][162][163] Disneyland and Epcot both offered meet-and-greet sessions involving the film's two main characters, Anna and Elsa.[164] On November 6, 2013, Disney Consumer Products began releasing a line of toys and other merchandise relating to the film in Disney Store and other retailers.[165]

On January 31, 2014, a sing-along version of Frozen was released in 2,057 theaters in the United States. It featured on-screen lyrics, and viewers were invited to follow the bouncing snowflake and sing along with the songs from the film.[166][167][168] After its wide release in Japan on March 14, 2014, a similar sing-along version of Frozen was released in the country in select theaters on April 26. In Japanese-dubbed versions, Japanese lyrics of the songs appeared on screen for audiences to sing along with the characters.[169] A sing-along version of the film was released in United Kingdom on November 28, 2014.[170]

Home media
Frozen was released for digital download on February 25, 2014, on Google Play, the iTunes Store, and Amazon Video.[171] It was subsequently released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on March 18, 2014.[172] Bonus features for the Blu-ray release include[173][174] "The Making of Frozen", a three-minute musical production about how the film was made,[175] "D'frosted", an inside look at how Disney tried to adapt the original fairy tale into an animated feature, four deleted scenes with introduction by the directors, the original theatrical short Get a Horse!, the film's teaser trailer, and "Let It Go" (End Credit Version) music videos by Demi Lovato, Martina Stoessel, and Marsha Milan Londoh;[176][177] while the DVD release includes the Get a Horse! theatrical short, "Let It Go" musical videos and the film's teaser trailer.[173]

On its first day of release on Blu-ray and DVD, Frozen sold 3.2 million units, becoming one of the biggest home video sellers in the last decade, as well as Amazon's best-selling children's disc of all time.[178] The digital download release of the film also set a record as the fastest-selling digital release of all time.[179][180] Frozen finished its first week at No. 1 in unit sales in the United States, selling more than three times as many units as other 19 titles in the charts combined, according to the Nielsen's sales chart.[181] The film sold 3,969,270 Blu-ray units (the equivalent of $79,266,322) during its first week,[182] which accounted for 50 percent of its opening home media sales.[181] It topped the U.S. home video sales charts for six non-consecutive weeks out of seven weeks of release, as of May 4, 2014.[183] In the United Kingdom, Frozen debuted at No. 1 in Blu-ray and DVD sales on the Official Video Chart.[184] According to Official Charts Company, more than 500,000 copies of the film were sold in its two-day opening (March 31 – April 1, 2014).[185] During its three first weeks of release in the United Kingdom, Frozen sold more than 1.45 million units, becoming the biggest-selling video title of 2014 so far in the country.[186] Frozen has sold 2,025,000 Blu-ray Disc/DVD combo sets in Japan in 4 weeks, becoming the fastest-selling home video to sell 2 million copies, beating the previous record of 11 weeks by Spirited Away. Frozen also holds the records for highest number of home video units sold on the first official day of sales and in the first official week of sales in Japan.[187] As of the end of 2014, the film earned $308,026,545 in total US home media sales.[188] It is one of the best-selling home media releases, having moved over 18 million units as of March 2015.[189] As of July 2018, Frozen is the biggest-selling Blu-ray in the United States of all-time with over 7.5 million units sold, narrowly beating Avatar.[190]

Following an announcement on August 12, 2014, a sing-along reissue of Frozen was released via DVD and digital download on November 18, 2014.[191][192][193][194]

Frozen was re-released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and 4K digital download on October 1, 2019.[195]

Lawsuit against Phase 4 Films
Main article: Phase 4 Films § Trademark infringement lawsuit
In late December 2013, The Walt Disney Company filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in California federal court against Phase 4 Films, seeking an injunction against the continued distribution of the Canadian film The Legend of Sarila, which had been retitled Frozen Land in the United States and had a logo similar to the Disney film.[196] By late January 2014, the two companies had settled the case; the settlement stated that the distribution and promotion of The Legend of Sarila and related merchandise must use its original title and Phase 4 must not use trademarks, logos or other designs confusingly similar to Disney's animated release.[197][198][199] Phase 4 was also required to pay Disney $100,000 before January 27, 2014, and make "all practicable efforts" to remove copies of Frozen Land from stores and online distributors before March 3, 2014.[197][198]

File sharing
According to copyright infringement-tracking site Excipio, Frozen was the second most pirated film of 2014, behind The Wolf of Wall Street, with over 29.9 million illegal downloads via torrent sites.[200]

Television broadcast
In the UK, Frozen was broadcast on BBC One as a Freeview premiere on December 25, 2016,[201] with 5.81 million viewers.[202]

The film had its US broadcast debut on December 11, 2016, airing on ABC under the Wonderful World of Disney anthology.[203] The airing achieved over 6.6 million viewers, lifting ABC's usual ratings on Sundays.[204]

The Japanese broadcast aired on Fuji TV on March 4, 2017.[205]

Reception
Box office
Frozen earned $400.7 million in North America, and an estimated $890 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $1,276,480,335.[4][206][207][208][209][210] Calculating in all expenses, Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of over $400 million.[211] It is the fifteenth-highest-grossing film[212] (and was the fifth-highest at its peak), the second highest-grossing animated film (and was first-highest at its peak),[213][214] the highest-grossing 2013 film,[215] the second highest-grossing Walt Disney Pictures release, and the fifth-highest-grossing film distributed by Disney.[216] The film earned $110.6 million worldwide in its opening weekend.[217] On March 2, 2014, its 101st day of release, it surpassed the $1 billion mark, becoming the eighteenth film in cinematic history, the seventh Disney-distributed film, the fifth non-sequel film,[218] the second Disney-distributed film in 2013 (after Iron Man 3), and the first animated film since Toy Story 3 to do so.[219]

Bloomberg Business reported in March 2014 that outside analysts had projected the film's total cost at somewhere around $323 million to $350 million for production, marketing, and distribution, and had also projected that the film would generate $1.3 billion in revenue from box office ticket sales, digital downloads, discs, and television rights.[220]

North America
Frozen became Fandango's top advance ticket seller among original animated films, ahead of previous record-holder Brave,[221] and became the top-selling animated film in the company's history in late January 2014.[168] The sing-along version of the film later topped the best-selling list of the movie ticketing service again for three days.[168] Frozen opened on Friday, November 22, 2013, exclusively at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood for a five-day limited release and earned $342,839 before its wide opening on Wednesday, November 27, 2013.[222] During the three-day weekend it earned $243,390, scoring the seventh-largest per-theater average.[223] On the opening day of its wide release, the film earned $15.2 million,[224] including $1.2 million from Tuesday late-night shows,[225] and set a record for the highest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday opening, ahead of Tangled ($11.9 million).[226] It was also the second-largest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday among all films, behind Catching Fire ($20.8 million). The film finished in second place over the traditional three-day weekend (Friday-to-Sunday) with $67.4 million, setting an opening weekend record among Walt Disney Animation Studios films.[227] It also scored the second-largest opening weekend among films that did not debut at #1.[228][229] Female audiences accounted for 57% of Frozen's total audiences on the first weekend, while family audiences held a proportion of 81%.[229][230] Among films that opened during Thanksgiving, it set new records; three-day ($67.4 million from Friday to Sunday)[231] and five-day ($93.6 million from Wednesday to Sunday).[232] It also achieved the second-largest three-day[233] and five-day[234] Thanksgiving gross among all films, behind Catching Fire.[235]

During its second weekend of wide release, Frozen declined 53% to $31.6 million, but jumped to first place, setting a record for the largest post-Thanksgiving weekend, ahead of Toy Story 2 ($27.8 million).[236] Frozen became the first film since Avatar to reach first place in its sixth weekend of wide release.[237] It remained in the top 10 at the box office for sixteen consecutive weekends[238][239] (the longest run by any film since 2002[214]) and achieved large weekend grosses from its fifth[240] to its twelfth weekend (of wide release), compared to other films in their respective weekends.[241] On April 25, 2014, Frozen became the nineteenth film to gross $400 million in North America and the fifteenth to do so without a major re-release.[242]

In North America, Frozen is the twenty-sixth-highest-grossing film,[243] the third-highest-grossing 2013 film,[244] the fifth-highest-grossing animated film,[245] the highest-grossing 2013 animated film, the twelfth-highest-grossing 3-D film,[246] and the second-highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation Studios film.[247] Excluding re-releases, it has the highest-grossing initial run among non-sequel animated films (a record previously held by Finding Nemo)[248][249] and among Walt Disney Animation Studios films (a record previously held by The Lion King).[250] Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 49 million tickets in North America.[251]

Outside North America
Frozen is the ninth-highest-grossing film,[252] the highest-grossing animated film,[252][253] and the highest-grossing 2013 film.[254] It is the highest-grossing animated film in South Korea, Denmark, and Venezuela.[255][256][257] It is also the highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation Studios film in more than 45 territories,[249] including the Latin America region (specifically in Mexico and Brazil), the UK, Ireland, and Malta, Russia and the CIS, Ukraine, Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and China.[258][259][260][261]

The film made its debut outside North America on the same weekend as its wide North American release and earned $16.7 million from sixteen markets.[229] It topped the box office outside North America for two weekends in 2014; January 10–12 ($27.8 million)[262] and February 7–9 ($24 million).[263] Overall, its largest opening weekends occurred in China (five-day opening of $14.3 million),[264] Russia and the CIS ($11.9 million, including previews from previous weekend), where the film set an opening weekend record among Disney animated films (ahead of Tangled),[265] and Japan (three-day opening of $9.73 million).[266][267] It set an opening weekend record among animated films in Sweden.[268] In total earnings, the film's top market after North America is Japan ($247.6 million), followed by South Korea ($76.6 million) and the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($65.7 million).[269][270] In South Korea, Frozen is the second-largest foreign film both in terms of attendance and gross,[271] the largest Disney release[214] and the first animated film to earn more than ten million admissions.[272] In Japan, it is the third-highest-grossing film of all time, the second-highest-grossing imported film (behind Titanic) and the highest-grossing Disney film.[273] It topped the country's box office for sixteen consecutive weekends[269] until being surpassed by another Disney release, Maleficent.[274]

Commercial analysis
Ray Subers, writing for Box Office Mojo, compared the film to Disney's 2010 animated feature Tangled by saying that the film's story was not as "immediately interesting" and that "marketing has yet to sell this to boys the way Tangled did".[275] Noting that the 2013 holiday season (Thanksgiving and Christmas) lacked compelling content for families, Subers predicted that the film would "play well all the way through Christmas" and end up grossing $185 million in North America (similar to Wreck-It Ralph).[275] Boxoffice noted the success of previous Disney's animated films released during the holiday season (Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph), but argued that the cast might not attract audiences due to the lack of major stars.[276] They issued a $170,000,000 North America box office forecast for the film.[276] Chris Agar from ScreenRant expressed a similar opinion; he cited a string of recent box office successes of the studio, and thought that Frozen would fill a void of kid-friendly films in the marketplace, but did not expect it to surpass Catching Fire in terms of box office gross.[277]

Clayton Dillard of Slant Magazine commented that while the trailers made the film seem "pallid," positive critical reviews could attract interest from both "core demographics" and adult audiences, and therefore he believed Frozen stood a good chance of surpassing Tangled's Thanksgiving three-day opening record.[278] Brad Brevet of Ropeofsilicon.com described the film's marketing as a "severely hit and miss" campaign, which could affect its box office performance.[279] After Frozen finished its first weekend with a record $93.6 million during Thanksgiving, most box-office watchers predicted that it would end up grossing between $250 and $300 million in North America.[280] At the time, Box Office Mojo reissued a $250 million box office gross prediction for North America.[229] Box Office Mojo noted that it would be "the exclusive choice for family audiences" and attributed its successful opening to strong word-of-mouth and the studio's marketing, which highlighted the connection between Frozen and Disney's previous successful releases like Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, as well as the elements of humor.[229]

When Frozen became a box office success, Bilge Ebiri of Vulture analyzed the film's elements and suggested eight factors that might have led to its success. He thought Frozen managed to capture the spirit of the Disney Renaissance films and early Disney features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella.[280] He also wrote that the film has Olaf, a "wisecracking, irreverent" sidekick with mild humor which is "a requirement of modern animated kids' movies," and its "witty, catchy" songs were "pretty good."[280] Furthermore, Ebiri noted that Frozen was a "revisionist" film that didn't "have a typical villain"; Elsa, the person who should be the villain didn't turn out to be a villain, but "a girl who's having trouble." She was the one who "[created] most of the challenges [for] the film's more typical heroes – Princess Anna."[280] The story of two sisters who were separated as they grew up held real-life overtones for many audience members who had siblings, and the struggle of Elsa to overcome the shame and fear of her powers was also relatable.[280] Finally, he identified several factors which he believed attracted female audiences: two strong female characters; a twist on the usual romantic subplot, when the traditional "Prince Charming" – Hans – turned out to be a gold-digging villain; and the "act of true love" which saved Anna was her own sacrifice in saving Elsa.[280]

Scott Davis of Forbes credited the film's commercial success to its marketing aimed at both sexes, and to the success of its soundtrack.[281]

The commercial success of Frozen in Japan was considered to be a phenomenon[57] which received widespread media coverage. Released in that market as Anna and the Snow Queen,[282][283] the film increased its gross each week in its three first weeks of release, and only started to drop in the fourth; while other films usually peak in the opening week and decline in the latter ones.[284] Frozen has received over 7 million admissions in Japan as of April 16,[282] and nearly 18.7 million admissions as of June 23.[285] Many cinemagoers were reported to have watched both the original and the Japanese-dubbed version.[283] Japan Today also reported that the local dubbed version was "particularly popular" in the country.[282] Gavin J. Blair of The Hollywood Reporter commented on the film's earnings in Japan: "Even after its $9.6 million (￥986.4 million) three-day opening, a record bow for a Disney animation in Japan, few would have predicted the kind of numbers Frozen has now racked up."[285] Disney's head of distribution Dave Hollis said in an interview that "It's become very clear that the themes and emotions of Frozen transcend geography, but what's going on in Japan is extraordinary."[286][287]

"Frozen's success doesn't benefit from a general appetite for American films in Japan" (as reported by the International Business Times),[288] but according to Akira Lippit of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, there were several factors that constituted this phenomenon: besides the fact that animated films "are held in great regard in Japan, and the Disney brand name with all of its heritage is extremely valuable", "the biggest reason is the primary audience ... 13- to 17-year-old teenage girls."[286] He further explained that audiences of this age range have a vital role in shaping Japanese pop culture and "Frozen has so many elements that appeal to them, with its story of a young girl with power and mystique, who finds her own sort of good in herself."[286] He compared the film's current situation with a similar phenomenon which occurred with Titanic in 1997, "when millions of Japanese teen girls turned out to watch Leonard[o] DiCaprio go under – several times," and thought the same would happen with Frozen.[286] Another reason that contributed to the film's success in the market was that Disney took great care in choosing "high quality"[288] voice actors for the Japanese-dubbed version, since Japan's pop music scene had an important role particularly with teenage audiences.[286] Orika Hiromura, Disney Japan's marketing project leader for Frozen, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal: "We really put effort into finding actors who could not only play the role but also belt out the tunes as well. We found the perfect match in Takako Matsu and Sayaka Kanda, and they really added a whole new dimension to the storytelling."[169]

When asked about the success of Frozen, director Chris Buck stated: "We never expected anything like this. We just hoped to make a movie that did as well as Tangled! I hoped the audience would embrace it and respond to it, but there's no way we could have predicted this."[57] He cited a number of reasons for the film's popularity: "There are characters that people relate to; the songs are so strong and memorable. We also have some flawed characters, which is what Jen[nifer Lee] and I like to do – we essentially create two imperfect princesses."[57] As Frozen approached the first anniversary of its release, Menzel mentioned the film's continuing popularity in an October 2014 interview: "It's just a remarkable thing. Usually you do a project and it has its moment. This just feels like it keeps going."[289]

Critical response
Frozen opened to positive reviews,[9] with several critics comparing it favorably to the films of the Disney Renaissance, particularly The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.[40][290][291][292] Some journalists felt that the film's success marked a second Disney Renaissance.[293][294] The film was praised for its visuals, themes, musical numbers, screenplay, and vocal performances, especially those of Bell, Menzel, and Gad.[295] The "Let It Go" musical sequence was also particularly praised by critics.[296][297][298] The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 90% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 241 reviews, with an average rating of 7.69/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Beautifully animated, smartly written, and stocked with singalong songs, Frozen adds another worthy entry to the Disney canon."[299] Metacritic, which determines a rating out of 100 from the reviews of mainstream critics, calculated a score of 74 based on 43 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[300] CinemaScore gave Frozen an "A+" on an A+ to F scale, based on polls conducted during the opening weekend.[230][301] Surveys conducted by Fandango among 1,000 ticket buyers revealed that 75% of purchasers had seen the film at least once, and 52% had seen it twice. It was also pointed out that 55% of audiences identified "Let It Go" as their favorite song, while "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" and "For the First Time in Forever" held proportions of 21% and 9%, respectively.[168] Frozen was named the seventh-best film of 2013 by Richard Corliss of Time[302] and Kyle Smith of the New York Post.[303]

Alonso Duralde of TheWrap wrote that the film is "the best animated musical to come out of Disney since the tragic death of lyricist Howard Ashman, whose work on The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast helped build the studio's modern animated division into what it is today." He also said that "while it lags the tiniest bit on its way to the conclusion, the script... really delivers; it offers characters to care about, along with some nifty twists and surprises along the way."[40] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter observed Frozen as a true musical and wrote, "You can practically see the Broadway musical Frozen is destined to become while watching Disney's 3D animated princess tale." McCarthy described the film as "energetic, humorous and not too cloying, as well as the first Hollywood film in many years to warn of global cooling rather than warming, this tuneful toon upgrades what has been a lackluster year for big studio animated fare and, beginning with its Thanksgiving opening, should live up to box office expectations as one of the studio's hoped-for holiday-spanning blockbusters."[304] Kyle Smith of the New York Post awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and praised the film as "a great big snowy pleasure with an emotionally gripping core, brilliant Broadway-style songs and a crafty plot. Its first and third acts are better than the jokey middle, but this is the rare example of a Walt Disney Animation Studios effort that reaches as deep as a Pixar film."[305] Scott Mendelson of Forbes wrote, "Frozen is both a declaration of Disney's renewed cultural relevance and a reaffirmation of Disney coming to terms with its own legacy and its own identity. It's also a just plain terrific bit of family entertainment."[306]

The Los Angeles Times extolled the film's ensemble voice talent and elaborate musical sequences, and declared Frozen was "a welcome return to greatness for Walt Disney Animation Studios."[290] Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman gave the film a "B+" grade and labeled it as a "squarely enchanting fairy tale that shows you how the definition of what's fresh in animation can shift."[291] Richard Corliss of Time stated that: "It's great to see Disney returning to its roots and blooming anew: creating superior musical entertainment that draws on the Walt [Disney] tradition of animation splendor and the verve of Broadway present."[307] Richard Roeper wrote that the film was an "absolute delight from start to finish."[308] Both Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune and Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the film's characters and musical sequences, which also drew comparisons to the theatrics found in Wicked.[309][310] Emma Dibdin of Digital Spy awarded the film five out of five stars and called the film "a new Disney classic" and "an exhilarating, joyous, human story that's as frequently laugh-out-loud funny as it is startling and daring and poignant. Hot on the heels of the 90th anniversary, it's impossible to imagine a more perfect celebration of everything Disney is at its best."[311] Frozen was also praised in Norwegian Sámi media as showcasing Sámi culture to a broad audience in a good way. Composer Frode Fjellheim was lauded by Norwegian Sámi President Aili Keskitalo for his contributions to the film, during the President's 2014 New Year's speech.[312][313]

Scott Foundas of Variety was less impressed with the film, describing it as "formulaic", though he praised its voice acting and technical artistry: "The tactile, snow-capped Arendelle landscape, including Elsa's ice-castle retreat is Frozen's other true marvel, enhanced by 3D and the decision to shoot in widescreen – a nod to the CinemaScope richness of Sleeping Beauty and Lady and the Tramp... That's almost but not quite enough to make up for the somewhat slack plotting and the generic nature of the main characters. Neither princess here is a patch on Tangled's babe-in-the-woods Rapunzel, while both Hans and Kristoff are cut from pretty standard-issue hero cloth until a reasonably surprising third-act twist somewhat ups the ante. Only Olaf is unimpeachable: Get this snowman a spinoff feature to call his own."[314] The Seattle Times gave the film two out of four stars, stating "While it is an often gorgeous film with computer-generated fjords and ice sculptures and castle interiors, the important thing that glues all this stuff together – story – is sadly lacking."[315] Joe Williams of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also criticized the story as the film's weakest point.[316] Writing on Roger Ebert's website, Christy Lemire gave a mixed review in which she awarded two-and-a-half stars out of four.[317] Lemire praised the visuals and the performance of "Let It Go," as well as the positive messages Frozen sends.[317] However, she referred to the film as "cynical" and criticized it as an "attempt to shake things up without shaking them up too much."[317] She also noted the similarity between Elsa and another well-known fictional female who unleashes paranormal powers when agitated, Carrie White.[317]

Controversies
Portrayal of emotions
Allegations of sexism occurred following a statement by Lino DiSalvo, the film's head of animation, who said to Fan Voice's Jenna Busch: "Historically speaking, animating female characters are really, really difficult, because they have to go through these range of emotions, but you have to keep them pretty."[318][319][320] However, a Disney spokesperson later told Time that DiSalvo's quote was widely misinterpreted, stating that he was "describing some technical aspects of CG animation and not making a general comment on animating females versus males or other characters."[318][320] Director Lee also said that DiSalvo's words were recklessly taken out of context, and that he was talking in very technical terms about CG animation. "It is hard no matter what the gender is. I felt horrible for him," she said.[321] In an August 2014 interview, DiSalvo re-emphasized what he had been trying to explain all along when his statements were taken out of context – the difficulty with turning any kind of animated character from a series of sketches on a 2D emotion model sheet into a properly rigged 3D character model: "Translating that emotional range onto a CG character is one of the most difficult parts of the process. Male. Female. Snowman. Animal."[322] He added, "The really sad thing is people took that ... catchy headline and they just repopulated it everywhere. People didn't get back to me for comments and the sad thing is that's the way the internet works. They don't want the truth."[322]

Perceived LGBT parallels
Several viewers outside the film industry, such as evangelical pastors[323][324][325] and commentators,[326] argued that Frozen promotes normalization of homosexuality, while others believed that the main character, Elsa, represents a positive image of LGBT youth, viewing the film and the song "Let It Go" as a metaphor for coming out.[327][328] These claims were met with mixed reactions from both audiences and the LGBT community.[327] Writing for Film International, Robert Geal has argued that while the film offers a superficially progressive vision of homosexuality, it perpetuates conservative notions about sexuality and gender; whereas Elsa's female homosexuality is rendered visually pleasurable to a male gaze, male transgressions of heterosexuality are coded in various negative ways.[329] When asked about perceptions of a homosexual undertone in the film, Lee said, "We know what we made. But at the same time I feel like once we hand the film over, it belongs to the world, so I don't like to say anything, and let the fans talk. I think it's up to them."[330] She also mentioned that Disney films were made in different eras and were all celebrated for different reasons, but a 2013 film would have a "2013 point of view"

Gremlins

Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante. The story follows a young man who receives a strange creature called a mogwai as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that caused malfunctions — "gremlins" — in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The film stars Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character. Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer, with the film being produced by Michael Finnell and released by Warner Bros.

It was followed by a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, released in 1990. Unlike the more satirical tone of the sequel (which parodies Hollywood sequels), Gremlins opts for more black comedy, balanced against a Christmastime setting. Both films were the center of large merchandising campaigns.

Despite being a critical and commercial success, the film was heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. In response to this and to similar complaints about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) alter its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating
Plot
Randall Peltzer, a struggling inventor, visits a Chinatown antique store in the hope of finding a Christmas present for his son Billy. In the store, Randall encounters a small, furry creature called a mogwai (Cantonese: 魔怪, "devil"). The owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell the creature to Randall. However, his grandson secretly sells the mogwai to Randall, warning him to remember three important rules that must never be broken—do not expose the mogwai to bright lights or sunlight which will kill it, do not let it come in contact with water, and most importantly of all, never feed it after midnight.

Randall returns home to Kingston Falls where he gives the mogwai to Billy as a pet. Billy works in the local bank, where he fears his dog Barney will be captured and killed by the elderly miser Mrs. Deagle. Randall names the mogwai "Gizmo" and Billy makes sure to treat him well. When Billy's friend Pete accidentally spills a glass of water over Gizmo, five more mogwai spawn from his back, a more troublemaking sort led by the aggressive Stripe (distinguishable from the other mogwai by the patch of white fur on his head). Billy shows one of the mogwai to his former science teacher, Mr. Hanson, spawning another mogwai, on whom Hanson experiments. Back at home, Stripe's gang tricks Billy into feeding them after midnight by severing the power cord to his bedside clock. They make cocoons, as does Hanson's mogwai. Shortly after, the cocoons hatch and they emerge as mischievous, reptilian monsters that torture Gizmo and try to murder Billy's mother, while Hanson is killed by his 'gremlin'.

All of the Gremlins are killed except Stripe, who escapes the house to a local YMCA and jumps into a swimming pool, spawning a new army of gremlins who wreak chaos around Kingston Falls. Billy tries to warn the police, but they don't believe him. Many people are injured or outright killed by the gremlins' rampage, including Mrs. Deagle, who is launched out of her house on a stair lift that has been sabotaged by the creatures. At the local bar, the gremlins have fun until the barmaid Kate Beringer, Billy's girlfriend, flashes them with a camera and escapes into the bank with Billy and Gizmo. While hiding, Kate reveals her father died in a chimney while dressed as Santa Claus. Billy and Kate discover the town has fallen silent and the Gremlins are watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the local theater. They set off an explosion, killing all the Gremlins except Stripe, who left the theater to get more candy across the street.

Billy chases Stripe into a Montgomery Ward store, where Stripe climbs into a water fountain and tries to spawn more gremlins. Gizmo arrives in a toy car and opens a skylight, exposing Stripe to sunlight and melting him. In the aftermath of the rampage, Mr. Wing arrives to collect Gizmo, scolding the Peltzers for their carelessness, thinking the Western world is not ready for the gift of the mogwai, but comments that Billy might some day be ready to care for Gizmo properly. Gizmo likewise believes so, having become attached to Billy. Mr. Wing then departs with Gizmo.

Cast
Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer
Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer
Hoyt Axton as Randall "Rand" Peltzer
Polly Holliday as Ruby Deagle
Frances Lee McCain as Lynn Peltzer
Judge Reinhold as Gerald Hopkins
Dick Miller as Murray Futterman
Glynn Turman as Roy Hanson
Keye Luke as Mr Wing
Scott Brady as Frank Reilly
Corey Feldman as Pete Fountaine
Jonathan Banks as Brent Frye
Edward Andrews as Roland Corben
Jackie Joseph as Sheila Futterman
Belinda Balaski as Mrs. Joe Harris
Harry Carey, Jr. as Mr. Anderson
Nicky Katt and Tracy Wells as schoolchildren
John Louie as Mr. Wing's grandson
Kenny Davis as Dorry
Mushroom as Barney
Voices
Howie Mandel as Gizmo
Frank Welker as Stripe
Don Steele as Rockin' Ricky Rialto
Marvin Miller as Robby the Robot (uncredited)
Mogwai and Gremlin vocal effects provided by Michael Winslow, Bob Bergen, Fred Newman, Peter Cullen, Mark Dodson, Bob Holt, and Michael Sheehan.

Cameos
Steven Spielberg as man riding recumbent bicycle
Jim McKrell as TV news reporter
Jerry Goldsmith as man in phone booth
William Schallert as Father Bartlett
Chuck Jones as Mr. Jones, Billy's drawing mentor
Kenneth Tobey as smoking gas station attendant
Production
Background
Gremlins was produced at a time when combining horror and comedy was becoming increasingly popular. According to Professor Noël Carroll, Ghostbusters, released the same weekend as Gremlins, and the comic strip The Far Side also followed this trend. Carroll argued that there was now a new genre emphasizing sudden shifts between humorous and horrific scenes, drawing laughs with plot elements that have been traditionally used to scare.[3]

The notion of gremlins was first conceived during World War II when mechanical failures in RAF aircraft were jokingly blamed on the small monsters. The term "gremlins" also entered popular culture as children's author Roald Dahl published a book called The Gremlins in 1943, based on the mischievous creatures.[4] Walt Disney considered making a film of it. A Bugs Bunny cartoon of the era, Falling Hare, has him battling a gremlin on an airplane. Joe Dante had read The Gremlins and said that the book was of some influence on his film. In 1983, Dante publicly distanced his work from earlier films, explaining, "Our gremlins are somewhat different—they're sort of green and they have big mouths and they smile a lot and they do incredibly, really nasty things to people and enjoy it all the while".[5][6]

Development
The story of Gremlins was conceived by Chris Columbus. As Columbus explained, his inspiration came from his loft, when at night "what sounded like a platoon of mice would come out and to hear them skittering around in the blackness was really creepy".[7] He then wrote the original screenplay as a spec script to show potential employers that he had writing abilities. The story was not actually intended to be filmed until Steven Spielberg took an interest in turning it into a film.[6] As Spielberg explained, "It's one of the most original things I've come across in many years, which is why I bought it."[5]

After deciding to executive produce the film, Spielberg chose Dante as his director because of his experience with horror-comedy; Dante had previously directed The Howling (1981); however, in the time between The Howling and the offer to film Gremlins, he had experienced a lull in his career.[6] Dante began doing storyboard work on the film while also working as a director on Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), a film which Spielberg also served as a director on.[8] The film's producer was Michael Finnell, who had also worked on The Howling with Dante. Spielberg took the project to Warner Bros. and co-produced it through his own company, Amblin Entertainment.

The film's script went through a few drafts before a shooting script was finalized. The first version was much darker than the final film. Various scenes were cut, including one which portrayed Billy's mother dying in her struggle with the gremlins, with her head thrown down the stairs when Billy arrives. Dante later explained the scene made the film darker than the filmmakers wanted. There was also a scene where the gremlins ate Billy's dog and a scene where the gremlins attacked a McDonald's, eating customers instead of burgers. Also, instead of Stripe being a mogwai who becomes a gremlin, there was originally no mogwai named Stripe; rather, Gizmo was supposed to transform into Stripe the gremlin. Spielberg overruled this plot element as he felt Gizmo was cute and that audiences would want him to be present throughout the film.[6]

A famous urban legend is referenced in the film,[9] in which Kate reveals in a speech that her father died at Christmas when he dressed as Santa Claus and broke his neck while climbing down the family's chimney. After the film was completed, the speech proved to be controversial, and studio executives insisted upon its removal, because they felt it was too ambiguous as to whether it was supposed to be funny or sad. Dante stubbornly refused to take the scene out, saying it represented the film as a whole, which had a combination of horrific and comedic elements. Spielberg did not like the scene but, despite his creative control, he viewed Gremlins as Dante's project and allowed him to leave it in.[6] A parody of this scene is featured in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

Casting
Phoebe Cates was cast as Kate, Billy's girlfriend, despite concerns that she was known for playing more risqué parts, such as Linda Barrett in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Spielberg urged the casting of the relatively unknown Zach Galligan as Billy because he saw chemistry between Galligan and Cates during auditions. Galligan later compared himself to Billy, saying he was a "geeky kid", and that being in the film "was really kind of a dream" given "what I get to do, what my character gets to do, blow up movie theatres", adding that he "got to work with great people".[10] Spielberg commented when Galligan was testing with Cates that "he's in love with her already" and that was how Galligan won the part.[11]

In contrast to Galligan, many of the supporting actors and actresses were better known. Veteran actor Glynn Turman portrayed the high school science teacher whose study of a newborn mogwai leads to his death after it forms a cocoon and emerges as a vicious gremlin. Dick Miller, who was a regular in Dante's films, was another experienced actor on the set, playing a World War II veteran who first refers to the creatures as gremlins. Rand was played by Hoyt Axton, who was always the filmmakers' preferred choice for the role even though it was widely contested by other actors.[6] Axton's experience included acting as the father in The Black Stallion (1979), and he was also a country music singer-songwriter. After an introductory scene to Gremlins was cut, Axton's voice earned him the added role of the narrator to establish some context. Mr. Wing was played by Keye Luke, a renowned film actor, whose film career spanned half a century. Although in reality he was around 80 at the time of filming, and his character was very elderly, Luke's youthful appearance had to be covered by make-up.[6]

Corey Feldman, who up to that time had primarily been in commercials, played Pete Fountaine, establishing his early credentials as a child actor. Polly Holliday, an actress best known for her role in Alice, played Mrs. Deagle. Dante considered the casting fortunate, as she was well-known and he considered her to be talented. Two other well-known actors, Fast Times' Judge Reinhold and character actor Edward Andrews, received roles that were significantly reduced after the film was edited; they played Billy's superiors at the bank.[6]

Special effects
Some of the performances were shot on the backlot of Universal Studios in California (Mrs. Deagle's house was one such set as well as the opening street scenes in Chinatown, which were filmed on the Warner Bros. Studios backlot). This required fake snow; Dante also felt it was an atmosphere that would make the special effects more convincing. As the special effects relied mainly on puppetry (an earlier attempt to use monkeys was abandoned because the test monkey panicked when made to wear a gremlin head),[12] the actors worked alongside some of the puppets. Nevertheless, after the actors finished their work for good, a great deal of effort was spent finishing the effects. Numerous small rubber puppets, some of which were mechanical, were used to portray Gizmo and the gremlins. They were designed by Chris Walas. There was more than one Gizmo puppet, and occasionally Galligan, when carrying one, would set him down off camera, and when Gizmo appeared again sitting on a surface it was actually a different puppet wired to the surface. These puppets had many limitations. The Gizmo puppets were particularly frustrating because they were smaller and thus broke down more. While Walas recommended making the mogwais larger to make their creation and functioning easier for the special effects team, Dante insisted on keeping their size small to enhance the cuteness of the creatures.[13] Consequently, to satisfy the crew, a scene was included in which the gremlins hang Gizmo on a wall and throw darts at him. This was included on a list that the crew created known to them as the "Horrible Things to do to Gizmo" list.[6]

A few marionettes were also used. Other effects required large mogwai faces and ears to be produced for close-ups, as the puppets were less capable of conveying emotion. Consequently, large props simulating food were needed for the close-ups in the scene in which the mogwai feast after midnight. An enlarged Gizmo puppet was also needed for the scene in which he multiplies. The new mogwai, who popped out of Gizmo's body as small, furry balls which then started to grow, were balloons and expanded as such. Walas had also created the exploding gremlin in the microwave by means of a balloon that was allowed to burst.[6]

Howie Mandel provided the voice for Gizmo, and prolific voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice for Stripe. It was Welker who suggested Mandel perform in Gremlins. The puppets' lines were mostly invented by the voice actors, based on cues from the physical actions of the puppets, which were filmed before the voice work. When developing the voice for Gizmo, Mandel explained, "[Gizmo was] cute and naive, so, you know, I got in touch with that... I couldn't envision going any other way or do something different with it".[14] The majority of the other gremlins' voices were performed by Michael Winslow and Peter Cullen, while the remaining voices were done by Bob Bergen, Fred Newman, Mark Dodson, Bob Holt, and Michael Sheehan.

Music
The film's score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who won a Saturn Award for Best Music for his efforts. The main score was composed with the objective of conveying "the mischievous humor and mounting suspense of Gremlins".[7] Goldsmith also wrote Gizmo's song, which was hummed by a child actress and acquaintance of Goldsmith, rather than Mandel himself.[6] Goldsmith, also appears in the film (as does Steven Spielberg), in the scene where Rand calls home from the salesman's convention.

The soundtrack album was released by Geffen Records as a specially priced mini-album on LP and cassette (Goldsmith and Debney's music comprised all of side two) and reissued on compact disc in 1993 only in Germany.

Gremlins...Mega Madness – Michael Sembello (3:50)
Make It Shine – Quarterflash (4:10)
Out/Out – Peter Gabriel (7:00)
The Gift (4:51)
Gizmo (4:09)
Mrs. Deagle (2:50)
The Gremlin Rag (4:03)
"Gremlins...Mega Madness" was also released as a single, with "The Gremlin Rag" as its B-side.

In 2011, Film Score Monthly issued a two-disc release of the soundtrack, with the complete score on disc one and the original soundtrack album on disc two (representing the latter's first North American CD issue); this was the label's final Jerry Goldsmith album.

DISC ONE: The Film Score

Fanfare in C (Max Steiner) / The Shop / The Little One 4:30
Late for Work 1:46
Mrs. Deagle / That Dog 2:22
The Gift 1:45
First Aid 2:17
Spilt Water 3:02
A New One 1:10
The Lab / Old Times 2:35
The Injection 2:56
Snack Time / The Wrong Time 1:49
The Box 1:24
First Aid 1:39
Disconnected / Hurry Home 1:03
Kitchen Fight 4:06
Dirty Linen 0:43
The Pool 1:07
The Plow / Special Delivery 1:16
High Flyer 2:22
Too Many Gremlins 2:06
No Santa Claus 3:27
After Theatre 1:39
Theatre Escape / Stripe Is Loose / Toy Dept. / No Gizmo 4:36
The Fountain / Stripe's Death 5:42
Goodbye, Billy 2:56
End Title / The Gremlin Rag 4:10
Blues 2:17
Mrs. Deagle [film version] 1:27
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen [traditional, arr. Alexander Courage] 1:12
After Theatre [with "Silent Night"] 1:36
After Theatre [without "Silent Night"] 1:36
Rabbit Rampage [Milt Franklyn] 0:47
The Gremlin Rag [full version] 3:35
Gizmo's New Song 0:35
Gizmo's Trumpet 0:30
Tracks 26–34 are listed as bonus tracks.

DISC TWO: 1984 Soundtrack Album

Gremlins...Mega Madness – Michael Sembello 3:52
Make It Shine – Quarterflash 4:11
Out/Out – Peter Gabriel 7:02
The Gift 4:58
Gizmo 4:14
Mrs. Deagle 2:54
The Gremlin Rag 4:13
Rating
Along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, also rated PG, Gremlins was one of two films in 1984 to influence the MPAA to create the PG-13 rating, with Red Dawn being the first film released in theaters that was given the new rating in August 1984.[15] The scene in which a gremlin explodes in the microwave was particularly influential to the idea that some films too light to be rated R are still too mature to be rated PG. The change to the rating system was not insignificant; the rating PG-13 turned out to be appealing to many film patrons, as it implied some excitement without being too explicit.[15]

Reception
Box office
Financially, Gremlins was a success. Produced on an $11 million budget, it was more expensive than Spielberg had originally intended but still relatively cheap for its time.[6] The trailer introduced the film to audiences by briefly explaining that Billy receives a strange creature as a Christmas present, by going over the three rules, and then coming out with the fact that the creatures transform into terrible monsters. This trailer showed little of either the mogwai or the gremlins.[16] In contrast to this, other advertisements concentrated on Gizmo, overlooked the gremlins, and made the film look similar to Spielberg's earlier family film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).[15]

Gremlins was released into North American theaters on June 8, 1984, the same day as Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters. Gremlins ranked second, with $12.5 million in its first weekend, $1.1 million less than Ghostbusters. By the end of its American screenings on November 29, it had grossed $148,168,459 domestically. This made it the fourth highest-grossing film of the year, behind Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.[17] In August 1984, it opened in Argentina and Spain, and in October it premiered in West Germany. Screenings began in Mexico, Australia, and much of the rest of Europe in December.[18] Since Gremlins had an international audience, different versions of the film were made to overcome cultural barriers. Mandel learned to speak his few intelligible lines, such as "Bright light!", in various languages, including German. Regional music and humor were also incorporated into foreign-language versions. Dante credited this work as being one of the factors which helped to make Gremlins a worldwide success.[6] However, many critics questioned the summer release date of the film in America, as the film takes place during the Christmas holiday season, causing them to comment that it should have had a Christmas release date instead.

In addition to this, there were also complaints from audiences about the violence depicted in the film. These complaints were particularly present in people who had brought their children to see the film, many of whom walked out of the theater before the film had ended. Dante admitted to reporters later that "the idea of taking a 4-year-old to see Gremlins, thinking it's going to be a cuddly, funny animal movie and then seeing that it turns into a horror picture, I think people were upset... They felt like they had been sold something family friendly and it wasn't entirely family friendly".[15]

The film became available to audiences again when it was brought back to theaters on August 30, 1985. This additional release brought its gross up to $153,083,102.[17]

Critical response
Roger Ebert approved of the film, awarding three out of four stars and declaring it to not only be "fun", but also a "sly series of send-ups", effectively parodying many elemental film storylines. In his opinion, Gremlins did this partly through depictions of mysterious worlds (the shop in Chinatown) and tyrannical elderly women (Mrs. Deagle). Ebert also believed the rule in which a mogwai cannot eat after midnight was inspired by fairy tales, and that the final scenes parody classic horror films. He connected Kate's speech about her father with "the great tradition of 1950s sick jokes".[19] Gene Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, describing it as "a wickedly funny and slightly sick ride," and "a most original work. We're aware at every moment that someone is trying to entertain us. Playfulness abounds."[20] Vincent Canby of The New York Times was mixed, writing that the film "is far more interested in showing off its knowledge of movie lore and making random jokes than in providing consistent entertainment. Unfortunately, it's funniest when being most nasty."[21] Variety declared, "Make room for adorable 'Gremlins' dolls on the shelves and start counting the take for another calculated audience pleaser from the Steven Spielberg-Frank Marshall-Kathleen Kennedy team. But that's all that's here in this showy display of technical talent, otherwise nearly heedless of dramatic concerns."[22] Leonard Maltin disapproved of the film, and his view was made clear in remarks he made on the television show Entertainment Tonight. He called the film "icky" and "gross".[23] He later wrote that despite being set in a "picture-postcard town" and blending the feel of It's a Wonderful Life (a clip of which appears in Gremlins) with that of The Blob, the film is "negated by too-vivid violence and mayhem"; giving the film two out of four stars.[24] Maltin later made a cameo appearance in Gremlins 2, repeating his criticisms of the original on film, as an in-joke, before being throttled by the creatures; he later gave the second film a more positive rating, three out of four stars.

While some critics criticized the film's depictions of violence and greed—such as death scenes, Kate's speech, and the gremlins' gluttony—for lacking comic value, scholar Charlotte Miller instead interpreted these as a satire of "some characteristics of Western civilization", suggesting that Westerners may take too much satisfaction from violence. Gremlins can also be interpreted as a statement against technology, in that some characters, such as Billy's father, are overly dependent on it. In contrast, Mr. Wing is shown to have a strong distaste for television.[25] Kirkpatrick Sale also interpreted Gremlins as an anti-technology film in his book Rebels Against the Future.[26] Another scholar suggested that the film is meant to express a number of observations of society by having the gremlin characters shift in what they are meant to represent. At different times, they are depicted as teenagers, the wealthy establishment, or fans of Disney films.[27]

Another scholar drew a connection between the microwave scene and urban legends about pets dying in microwave ovens. He described the portrayal of this urban legend in the film as successful, but that meant it seemed terrible.[28] This is indeed a scene that is thought of as being one of the film's most violent depictions; with even Roger Ebert expressing some fear in his review that the film might encourage children to try similar things with their pets.[19]

Gremlins has been criticized for more than its depictions of violence. One BBC critic wrote in 2000 that "The plot is thin and the pacing is askew". However, that critic also complimented the dark humour contrasted against the ideal Christmas setting.[29] In 2002, another critic wrote that in hindsight, Gremlins has "corny special effects" and that the film will tend to appeal to children more so than to adults; he also said the acting was dull.[30]

Despite the initial mixed criticism, Gremlins has continued to receive critical praise over the years and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1984.[31][32][33] It currently holds an 84% "Certified Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 7.36/10. The consensus reads, "Whether you choose to see it as a statement on consumer culture or simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick, Gremlins is a minor classic.
Home media
Gremlins was released on VHS, CED Videodisc, and Beta in 1985, and made $79,500,000 in video rental stores.[39] The film was released on DVD in 1997 in a bare bones presentation. It included both full screen and widescreen versions and the film's trailer. It was repackaged in 1999 with the same disc, but a different cover. On August 20, 2002, a "special edition" DVD was released, which featured cast and filmmakers' commentary and deleted scenes. A 25th anniversary Blu-ray edition was released on December 1, 2009. The film was again released on home video in 4K Ultra HD on October 1, 2019.

Controversies
Since its release, the film has been criticized as being culturally insensitive. Jonathan Rosenbaum argued that the film presents gremlins as African Americans.[27] In Ceramic Uncles & Celluloid Mammies, Patricia Turner writes that the gremlins "reflect negative African-American stereotypes" in their dress and behavior. They are shown "devouring fried chicken with their hands", listening to black music, breakdancing, and wearing sunglasses after dark and newsboy caps, a style common among African American males in the 1980s.[40]

Merchandising
Toys and collectibles
With its commercial themes, particularly the perceived cuteness of the character Gizmo, Gremlins became the center of considerable merchandising. Due to this, it became part of a rising trend in film, which had received a boost from Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[6] Manufacturers including LJN produced versions of Gizmo as dolls or stuffed animals. (The latter of which became a popular high demand toy during the holiday season of 1984.) Both Gizmo and the gremlins were mass-produced as action figures, and Topps printed trading cards based upon the film.[41] A product placement deal with fast food chain Hardee's also led to a series of five book-and-cassette/45 records adaptations of the film's story. Starting in the early 2000s, companies such as Jun Planning and the National Entertainment Collectibles Association produced all-new Gremlins toys and collectibles. In 2017 Trick or Treat Studios began producing official Gremlins life-size puppets of Stripe and Gizmo.[42] In May 2019,[43] NECA unveiled their Christmas 2019 collectible, which features two Gremlins singing carols.

Novel
The film was also the basis for a novel of the same name by George Gipe, published by Avon Books in June 1984. The novel offered an origin for mogwai and gremlins as a prologue. Supposedly, mogwai were created as gentle, contemplative creatures by a scientist on an alien world. However, it was discovered their physiology was unstable. The end result was only 1 in 10,000 mogwai would retain their sweet, loving demeanor. The rest would change into creatures the novel referred to as "mischievous". The minority mogwai (the 1 in 10,000) are immortal by human standards, though Gizmo explains to Stripe if he were to undergo the transformation himself, he would become like the others, "short lived and violent." This origin is unique to the novel but is referred to in the novelization of Gremlins 2 by David Bischoff. No definitive origin for mogwai or gremlins is given in either Gremlins film.

Video games
Main article: Gremlins (video game)

Action-oriented video games
Several officially licensed video games based on the film have been produced. One of the first was Gremlins, released by Atari, Inc. for their 2600 console.

Atari, Inc. released a completely different[44] (and more technically advanced) game- also called Gremlins- for the Atari 5200 console and the Apple II, Commodore 64, and IBM PC computers. Although the Atari 5200 version went to manufacturing in 1984, the turmoil surrounding Jack Tramiel's takeover of Atari's consumer business resulted in it not being released until 1986.[44]

In the 2000s, more games were released; Gremlins: Unleashed! was released on Game Boy Color in 2001. The game was about Gizmo trying to catch Stripe and thirty other gremlins, while the gremlins also try to turn Gizmo into a gremlin. Both Gizmo and Stripe are playable characters in the game.[45]

A Gremlins Team Pack was released for Lego Dimensions on November 18, 2016. The pack includes minifigures of Gizmo and Stripe, a constructible polaroid camera and RC car, and grants access to an Adventure World and Battle Arena based on the film. Howie Mandel and Frank Welker reprise their respective roles as Gizmo and Stripe, while Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton and Frances Lee McCain reprise as non-playable characters Kate Beringer, Randall Peltzer and Lynn Peltzer respectively.[46][47]

Gremlins: The Adventure
At the time of the film's release, an interactive fiction game based on scenes from the film, entitled Gremlins: The Adventure (1985), was released for various home computers, including the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro, the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. The game was written by Brian Howarth for Adventure Soft and was text-based, with full-color illustrations on some formats.

Miscellaneous
In addition to this, Gremlins brand breakfast cereal was produced by Ralston concurrent to and for a few years after the first film was released in 1984. The front of the cereal box featured Gizmo, and inside were decals of the malevolent gremlins, including Stripe.[48]

Legacy
The film not only spawned the sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, and an advertisement for British Telecom,[49] but is believed to have been the inspiration for several unrelated films about small monsters. These include Critters,[50] Ghoulies,[28] Troll,[51] Hobgoblins[52] and Munchies.[53]

In music, the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai are named after the film's creatures: as for the reason for the band chose this as their name, their guitarist, Stuart Braithwaite, has stated that "it has no significant meaning and we always intended on getting a better one, but like a lot of other things we never got round to it".[54] Welsh singer and songwriter Rod Thomas performs under the name Bright Light Bright Light, which is a direct quote from the film.[55]

In January 2013, Vulture reported that Warner Bros. was negotiating with Amblin Entertainment to reboot the Gremlins franchise.[56] Seth Grahame-Smith was tapped to produce, alongside David Katzenberg.[57] In January 2015, Grahame-Smith stated that the project has been put on hold.[58] In November 2015, Zach Galligan confirmed that the third film will be a sequel and not a reboot.[59]

In a December 2016 interview with Bleeding Cool, Galligan again spoke about a third film saying that "Warner Bros. definitely wants it, Chris Columbus wants to do it because he’d like to undo the Gremlins 2 thing as he wasn’t thrilled with it, and Spielberg wants to." He claimed Gremlins 3 is being written by Carl Ellsworth.[60] In an interview with /Film in 2017, a script was written by Chris Columbus. His script explored the idea that has been on the fan's mind for a long time: "if all the gremlins come from getting Gizmo wet and feeding his mogwai offspring after midnight, should Gizmo be eliminated?" He described his script as "twisted and dark".[61]

In 2017, gremlins were featured in the animated film The Lego Batman Movie, with director Chris McKay explaining he loved the characters. The gremlins were among numerous villains from outside of the Batman franchise playing a role in the film, with many of the added antagonists owned by Warner Bros.[62]

In 2019, Warner Bros. successfully gained registered trademark of the name and the franchise.[63] That same year, the studio's parent company WarnerMedia greenlit an animated series, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai based on the property for its upcoming streaming service, HBO Max

أديل

أديل لوري بلو أدكنز (بالإنجليزية: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins) (ولدت في 5 مايو 1988 في توتنهام، شمال لندن). هي مغنية وكاتبة أغاني إنجليزية. اشتهرت بأول ألبوم لها 19.

صدر ألبوم أديل الأول في سنة 2008 بعنوان 19 ومنذ ظهورها حصدت الكثير من النجاح النقدي والتجاري، واحتل الألبوم المرتبة الأولى في بريطانيا وحصل على 7 اسطوانات بلاتينية أيضاً. بلغت مبيعات الألبوم 6.5 ملايين نسخة في جميع أنحاء العالم. في عام 2009، فازت أديل بجائزتي غرامي إحداهما عن فئة (أفضل فنان جديد). بعد أسبوع من بث جوائز الجرامي، وصل الألبوم إلى المرتبة العاشرة في الولايات المتحدة. تعززت مسيرتها الفنية في الولايات المتحدة عند ظهورها في برنامج ساترداي نايت لايف وفوزها بجوائز الغرامي. وفي الوقت نفسه بلغت أغنية "Chasing Pavements" المرتبة الـ 21 في قائمة بيلبورد هوت 100.

في سنة 2011 اصدرت أديل ثاني ألبوم لها 21 الذي أشاد به معظم النقاد مما جعله يتخطى نجاح ألبومها الأول حتى من الناحية التجارية. لتحصل على 6 جوائز غرامي في سنة 2012 من بينهم جائزة (ألبوم السنة) والعديد من الجوائز الأخرى. بلغت مبيعات الألبوم 28 مليون نسخة حول العالم، أطلقت البومها الثالث 25 في نوفمبر 2015.

اختارت مجلة بيلبورد أديل كأفضل فنان في سنة 2011. في 2012 احتلت أديل المرتبة الخامسة في قائمة (أعظم 100 مرأة في الموسيقى) الصادرة عن قناة VH1، وأدرجتها مجلة التايم ضمن قائمة (أكثر الأشخاص تأثيراً في العالم). في 2013، فازت أديل بجائزتي الغولدين غلوب وجائزة الأوسكار عن فئة (أفضل أغنية أصلية) عن أغنية "Skyfall".
نشأتها
ولدت أديل في توتنهام، شمال لندن، إنجلترا، في 5 مايو، 1988. أمها بيني أدكنز إنجليزية ووالدها مارك إيفانز ويلزي. في سن الثانية رحل والدها وترك والدها أُمها البالغة 20 سنة آنذاك وحدها لتربي ابنتها. بدأت أديل الغناء في سن الرابعة حيث قالت أنها أصبحت مهووسة بالأصوات. تأثرت أديل بفرقة سبايس جيرلز لدرجة كبيرة من ناحية الشغف والحب للموسيقى، فقالت "لقد جعلوني ما انا عليه حاليا". في صغرها كانت أديل تؤدي أغاني الفرقة في حفلات العشاء. في سن التاسعة انتقلت أديل مع أمها إلى برايتون.

تخرجت أديل من مدرسة بريت في كرويدون في مايو 2006، مع زميلتيها ليونا لويس وجيسي جي، عزة أديل الفضل لمدرستها بسبب رعايتها لموهبتها عندما كانت طالبة في المدرسة. ومع أنها ابتعدت عن شمال لندن.

مسيرتها الفنية
2006–10: بداية مسيرتها و 19

بعد 4 أشهر من تخرجها نشرت أغنيتين في العدد الرابع من مجلة فنية على الإنترنت. وكانت قد سجلت أديل ثلاث أغاني تجريبية من أجل مشروع دراسي وأعطتهم لصديق، فقام بنشرها على موقع ماي سبيس حيث أصبحت ناجحة جدًا هناك والذي أدى إلى تلقيها لمكالمة من شركة تسجيلات XL. في بداية الأمر تشككت أديل حول أن كان العرض حقيقياً لأن الشركة الوحيدة التي كانت تعرفها هي شركة تسجيلات فيرجن وفيما بعد أخذت إحدى أصدقائها معها إلى الاجتماع.

أصدرت أديل أول أغنية لها في أكتوبر، 2007 بعنوان "Hometown Glory" والتي حظيت بأستقبال نقدي ممتاز واحتلت المرتبة الـ 19 في بريطانيا.

2011–13: 19 النجاح العالمي و 21

صدر ألبوم أديل الأول في يناير 2008، وحمل اسم 19، نسبة إلى عمرها حين كتبت معظم اغاني الألبوم. حل الألبوم في المرتبة الأولى في بريطانيا في أول اسبوع له، ولاقى الألبوم استقبالاً نقدياً إيجاباً من مختلف النقاد والمجلات.

أصدرت أديل ثاني أغنية لها في يناير 2008 باسم "Chasing Pavements"، قبل اسبوعين من إصدار الألبوم، ووصلت الأغنية إلى المرتبة الثانية في بريطانيا والـ 21 في الولايات المتحدة. ترشحت أديل للعديد من الجوائز وكانت معظمها عن فئة "أفضل فنان جديد". في مارس 2008 وقعت أديل عقد مع شركة كولومبيا للتسجيلات من اجل اصدار ألبوماتها في الولايات المتحدة، وفي نفس الشهر شرعت في جولةٍِ قصيرة في الولايات المتحدة، وفي يونيو من نفس العام صدر الألبوم في الولايات المتحدة. كتبت مجلة بيلبورد "لدى أديل القدرة على أن تصبح من أكثر الفنانين العالمين الهاماً واحتراماً في جيلها".

بدأت أديل أولى جولاتها الغنائية (أَمسية مع أديل) في يناير 2008 وانتهت في يونيو 2009 من اجل دعم الألبوم عالمياً، حيث تضمنت 78 حفل في أوروبا وأمريكا الشمالية ولكن كان للولايات المتحدة النصيب الأكبر من هذه الجولة.

بحلول منتصف شهر أكتوبر 2008، بدا بأن محاولة أديل لأقتحام الأسواق في أمريكا بائت بالفشل. ولكن لاحقاً في 18، أكتوبر ظهرت في برنامج ساترداي نايت لايف حيث حصلت الحلقة على أفضل معدل مشاهدات منذ 14 سنة في تاريخ البرنامج بـ 17 مليون مشاهد، وغنت أديل أغنيتين خلال الحلقة هما "Chasing Pavements"و "Cold Shoulder"، وفي اليوم التالي تصدر 19، قائمة آي تيونز لأفضل الألبومات ووصل إلى المرتبة الخامسة على موقع أمازون بينما أغنية "Chasing Pavements" صعدت لقائمة أفضل 25 أغنية في الولايات المتحدة. الألبوم وصل إلى المرتبة الـ 11 في قائمة بيلبورد 200 كنتيجة لظهورها في البرنامج حيث كان في المرتبة الـ 46 في الأسبوع السابق.

في نوفمبر، 2008 انتقلت أديل من منزل أٌمها إلى نوتينغ هيل. في فبراير، 2009 حصل الألبوم على الأسطوانة الذهبية (500،000 نسخة) في الولايات المتحدة وبحلول يوليو من نفس العام كان الألبوم قد باع 2،2 مليون نسخة حول العالم.

في 2010 ترشحت أديل لجائزة الغرامي عن فئة (أفضل أداء صوتي لأنثى) عن أغنية "Hometown Glory"، وفي أبريل دخلت أغنية "My Same" سباق الأغاني الألماني بعد أن غنتها لينا ماير-لاندروت في أحد برامج المواهب المؤهلة لمسابقة يوروفيجن للأغاني 2010.

أصدرت أديل ألبومها الثاني "21" في 24، يناير 2011 في المملكة المتحدة و22، فبراير في الولايات المتحدة. قالت أديل بأن الألبوم كان مستوحاً من انفصالها عن شريكها السابق.

تصدر الألبوم المركز الأول في 28 دولة حول العالم من ضمنها الولايات المتحدة وبريطانيا. احتل ألبوم المركز الأول في بريطانيا بمبيعات تجازوت 208.000 نسخة في أول اسبوع له على إصداره. وفي الولايات المتحدة احتل ألبوم أيضًا المركز الأول بمبيعات تجاوت 352.000 نسخة في أول أسبوع فقط. أداء مؤثرة لأديل في حفل توزيع جوائز بريت 2011 لأغنية "Someone Like You" دفع الأغنية لتصل إلى المرتبة الأولى في المملكة المتحدة وفي نفس الوقت دخل ألبومها الأول مجدداً إلى سباق الألبومات في المملكة المتحدة بجانب 21. بينما الأغنية الأولى والثانية "Rolling in the Deep" و"Someone Like You" كانتا من ضمن أول 5 أغاني في سباق الاغاني في المملكة المتحدة، الذي جعل أديل الفنان الحي الأول الذي يحصل على اغنيتان من ضمن أول خمس اغاني بنفس الوقت مع ألبومان ضمن أول خمس ألبومات في المملكة المتحدة منذ فعلها البيتلز عام 1964.

ووصلت مبيعات ألبوم إلى أكثر من 26 مليون نسخة حول العالم حتى الآن. وحصلت ثلاث أغاني من ألبومها على المركز الأول في الولايات المتحدة ومعظم دول العالم. وبالإضافة إلى ذلك حققت أديل أكبر نسبة مبيعات في الولايات المتحدة في عامي 2011 و2012 واحتل ألبوم 71 أسبوعًا متواصلاً ضمن أول عشر ألبومات في المملكة المتحدة منها 23 أسبوعًا في المركز الأول مما جعلها أول فنانة في تاريخ الموسيقة البريطانية تنال هذا التقدير. بعض الإحصاءات عن الألبوم:

أكثر الألبومات حصولاً على شهادات موسيقية في تاريخ بريطانيا بـ 16 أسطوانة بلاتينية.

أكثر ألبوم تم تنزيله في تاريخ بريطانيا.

أكثر الألبومات مبيعاً خلال القرن الواحد والعشرين في بريطانيا.

رابع أكثر الألبومات مبيعاً في تاريخ بريطانيا.

أديل هي الفنان البريطاني أو الأوروبي الوحيد الذي يحصل على الأسطوانة الألماسية في الولايات المتحدة في أقل من سنتين.

وقضى الألبوم 24 أسبوع في المرتبة الأولى في الولايات المتحدة، وفي فبراير 2012 حصدت أديل ستة جوائز غرامي من ضمنها (أفضل ألبوم في السنة). في أكتوبر 2012 أكدت أديل بأنها قد كتبت وسجلت الأغنية الرئيسية للجزء الـ 23 من سلسلة أفلام جيمس بوند، Skyfall مع المنتج بول إبوورث. احتلت الأغنية المرتبة الأولى في 14 دولة حول العالم مثل فرنسا، ألمانيا وإيطاليا، ودخلت في المرتبة الثامنة في قائمة بيلبورد هوت 100 وهي أول أغنية لأديل تكون من "أول عشرة اغاني" فور صدورها بمبيعات بلغت الـ 261،000 نسخة في أول 3 ايام، وبحلول 28، نوفمبر 2012 بلغت مبيعات الأغنية بـ 2 مليون نسخة حول العالم.

في ديسمبر 2012، حصلت أديل على لقب (فنان ألسنة) وحصل 21 على (ألبوم السنة) من قبل مجلة بيلبورد لتصبح الفنان الأول الذي يحصل على على هذان اللقبان خلال سنتان متتاليتان.

2013-الحاضر: الألبوم الثالث

في يناير 2013 ذكرت تقارير بأن أديل تعمل على تسجيل ألبوم جديد، إلا أنها قالت بأنها تود العمل على ألبوم جديد عندما يكون لديها "شيء لتغني عنه" على حد تعبيرها. في 13 يناير 2013 فازت أديل بجائزة الغولدين غلوب عن فئة (أفضل أغنية أصلية) عن أغنية "سكايفول"، وفي 24 فبراير غنت أديل الأغنية لأول مرة في حفل مهرجان توزيع جوائز الأوسكار الـ 85، وفي نفس الليلة فازت بجائزة الاوسكار عن نفس فئة أيضاً. في 10 فبراير خلال حفل توزيع جوائز الغرامي 2013 فازت بجائزة واحدة عن فئة (أفضل أداء منفرد - بوب) عن أغنية "Set Fire to the Rain".

حياتها الشخصية

ذكر في يناير 2012 أن أديل في علاقة مع رجل الأعمال سايمون كونيكي. في يونيو 2012 أعلنت أديل بأنها حامل. أنجبت أديل ابنها أنجيلو في 19 أكتوبر، 2012 وهو الطفل الأول لها والثاني لسايمون الذي لديه ابنة من زوجته السابقة، وقد أصيبت أديل باكتئاب الولادة بعد انجابها لأنجيلو.

كانت أديل تمتلك شقة في نوتينغ هيل، في لندن في 2008، وفي فبراير 2012 انتقلت إلى منزل فخم ذو تكلفة 7 مليون جنيه في ويست ساسكس مع سايمون. في أبريل 2013 ذُكر بأن ثروة أديل بلغت 30 مليون جنيه، مما يجعلها أغنى موسيقي بريطاني شاب تحت سن الـ 30 سنة. في يونيو، 2013 مُنحت أديل رتبة عضو في الإمبراطورية البريطانية لإسهاماتها في مجال الموسيقى، وتم تسليمها الجائزة من قِبل الأمير تشارلز في قصر بكنغهام بتاريخ 19 ديسمبر، 2013، وفي أبريل 2019 انفصلت عن زوجها سايمون كونيكي، الذي قضت معه 3 سنوات.

التأثيرات الموسيقية

ذكرت أديل أن أهم المغنيات التي تأثرت بهم هما Etta James وBeyoncé. ذكرت أيضًا بأنه خلال نشأتها كانت تحب موسيقى فنانين آخرين مثل Spice Girls وThe Cure و Dusty Springfield وآخرين. قالت أيضًا أن والدتها، عرفتها على موسيقى: Aaliyah وMary J. Blige وAlicia Keys، الذين ألهموها كذلك.

في وسائل الاعلام المختلفة

أشتهرت اغاني أديل كثيراً على صعيد التلفاز والأفلام السينيمائية

أغنية "Hometown Glory" قد ظهرت على نطاق واسع في المملكة المتحدة والولايات المتحدة بما في ذلك البرامج التلفزيونية مثل بشرات، غريز أناتومي، سو يو ثينك يو كان دانس، ون تري هيل، سيكريت دياري اوف أ كول غيرل، ذا هيلز و90210.

أغنية "Make You Feel My Love" ظهرت في عدة مسلسلات مثل شبح هامس وبونز.

أغنية "Rolling in the Deep" ظهر جزء منها في إعلان شركة أبل عن جهازها الجديد آي فون 4S.

أصدرت أديل في 5، أكتوبر 2012 أغنية بعنوان "Skyfall" وهي الأغنية الرئيسية لفيلم Skyfall الجزء الـ 23 من سلسلة أفلام جيمس بوند، وفازت بجائزة الاوسكار والغولدين غلوب عن فئة (أفضل أغنية أصلية).

Adele

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (/əˈdɛl/; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. After graduating from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a recording contract with XL Recordings. In 2007, she received the Brit Awards Critics' Choice award and won the BBC Sound of 2008 poll. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008 to commercial and critical success. It is certified eight times platinum in the UK, and three times platinum in the US. The album contains her first song, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16, which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London. An appearance she made on Saturday Night Live in late 2008 boosted her career in the US. At the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009, Adele received the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Adele released her second studio album, 21, in 2011. The album was critically well received and surpassed the success of her debut, earning numerous awards in 2012, among them a record-tying six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year; two Brit Awards, including British Album of the Year; and three American Music Awards, including Favorite Pop/Rock Album. The album has been certified 17 times platinum in the UK, and is overall the fourth best-selling album in the nation. In the US, it has held the top position longer than any album since 1985, and is certified diamond. The best-selling album worldwide of 2011 and 2012, 21 has sold over 31 million copies. The success of 21 earned Adele numerous mentions in the Guinness Book of World Records. She was the first female artist to simultaneously have two albums in the top five of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the first woman in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have three simultaneous top 10 singles as a lead artist, with "Rolling in the Deep", "Someone Like You", and "Set Fire to the Rain", all of which also topped the chart. 21 is the longest-running number one album by a female solo artist in the history of the UK and US Album Charts.

In 2012, Adele released "Skyfall", which she co-wrote and recorded for the James Bond film of the same name. The song won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, as well as the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. After taking a three-year break, Adele released her third studio album, 25, in 2015. It became the year's best-selling album and broke first-week sales records in the UK and US. 25 was her second album to be certified diamond in the US and earned her five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and four Brit Awards, including British Album of the Year. The lead single, "Hello", became the first song in the US to sell over one million digital copies within a week of its release. Her third concert tour, Adele Live 2016, visited Europe, North America and Oceania, and concluded with finale concerts at Wembley Stadium in late June 2017.[5]

In 2011, 2012, and 2016, Adele was named Artist of the Year by Billboard. At the 2012 and 2016 Ivor Novello Awards, Adele was named Songwriter of the Year by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. In 2012, she was listed at number five on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music. Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2016. Her 2016–2017 tour, saw her break attendance records in a number of countries, including the UK, Australia, and the US. With sales of more than 120 million records, Adele is one of the world's best-selling music artists
Life and career
1988–2006: Early life
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on 5 May 1988 in Tottenham, London, to an English mother, Penny Adkins, and a Welsh father, Marc Evans.[7] Evans left when Adele was two, leaving her mother to raise her.[8][9] She began singing at age four and asserts that she became obsessed with voices.[10][11] In 1997, at the age of nine, Adele and her mother, who by then had found work as a furniture maker and an adult-learning activities organiser, relocated to Brighton on the south coast of England.[12]

In 1999, she and her mother moved back to London; first to Brixton, then to the neighbouring district of West Norwood in south London, which is the subject of her first song “Hometown Glory”.[13] She spent a lot of her youth in Brockwell Park where she would play the guitar and sing to friends, which she recalled in her 2015 song “Million Years Ago”. She stated, “It has quite monumental moments of my life that I’ve spent there, and I drove past it [in 2015] and I just literally burst into tears. I really missed it.”[14] Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon in May 2006,[15] where she was a classmate of Leona Lewis and Jessie J.[1][16] Adele credits the school with nurturing her talent[17] even though, at the time, she was more interested in going into A&R and hoped to launch other people's careers.[1]

2006–2010: Career beginnings and 19
Four months after graduation, she published two songs on the fourth issue of the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com.[18] She had recorded a three-song demo for a class project and given it to a friend.[1] The friend posted the demo on Myspace, where it became very successful and led to a phone call from Richard Russell, boss of the music label XL Recordings. She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records, and she took a friend with her to the meeting.[16][19]

Nick Huggett, at XL, recommended Adele to manager Jonathan Dickins at September Management, and in June 2006, Dickins became her official representative.[20] September was managing Jamie T at the time and this proved a major draw for Adele, a big fan of the British singer-songwriter. Huggett then signed Adele to XL in September 2006.[20] Adele provided vocals for Jack Peñate's song, "My Yvonne," for his debut album, and it was during this session she first met producer Jim Abbiss, who would go on to produce both the majority of her debut album, 19, and tracks on 21.[21] In June 2007, Adele made her television debut, performing "Daydreamer" on the BBC's Later... with Jools Holland.[22] Adele's breakthrough song, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16, was released in October 2007.[20]

By 2008, Adele had become the headliner and performed an acoustic set, in which she was supported by Damien Rice.[23] She became the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008.[24][25] The album 19, named for her age at the time she wrote and composed many of its songs, entered the British charts at number one. The Times Encyclopedia of Modern Music named 19 an "essential" blue-eyed soul recording.[26] She released her second single, "Chasing Pavements", on 14 January 2008, two weeks ahead of her debut album, 19. The song reached number two on the UK Chart, and stayed there for four weeks.[27] Adele was nominated for a 2008 Mercury Prize award for 19.[28] She also won an Urban Music Award for "Best Jazz Act."[29] She also received a Music of Black Origin (MOBO) nomination in the category of Best UK Female.[30] In March 2008, Adele signed a deal with Columbia Records and XL Recordings for her foray into the United States.[31] She embarked on a short North American tour in the same month,[31] and 19 was released in the US in June.[17] Billboard magazine stated of it: "Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation."[32] The An Evening with Adele world tour began in May 2008 and ended in June 2009.
She later cancelled the 2008 US tour dates to be with a former boyfriend.[34] She said in Nylon magazine in June 2009, "I'm like, 'I can't believe I did that.' It seems so ungrateful.... I was drinking far too much and that was kind of the basis of my relationship with this boy. I couldn't bear to be without him, so I was like, 'Well, I'll just cancel my stuff then.'"[34] She referred to this period as her "early life crisis".[34] She is also known for her dislike of flying and bouts of homesickness when away from her native London.[35] By the middle of October 2008, Adele's attempt to break in America appeared to have failed.[36] But then she was booked as the musical guest on 18 October 2008 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. The episode, which included an expected appearance by then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, earned the program its best ratings in 14 years with 17 million viewers. Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder,"[37] and the following day, 19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavements" rose into the top 25.[38] The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 as a result, a jump of 35 places over the previous week.[39] In November 2008 Adele moved to Notting Hill, London after leaving her mother's house, a move that prompted her to give up drinking.[40] The album was certified gold in early 2009, by the RIAA.[41] By July 2009, the album had sold 2.2 million copies worldwide.[42]

At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in February 2009, Adele received the award for Best New Artist, in addition to the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Chasing Pavements", which was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[43] Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" at the ceremony in a duet with Jennifer Nettles. In 2010, Adele received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Hometown Glory."[44] In April her song "My Same" entered the German Singles Chart after it had been performed by Lena Meyer-Landrut in the talent show contest Unser Star für Oslo, or Our Star for Oslo, in which the German entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was determined.[45][46] In late September, after being featured on The X Factor, Adele's version of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" re-entered the UK singles chart at number 4.[47] During the 2010 CMT Artists of the Year special, Adele performed a widely publicised duet of Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" with Darius Rucker.[48] This performance was later nominated for a CMT Music Award.[49]

2011–2014: 21, worldwide recognition and hiatus
Adele released her second studio album, 21, on 24 January 2011 in the UK and 22 February in the US.[50][51] She said that the album was inspired by the break-up with her former partner.[9] The album's sound is described as classic and contemporary country and roots music. The change in sound from her first album was the result of her bus driver playing contemporary music from Nashville when she was touring the American South, and the title reflected the growth she had experienced in the prior two years.[51] Adele told Spin Magazine: "It was really exciting for me because I never grew up around [that music]."[52] 21 hit number 1 in 30 countries, including the UK and the US.[53][54][55]

An emotional performance of "Someone Like You" at the 2011 Brit Awards on 15 February propelled the song to number one in the UK.[56] Her first album, 19, re-entered the UK album chart alongside 21, while first and second singles "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" were in the top 5 of the UK singles chart, making Adele the first living artist to achieve the feat of two top-five hits in both the Official Singles Chart and the Official Albums Chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964.[57] Both songs topped the charts in multiple markets and broke numerous sales performance records. Following her performance of "Someone Like You" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, it became Adele's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.[58] By December 2011, 21 sold over 3.4 million copies in the UK, and became the biggest-selling album of the 21st century, overtaking Amy Winehouse's Back to Black,[59][60] with Adele becoming the first artist ever to sell three million albums in the UK in one calendar year.[61][62] "Set Fire to the Rain" became Adele's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, as Adele became the first artist ever to have an album, 21, hold the number-one position on the Billboard 200 concurrently with three number one singles.[63] Moreover, 21 had the most weeks on the Billboard 200 chart of any album by a woman.[64]

To promote the album, Adele embarked upon the "Adele Live" tour, which sold out its North American leg.[65] In October 2011, Adele was forced to cancel two tours because of a vocal-cord haemorrhage. She released a statement saying she needed an extended period of rest to avoid permanent damage to her voice.[66] In the first week of November 2011 Steven M. Zeitels, director of the Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, performed laser microsurgery on Adele's vocal cords to remove a benign polyp.[67][68][69] A recording of her tour, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, was released in November 2011, debuting at number one in the US with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years, becoming the best-selling music DVD of 2011.[70] Adele is the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have the year's number-one album (21), number-one single ("Rolling in the Deep"), and number-one music video (Live at the Royal Albert Hall).[71] At the 2011 American Music Awards on 20 November, Adele won three awards; Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Album for 21.[72] On 9 December, Billboard named Adele Artist of the Year, Billboard 200 Album of the Year (21), and the Billboard Hot 100 Song of the Year ("Rolling in the Deep"), becoming the first woman ever to top all three categories
Following the throat microsurgery, she made her live comeback at the 2012 Grammy Awards in February.[75] She won in all six categories for which she was nominated, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year, making her the second female artist in Grammy history, after Beyoncé, to win that many categories in a single night.[76] Following that success, 21 achieved the biggest weekly sales increase following a Grammy win since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.[77][78] Adele received the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist, and British Album of the Year presented to her by George Michael.[79][80] Following the Brit Awards, 21 reached number one for the 21st non-consecutive week in the UK.[81] The album has sold over 4.5 million copies in the UK where it is the fourth best-selling album.[82] In October, the album's sales surpassed 4.5 million in the UK, and in November it surpassed 10 million sales in the US.[83][84][85] The best-selling album worldwide of 2011 and 2012, as of 2016, the album has sold over 31 million copies.[86][87][88] By the end of 2014, she had sold an estimated 40 million albums and 50 million singles worldwide.[89] Adele is the only artist or band in the last decade in the US to earn an RIAA diamond certification for a one disc album in less than two years.[84]

In October 2012, Adele confirmed that she had been writing, composing and recording the theme song for Skyfall, the twenty-third James Bond film.[90][91] The song "Skyfall," written and composed in collaboration with producer Paul Epworth, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and features orchestrations by J. A. C. Redford.[92] Adele stated recording "Skyfall" was "one of the proudest moments of my life." On 14 October, "Skyfall" rose to number 2 on the UK Singles Chart with sales of 92,000 copies bringing its overall sales to 176,000, and "Skyfall" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 8, selling 261,000 copies in the US in its first three days.[93] This tied "Skyfall" with Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" as the highest-charting James Bond theme song on the UK Singles Chart;[94] a record surpassed in 2015 by Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall".[95]

"Skyfall" has sold more than five million copies worldwide[96] and earned Adele the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song[97] and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[98] In December 2012, Adele was named Billboard Artist of the Year, and 21 was named Album of the Year, making her the first artist to receive both accolades two years in a row.[99][100] Adele was also named top female artist.[100] The Associated Press named Adele Entertainer of the Year for 2012.[101] The 2013 Grammy Awards saw Adele's live version of "Set Fire to the Rain" win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, bringing her total wins to nine.[102]

On 3 April 2012, Adele confirmed that her third album would likely be at least two years away, stating, "I have to take time and live a little bit. There were a good two years between my first and second albums, so it'll be the same this time." She stated that she would continue writing and composing her own material.[103] At the 2013 Grammy Awards, she confirmed that she was in the very early stages of her third album.[104][105] She also stated that she will most likely work with Paul Epworth again.[104]

In September 2013, Wiz Khalifa confirmed that he and Adele had collaborated on a song for his upcoming fifth studio album, Blacc Hollywood, though the collaboration did not make the final track listing.[106] In January 2014, Adele received her tenth Grammy Award with "Skyfall" winning Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.[107]

2015–2017: 25 and Adele Live 2016
On the eve of her 26th birthday in May 2014, Adele posted a cryptic message via her Twitter account which prompted media discussion about her next album. The message, "Bye bye 25... See you again later in the year," was interpreted by some in the media, including Capital FM, as meaning that her next album would be titled 25 and released later in the year.[108] In 2014, Adele was nominated for nine World Music Awards. In early August, Paul Moss suggested that an album would be released in 2014 or 2015.[109] However, in the October 2014 accounts filed with Companies House by XL Recordings, they ruled out a 2014 release.[110]

On 27 August 2015, Billboard reported that Adele's label, XL Recordings, had intentions of releasing her third studio album sometime in November 2015.[111] Danger Mouse was revealed to have contributed a song, while Tobias Jesso Jr. had written a track, and Ryan Tedder was "back in the mix after producing and co-writing "Rumour Has It" on 21."[111] At the 72nd Venice International Film Festival in early September 2015, Sia announced that her new single "Alive" was co-written by Adele, and had originally been intended for Adele's third album.[112] On 18 October, a 30-second clip of new material from Adele was shown on UK television during a commercial break on The X Factor. The commercial teases a snippet from a new song from her third album, with viewers hearing a voice singing accompanied by lyrics on a black screen.[113]

In a statement released three days later she confirmed that the album is titled 25, with Adele stating, "My last record was a break-up record, and if I had to label this one, I would call it a make-up record. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did. 25 is about getting to know who I've become without realising. And I'm sorry it took so long but, you know, life happened."[114] Adele also believes 25 will be her last album with her age as its title, believing that 25 would be the end to a trilogy.[115] On 22 October, Adele confirmed that 25 would be released on 20 November, while the lead single from the album, "Hello" would be released on 23 October.[116] The song was first played on Nick Grimshaw's Radio 1 Breakfast Show on the BBC on the morning of 23 October with Adele interviewed live.[117] The video of "Hello", released on 22 October, was viewed over 27.7 million times on YouTube in its first 24 hours, breaking the Vevo record for the most views in a day, surpassing the 20.1 million views for "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift.[118] On 28 October, BBC News reported that "Hello" was being viewed on YouTube an average one million times an hour.[119] "Hello" went on to become the fastest video to hit one billion views on YouTube, which it achieved after 88 days.[120] The video for "Hello" captured iconic British elements such as a red telephone box and a cup of tea.[121] The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 30 October, with first week sales of 330,000 copies, making it the biggest-selling number one single in three years.[122] "Hello" also debuted at number one in many countries around the world, including Australia, France, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and Germany, and on 2 November, the song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first song in the US to sell at least one million downloads in a week, setting the record at 1.11 million.[123] By the end of 2015, it had sold 12.3 million units globally and was the year's 7th best-selling single despite being released in late October
On 27 October, BBC One announced plans for Adele at the BBC, a one-hour special presented by Graham Norton, in which Adele talks about her new album and performs new songs.[126] This was her first television appearance since performing at the 2013 Academy Awards ceremony, and the show was recorded before a live audience on 2 November for broadcast on 20 November, coinciding with the release of 25.[127] On 27 October it was also announced that Adele would appear on the US entertainment series Saturday Night Live on 21 November.[126][128] On 30 October, Adele confirmed that she would be performing a one-night-only concert titled Adele Live in New York City at the Radio City Music Hall on 17 November. Subsequently, NBC aired the concert special on 14 December.[129][130]

On 27 November, 25 debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest selling album in UK chart history with over 800,000 copies sold in its first week.[131] The album debuted at number one in the US where it sold a record-breaking 3.38 million copies in its first week, the largest single sales week for an album since Nielsen began monitoring sales in 1991.[132] 25 also broke first week sales records in Canada and New Zealand.[133][134] 25 became the best-selling album of 2015 in a number of countries, including Australia, the UK and the US, spending seven consecutive weeks at number one in each country, before being displaced by David Bowie's Blackstar.[135][136][137] It was the best-selling album worldwide of 2015 with 17.4 million copies sold.[124] 25 has since sold 20 million copies globally.[138] Adele's seven weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart took her total to 31 weeks at number one in the UK with her three albums, surpassing Madonna's previous record of most weeks at number one for a female act.[139]

In November 2015, Adele's 2016 tour was announced, her first tour since 2011.[140] Beginning in Europe, Adele Live 2016 included four dates at the Manchester Arena in March 2016, six dates at the O2 Arena, London, with further dates in Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands among others.[141] Her North American Tour began on 5 July in St. Paul, Minnesota.[142] The leg included six nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City, eight nights at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and four nights at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.[143] Adele broke Taylor Swift's five-show record for most consecutive sold-out shows at the Staples Center
At the 2016 Brit Awards in London on 24 February, Adele received the awards for British Female Solo Artist, British Album of the Year for 25, British Single of the Year for "Hello", and British Global Success, bringing her Brit Award wins to eight.[146] She closed the ceremony by performing "When We Were Young", the second single from 25.[146] Two more singles from 25 were released in 2016: "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" and "Water Under the Bridge". While on stage at London's O2 Arena on 17 March, Adele announced that she would be headlining on the Pyramid Stage at the 2016 Glastonbury Festival, which was later confirmed by the festival's organisers.[147] She appeared for a 90-minute fifteen song set at the festival on 25 June, and described the experience as "by far, the best moment of my life so far".[148]

As part of her world tour, in February and March 2017, Adele performed in Australia for the first time, playing outdoor stadiums around the country.[149] Her first two shows in New Zealand sold out in a record-breaking 23 minutes, and a third show was announced, with all tickets sold in under 30 minutes.[150] Adele sold over 600,000 tickets for her record-breaking eight date Australian tour, setting stadium records throughout the country; her Sydney show at ANZ Stadium on 10 March was seen by 95,000 people, the biggest single concert in Australian history, a record she broke the following night with more than 100,000 fans.[151] Adele completed her world tour with two concerts, dubbed "The Finale", at Wembley Stadium, London on 28 and 29 June.[5] She announced the shows at "the home of football" by singing the England football team's "Three Lions" anthem and also the theme song to the BBC's weekly Premier League football show Match of the Day.[5] Adele had added another two concerts at Wembley after the first two dates sold out,[152] however she cancelled the last two dates of the tour after damaging her vocal cords.[145] As a show of support, fans instead gathered outside Wembley Stadium to perform renditions of her songs, in an event titled "Sing for Adele".[153]

At the end of 2016, Billboard named Adele Artist of the Year for the third time,[154] and also received the Top Billboard 200 album.[155] 25 was the best-selling album for a second consecutive year in the US.[156] With 200 million views, Adele's Carpool Karaoke through the streets of London with James Corden, a sketch which featured on Corden's talk show The Late Late Show with James Corden in January 2016, was the biggest YouTube viral video of 2016.[157] At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2017, Adele won all five of her nominations, bringing her number of awards to fifteen. She won Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 25, and Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Hello".[158] She also performed a tribute to the late George Michael singing the rendition of his song "Fastlove"; due to technical difficulties which occurred during the performance, Adele decided to stop and restart, explaining "I can't mess this up for him".[159]

2018–present: Upcoming fourth studio album
Adele was reportedly working on her fourth studio album by 2018, with an expected release date of December 2019.[160] On 5 May 2019, the date of her 31st birthday, Adele posted several black-and-white photographs of herself celebrating her birthday along with a message on her Instagram account reflecting on the previous year. The message ended with "30 will be a drum n bass record to spite you". Outlets, including NME, took the post as an indication that a new album would be released imminently.[161][162]

Artistry
Influences and favourite musicians
Adele has cited the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".[163] Adele impersonated the Spice Girls at dinner parties as a young girl.[164] She stated she was left "heartbroken" when her favourite Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell aka "Ginger Spice", left the group.[165][166] Growing up she also listened to Sinéad O'Connor,[167] The Cure,[168] Dusty Springfield,[169] Celine Dion,[170] and Annie Lennox.[171] One of Adele's earliest influences was Gabrielle, who Adele has admired since the age of five. During Adele's school years, her mother made her an eye patch with sequins which she used to perform as the Hackney born star in a school talent contest.[172] After moving to south London, she became interested in R&B artists such as Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, and Mary J. Blige.[173] Adele says that one of the most defining moments in her life was when she watched Pink perform at Brixton Academy in London. She states: "It was the Missundaztood record, so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live [...] I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible."[174][175] Adele also cites Jeff Buckley's album Grace as an influence, saying "I remember falling out with my best friend when I was like seven and listening to Jeff Buckley, because my mum was a huge fan. Grace has always been around me"
In 2002, aged 14, Adele discovered Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald as she stumbled on the artists' CDs in the jazz section of her local music store. She was struck by their appearance on the album covers.[177] Adele states she then "started listening to Etta James every night for an hour," and in the process was getting "to know my own voice."[177] Adele credits Amy Winehouse and her 2003 album Frank for inspiring her to take up the guitar, stating, "If it wasn't for Amy and Frank, one hundred per cent I wouldn't have picked up a guitar, I wouldn't have written "Daydreamer" or "Hometown [Glory]" and I wrote "Someone Like You" on the guitar too."[178] She also states that her mother, who is very close to her, exposed her to the music of Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, and Alicia Keys, all of whom inspired her as well.[167] She is also a fan of Lana Del Rey, Grimes, Chvrches, FKA Twigs, Alabama Shakes, Kanye West, Rihanna, Frank Ocean, and Stevie Nicks.[179][180][181] In 2017, she described Beyoncé as a particular inspiration, calling her "my artist of my life" and added "the other artists who mean that much to me are all dead."[182] Adele cited Madonna's album Ray of Light as a "chief inspiration" behind her album 25.[180]

Musical style
Adele's first album, 19, is of the soul genre, with lyrics describing heartbreak and relationship.[17] Her success occurred simultaneously with several other British female soul singers, with the British press dubbing her a new Amy Winehouse.[1] This was described as a third British Musical Invasion of the US.[16] However, Adele called the comparisons between her and other female soul singers lazy, noting "we're a gender, not a genre".[17][183][184] AllMusic wrote that "Adele is simply too magical to compare her to anyone."[177]

Her second album, 21, shares the folk and soul influences of her debut album, but was further inspired by the American country and Southern blues music to which she had been exposed during her 2008–09 North American tour An Evening with Adele.[185][186] Composed in the aftermath of Adele's separation from her partner, the album typifies the near dormant tradition of the confessional singer-songwriter in its exploration of heartbreak, self-examination, and forgiveness. Having referred to 21 as a "break-up record", Adele labelled her third studio album, 25, a "make-up record", adding it was about "Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did."[114] Her yearning for her old self, her nostalgia, and melancholy about the passage of time, is a feature of 25, with Adele stating, "I've had a lot of regrets since I turned 25. And sadness hits me in different ways than it used to. There's a lot of things I don't think I'll ever get 'round to doing."[187]

Voice
Adele is a mezzo-soprano with a range spanning from C3 to B5. However Classic FM state she is often mistaken for a contralto due to the application of a tense chest mix to achieve her lower notes, whilst also noting that her voice becomes its clearest as she ascends the register, particularly from C4 to C5.[189][190][191][192] Rolling Stone reported that following throat surgery her voice had become "palpably bigger and purer-toned", and that she had added a further four notes to the top of her range.[187] Initially, critics suggested that her vocals were more developed and intriguing than her songwriting, a sentiment with which Adele agreed.[193] She has stated: "I taught myself how to sing by listening to Ella Fitzgerald for acrobatics and scales, Etta James for passion and Roberta Flack for control."[194]

Her voice has received acclaim from critics. In a review of 19, The Observer said, "The way she stretched the vowels, her wonderful soulful phrasing, the sheer unadulterated pleasure of her voice, stood out all the more; little doubt that she's a rare singer".[195] BBC Music wrote, "Her melodies exude warmth, her singing is occasionally stunning and, ...she has tracks that make Lily Allen and Kate Nash sound every bit as ordinary as they are."[196] For their reviews of 21, The New York Times' chief music critic Jon Pareles commended Adele's emotive timbre, comparing her to Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, and Annie Lennox: "[Adele] can seethe, sob, rasp, swoop, lilt and belt, in ways that draw more attention to the song than to the singer".[197] Ryan Reed of Paste magazine regarded her voice as "a raspy, aged-beyond-its-years thing of full-blooded beauty",[198] while MSN Music's Tom Townshend declared her "the finest singer of [our] generation".[199]

Personal life and other ventures
Adele began dating charity entrepreneur and Old Etonian Simon Konecki in the summer of 2011.[200] In June 2012, Adele announced that she and Konecki were expecting a baby.[201][202] Their son Angelo was born on 19 October 2012.[203] On the topic of becoming a parent, Adele observed that she "felt like I was truly living. I had a purpose, where before I didn't".[204] Adele and Konecki brought a privacy case against a UK-based photo agency that published intrusive paparazzi images of their son taken during family outings in 2013.[205] Lawyers working on their behalf accepted damages from the company in July 2014.[206] Adele has also stated that she has suffered from postnatal depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and panic attacks.[207][208]

In early 2017, tabloids started speculating that Adele and Konecki had secretly married when they were spotted wearing matching rings on their ring fingers.[209] During her acceptance speech at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Adele confirmed their marriage by calling Konecki her husband when thanking him.[210] She subsequently clarified her marital status in March 2017, telling the audience at a concert in Brisbane, Australia, "I'm married now".[211] Adele became a stay-at-home mother.[212] In April 2019, Adele's representatives announced to the Associated Press that she and Konecki had separated after more than seven years together, but that they would continue to raise their son together.[213][214] On 13 September 2019, it was reported that Adele had filed for divorce from Konecki in the United States.[215]

Politically she is a supporter of the Labour Party, stating in 2011 that she was a "Labour girl through and through".[216] In 2015, Adele stated "I'm a feminist, I believe that everyone should be treated the same, including race and sexuality".[180] Born in the North London district of Tottenham, Adele supports local football club Tottenham Hotspur.[217] In 2017, Adele was ranked the richest musician under 30 years old in the UK and Ireland in the Sunday Times Rich List, which valued her wealth at £125 million. She was ranked the 19th richest musician overall.[218] On the 2019 list, she was valued at £150 million as the 22nd richest musician in the UK.[219]

Supportive of the LGBT community, on 12 June 2016, an emotional Adele dedicated her show in Antwerp, Belgium to the victims of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, earlier that day, adding "The LGBTQ community, they're like my soul mates since I was really young, so I'm very moved by it."[220][221] In April 2018, it was widely reported that Adele had become an ordained minister in order to officiate at close friend comedian Alan Carr's wedding to Paul Drayton, something which Adele herself subsequently confirmed. The wedding, held in January 2018, took place in the garden of her house in Los Angeles.[222]

Philanthropy
Adele has performed in numerous charity concerts throughout her career. In 2007 and 2008 she performed at the Little Noise Sessions held at London's Union Chapel, with proceeds from the concerts donated to Mencap which works with people with learning disabilities.[35] In July and November 2008, Adele performed at the Keep a Child Alive Black Ball in London and New York City respectively.[223][224][225] On 17 September 2009 she performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for the VH1 Divas event, a concert to raise money for the Save The Music Foundation charity.[226][227] On 6 December, Adele opened with a 40-minute set at John Mayer's 2nd Annual Holiday Charity Revue held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.[228] In 2011, Adele gave a free concert for Pride London, a registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London.[229] The same year, Adele took part in the UK charity telethon Comic Relief for Red Nose Day 2011, performing "Someone like You".[230]

Adele has been a major contributor to MusiCares, a charity organisation founded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for musicians in need. In February 2009, Adele performed at the 2009 MusiCares charity concert in Los Angeles. In 2011 and 2012, Adele donated autographed items for auctions to support MusiCares.[231][232][233] Adele required all backstage visitors to the North American leg of her Adele Live tour to donate a minimum charitable contribution of US$20 for the UK charity SANDS, an organisation dedicated to "supporting anyone affected by the death of a baby and promoting research to reduce the loss of babies' lives".[234]

On 15 June 2017, Adele attended a vigil in west London for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire where, keeping a low profile, she was only spotted by a small handful of fans.[235] Four days later she appeared at Chelsea fire station and brought cakes for the firefighters.[236] Station manager Ben King stated "She came in, came up to the mess and had a cup of tea with the watch and then she joined us for the minute's silence."[236] Paying tribute to the victims at her first Wembley show on 28 June, Adele encouraged fans to donate money to help the victims of the blaze rather than waste the money on "overpriced wine".[237]

Awards and achievements
At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in 2009, Adele won awards in the categories of Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[238] She was also nominated in the categories of Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[239] The success of her debut album 19 saw Adele nominated for three Brit Awards in the categories of British Female Solo Artist, British Single of the Year and British Breakthrough Act.[240] Then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent a thank-you letter to Adele that stated "with the troubles that the country's in financially, you're a light at the end of the tunnel."[241]

Adele's second album, 21, earned her a record-tying six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year; two Brit Awards, including British Album of the Year. The success of the album saw her receive numerous mentions in the Guinness Book of World Records.[242] With 21 non-consecutive weeks at number 1 in the US, Adele broke the record for the longest number-1 album by a woman in Billboard history, beating the record formerly held by Whitney Houston's soundtrack The Bodyguard.[78] 21 spent its 23rd week at number one in March 2012, making it the longest-running album at number one since 1985,[243] and it became the fourth best-selling album of the past 10 years in the US.[244] The best selling album in the UK of the 21st century, and the best selling album by a female in UK chart history, 21 is also the fourth best-selling album in the UK of all time.[245][246] 21 was her first album certified diamond in the US.[247] On 6 March, 21 reached 30 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Australian ARIA Chart, making it the longest-running number one album in Australia in the 21st century, and the second longest-running number one ever.[248]

In February 2012, Adele was listed at number five on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music.[249] In April 2012, Time magazine named Adele one of the 100 most influential people in the world.[250][251] People named her one of 2012 Most Beautiful at Every Age.[252] On 30 April 2012, a tribute to Adele was held at New York City's (Le) Poisson Rouge called Broadway Sings Adele, starring various Broadway actors such as Matt Doyle.[253] In July 2012, Adele was listed at number six in Forbes list of the world's highest-paid celebrities under the age of 30, having earned £23 million between May 2011 and May 2012.[254]

On the week ending 3 March 2012, Adele became the first solo female artist to have three singles in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time with "Rolling in the Deep", "Someone Like You", and "Set Fire to the Rain" as well as the first female artist to have two albums in the top 5 of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.[255] Adele topped the 2012 Sunday Times Rich List of musicians in the UK under 30[256] and made the Top 10 of Billboard magazine's "Top 40 Money Makers".[257] Billboard also announced the same day that Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" is the biggest crossover hit of the past 25 years, topping pop, adult pop and adult contemporary charts and that Adele is one of four female artists to have an album chart at number one for more than 13 weeks (the other three artists being Judy Garland, Carole King, and Whitney Houston).[257]

At the 2012 Ivor Novello Awards in May, Adele was named Songwriter of the Year, and "Rolling in the Deep" won the award for Most Performed Work of 2011.[258] At the 2012 BMI Awards held in London in October, Adele won Song of the Year (for "Rolling in the Deep") in recognition of the song being the most played on US television and radio in 2011.[259] In 2013, Adele won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the James Bond theme "Skyfall". This is the first James Bond song to win and the fifth to be nominated (after "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), "Nobody Does It Better" (1977), "Live and Let Die" (1973), and "The Look of Love" (1967)).[260][261] "Skyfall" won the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 Brit Awards.[262]

In June 2013, Adele was appointed a MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to music, and she received the award from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on 19 December 2013.[263][264] In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.[265] In April 2016, Adele appeared for the second time on the Time 100 list of most influential people.[266]

In 2014, Adele was already being regarded as a British cultural icon, with young adults from abroad naming her among a group of people that they most associated with UK culture, which included William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth II, David Beckham, J. K. Rowling, The Beatles, Charlie Chaplin and Elton John.[267][268]

Released in 2015, Adele's third album, 25, became the year's best-selling album and broke first week sales records in a number of markets, including the UK and the US.[269] 25 was her second album to be certified diamond in the US and earned her five Grammy Awards, including her second Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and four Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist, British Album of the Year, British Single of the Year for "Hello", and British Global Success.[146] Adele's seven weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart took her total to 31 weeks at number one in the UK with her three albums, surpassing Madonna's previous record of most weeks at number one for a female act in the UK.[139] The lead single, "Hello", became the first song in the US to sell over one million digital copies within a week of its release.[123] At the 2016 Ivor Novello Awards Adele was named Songwriter of the Year by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.[270] As of 6 August 2019, despite releasing just two albums in the decade (21 and 25), at 36 weeks she has the second most weeks at number one in the UK Album Charts in the 2010s, five weeks behind Ed Sheeran (who has released four albums).

نادي ضمك

نادي ضمك ناد رياضي السعودي. من محافظة خميس مشيط في الجنوب الغربي من المملكة العربية السعودية. يعتبر من أبرز الأندية السعودية في ألعاب القوى. وقد قدم العديد من النجوم للعديد من أندية المملكة العربية السعودية أو المنتخبات السعودية سواء كان ذلك في كرة القدم أو ألعاب القوى والألعاب المختلفة.

التأسيس
تأسس نادي ضمك تحت اشراف مركز التنمية الاجتماعية بخميس مشيط وبعد ذلك اقر أبناء النادي بان يكون الاسم نابعا من البيئة المحلية ويرمز إلى التاريخ. ووجدوا ان جبل ضمك الذي يقع جنوب المدينة يرمز إلى الشموخ والاباء هو الاسم الذي استوحوه من طبيعة المنطقة وتم تسجيل النادي رسميا ضمن اندية المملكة عام 1391 هـ (1971) تاريخ التأسيس : 1386هـ (1966) ويقع في مدينة خميس مشيط. تاريخ التسجيل الرسمي : 1391هـ

مرافق النادي
أبرز المدربين
غير السعوديين
محسن حباشه
محمود السايس
فؤاد شعبان
محسن النعتري
مصطفى العقيدة
جميل قاسم
محمد الدو
سعيد خيدر
سليم المنجا
الهادي الوالي
علي المجاهد
جلال القادري
المنذر العذاري
سعوديون
محمد الجارودي
علي عايض
محمد سالم
مساعد سعد
حمد اليامي
عبدالله الطافشي
محمد الدربي
ياسر كربي
أبرز النجوم واللاعبين السابقين
كرة القدم
محمد سويد
عبد الله أبو كف
عبد الرحمن الفيصل
علي أبو داهش
عبد الرحمن سعد
صلاح عظيمان
محمد أبو نخاع
عبد الرحمن الراشد
سعيد مرزوق القحطاني
مساعد سعد
أحمدالبركاتي
سامي ريحان
عبد العزيز الراشد
جداوي سعد
خالد سويد
علي زايد
علي بن هيله
منصور النجعي
محمد الشهراني
فهد عواجي
بندر طامي
فهد جبران
عبيد الدوسري
عبد الله سليمان
أحمد خريش
فايز عسيري
ألعاب القوى
علي صالح العمري من أبطال منتخب المملكة العربية السعودية في لعبة الجلة ، حقق رقم الشباب على مستوى المملكة لمدة عام كامل ، وله عديد من الإنجازات المحلية .
إبراهيم ظفير الشهراني: من أبرز أبطال المملكة في رمي القرص والحائز على العديد من الميداليات الذهبية
هادي صوعان: البطل الأولمبي السعودي والحائز على الميدالية الفضية في المبياد سيدني في سباق 400م حواجز
عبد الله مرزوق الشهراني: من أبطال العشاري
ظافر مهدي القحطاني: من أبطال منتخب المملكة العربية السعودية ومن أبطال الخليج وأبطال العرب وأبطال آسيا
كرة اليد
فيصل محمد القحطاني
علي عاروك الأحمري
عائض رامس الشهري
سالم سعيّد الشهراني
محمد بن صوان الشهراني
الحارس سعيد أبو عصيده
خالد حطش الشهراني
عبدالغنى الشهرانى
عبداللله سمران
محمد سلطان الشهري
المدرب المصري طارق العويلى، ورئيس النادي الأستاذ حسين مشيط.

أبرز إنجازات النادي
صعود النادي للدوري الممتاز عام 1401هـ
صعود النادي لدوري الدرجة الأولى عام 1400 هـ
صعود النادي لدوري الدرجة الأولى عام 1411 هـ
صعود النادي للدرجة الأولي (قدم) مرتين الأولي لموسم 1400-1401 والموسم الثاني 1410-1411
صعود النادي لدوري الدرجة الثانية عام 1423 هـ
صعود النادي لدوري الدرجة الأولى عام 1425 هـ
الحصول على المركز الخامس في الدوري المشترك عام 1402 هـ
تأهل لدور الأربعة في كأس ولي العهد عام 1404 هـ
الحصول على المركز الأول في بطولات العاب القوى والعاب الدراجات وكرة الماء على مستوى المملكة العربية السعودية لعده سنوات..
الحصول على المركز الرابع في بطولة اندية الدرجة الأولى لعام 1426 هـ
الصعود إلى دوري ركاء بالمركز الأول وحسم الدوري 1436
تعتبر لعبة الملاكمة من اميز الألعاب الرياضية على مستوى المملكه وقد ظهر بها لاعبين مميزين مثل اللاعب علي دهيس ومكي زايد وإبراهيم منيع حازو على ميداليات دولية وعربيه على مستوى المنتخبات الوطنية
وتعتبر قاعدة ضمك من أفضل الاندية للمراحل السنية وقد نافس شباب النادي على الصعود إلى الدرجة الممتازة وكذلك الناشئين الذين لا زالوا من أوائل فرق المنطقة.

جوائز حصل عليها النادي
في المجال الرياضي
النادي علي النادي المثالي الموسم الأول 1395-1396
النادي علي النادي المثالي الموسم الثاني 1397-1398
النادي علي النادي المثالي الموسم الثالث 1416-1417
في المجال الثقافي والاجتماعي
المركز الأول في مسابقة القران الكريم وكتابة المقالات الأدبية والعروض المسرحية.صالح أبونخاع
مسابقة القران الكريم 1414 - 1994 في المحالة على مستوى المنطقة الجنوبية - المشاركون سعد عبدالرحمن الشهري عبدالله احمد الباكري سعيد يسلم