Employees of the Times Square Disney Store were somewhat
surprised when they came into work on Tuesday morning. Overnight, the exterior
of this store had taken on an icy blue hue.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
And who's that just inside the entrance, greeting customers as they walk in off
of Times Square?
Photo by Jim Hill
Why, it's Olaf, the snowman character from Disney
"Frozen." And even though we're still officially three weeks out from
when this new Walt Disney Animation Studios production officially hitting
theaters, the Times Square Disney Store has just been "Frozen" over.
Photo by Jim Hill
From what cast members who work at the Times Square Disney Store were telling
us yesterday, all of this work was done in a single night. With the entire
front third of this store's retail space being redressed to help showcase &
support dozens of lines of Disney "Frozen" products.
Photo by Jim Hill
I have to admit that it was really kind of staggering to see
the number of "Frozen" products The Walt Disney Company has already
got out on store shelves ahead of the release of this Chris Buck / Jennifer Lee
film.
Photo by Jim Hill
Now keep in mind that most every item that you see here is a Disney Store
exclusive. And that the real giant of the retail world — WalMart, Target et al
— will also have their exclusive Disney "Frozen" merchandise.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
As I wandered through the Times Square Disney Store last night, it seemed like
Disney Consumer Products had anticipated every possible angle when it came to
ways that people might be looking to bring the characters from
"Frozen" into their lives.
Take — for example — if your child wanted an Elsa or Anna doll. Well, you
could chose between the fashion doll set …
Photo by Jim Hill
… the mini-doll set …
Photo by Jim Hill
… the plush doll version of these "Frozen"
characters …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… or — better yet — the Elsa-and-Anna-as-toddler dolls.
Photo by Jim Hill
If your kids aren't much into cuddling dolls these days and would perhaps
prefer a more active way of playing with the "Frozen" characters …
Well, there's always the sleigh play set …
Photo by Jim Hill
… or the Kingdom-of-Arendelle playset (complete with castle and assorted action
figures).
Photo by Jim Hill
If your child prefer fashion to playthings, there are all
sorts of clothing-related ways to celebrate Disney "Frozen." The
Disney Store has outfits that make use of the rosemaling that you'll see on the
clothes of many of the characters in this WDAS production.
Photo by Jim Hill
Your child can actually dress up like Elsa or Anna if they
like.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Or if they'd prefer go outside and have their own icy adventure, your kids can first
pull on "Frozen" -themed hats & scarves …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and coats …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and then tromp on out into the ice & snow. On the
other hand, if your son or daughter would really prefer to stay inside and then
only pretend that they're out in the cold, there's this set of dress-up
earmuffs …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and gloves.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, it wasn't just the kiddie crowd that Disney
Consumer Products was catering to with all of this "Frozen" merch.
Sure, there were plates & bowls here featuring the characters from this new
Walt Disney Pictures release that children could eat out of / off of.
Photo by Jim Hill
… but there were also some handsome coffee mugs featuring
Elsa & Anna that were clearly aimed at adult consumers.
Photo by Jim Hill
"So who was the most popular character?," you ask.
Based on what I observed last night in the Times Square Disney Store, that
would have to be Olaf.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, Disney kind of stacked the deck in this particular situation. They
had a cast member positioned at the very front of the store holding an Olaf
plush …
Photo by Jim Hill
… right next to the static display version of Olaf which
was supposed to remind everyone that Disney "Frozen" was opening in
theaters on November 27th ..
Photo by Jim Hill
… and as each person came in off of Times Square, that
Disney cast member would first say "Hello" to each would-be customer
and then say "Have you met Olaf?" Which perhaps explains why the sales
of Olaf plush …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and Olaf t-shirts were so strong last night.
Photo by Jim Hill
That said, I did observe one Olaf-related injury last night. To first set the
scene properly, I need to point out that this Olaf plush had a rather large
& pointy, carrot-shaped nose on the front of his face.
Photo by Jim Hill
As I was taking pictures of the back of the
"Frozen" display, I observed this pair of girls walk into the store
straight off of Times Square. And as soon as they entered the
Disney Store …
Photo by Jim Hill
… one of the girls spied this hanging basket of Olaf
plush. She then grabbed one of these stuffed toys out of that basket, and — with
it held high in her hands — turned to her friend and says "Isn't this the
cutest thing?"
Photo by Jim Hill
The only problem was that this young woman's friend was still moving forward
when the girl who was holding the Olaf plush suddenly turned towards her. Which
meant that this young lady walked face-first into Olaf and wound up getting a
plush carrot right in the eye.
And let me tell you: The torrent of authentic New
York profanity which poured out of this young lady's
mouth immediately after getting an Olaf in the eye …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… turned the Times Square Disney Store's Rated-G atmosphere into something
just shy of NC17.
Photo by Jim Hill
So you might want to be a little careful around that snowman, folks. For while
Olaf may look sweet, this new Disney character clearly has a tricky side.
Your thoughts?