"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" is a song from the 2013 Disney CGI-animated film Frozen. It is sung by Anna in three different ages: five, nine, and fifteen. In the song, Anna is convincing Elsa to get out of her room so they can go play outside. However, when Anna was 15, she tried to convince Elsa to at least leave the room, as since their parents died, they have nothing but each other.
Lyrics
5-Year-Old Anna: (giggles) Elsa? (knocks)
Do you want to build a snowman?
Come on, let's go and play!
I never see you anymore
Come out the door
It's like you've gone away!
We used to be best buddies
And now we're not
I wish you would tell me why!
Do you want to build a snowman?
It doesn't have to be a snowman...
8-Year-Old Elsa: Go away, Anna.
5-Year-Old Anna: Okay, bye.
(Speech)
8-Year-Old Elsa: (gasps)
King: The gloves will help. See? Conceal it.
8-Year-Old Elsa: Don't feel it.
Both: Don't let it show.
9-Year-Old Anna: (laughs, knocks)
Do you want to build a snowman?
Or ride our bike around the halls?
I think some company is overdue,
I've started talking to the pictures on the walls!
(Hang in there, Joan.)
It gets a little lonely,
All these empty rooms,
Just watching the hours tick by...
(tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock)
(Speech)
12-Year-Old Elsa: I'm scared! It's getting stronger!
King: Getting upset only makes it worse. Calm down.
12-Year-Old Elsa: No! Don't touch me! Please, I don't want to hurt you.
15-Year-Old Anna: See you in two weeks.
18-Year-Old Elsa: Do you have to go?
King: You'll be fine, Elsa.
(Instrumental break)
15-Year-Old Anna: (knocks) Elsa?
Please, I know you're in there
People are asking where you've been
They say, "have courage" and I'm trying to
I'm right out here for you,
Just let me in
We only have each other,
It's just you and me
What are we gonna do?
Do you want to build a snowman? (sighs)
Young Anna: It's snowing! Elsa? (knocks)
Do you want to build a snowman?
Come on, let's go and play!
I never see you anymore
Come out the door
It's like you've gone away!
We used to be best buddies
And now we're not
I wish you would tell me why!
Do you want to build a snowman?
It doesn't have to be a snowman...
Young Elsa: Go away, Anna.
Young Anna: Okay, bye.
(Speech)
Young Elsa: I'm doing everything you said, Papa! The gloves are helping!
King: Good, but there will come a day where you will have to stand before your people without them. You must be prepared for anything, Elsa. Now, again.
Young Elsa: Conceal it, don't feel it.
Both: Don't let it show.
Young Anna: Do you want to build a snowman?
Or ride our bike around the halls?
I think some company is overdue,
I've started talking to the pictures on the walls!
(Hang in there, Joan.)
It gets a little lonely,
All these empty rooms,
Just watching the hours tick by...
(tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock)
(Speech)
Young Elsa: It's getting stronger! I can't laugh, I can't cry, I can't dream! I can't live without it bursting out!
Queen: This is too much for her. We shouldn't go. Come here, my poor child.
Young Elsa: No! Don't touch me! Please, I don't want to hurt you.
Queen: Anna, it's time.
Young Anna: I'm going to miss you.
Queen: We'll just be gone for a couple of weeks, my sunshine.
Young Elsa: I can't do this on my own.
King: You can, you must. I'm proud of you.
Young Elsa: I'll try not to let you down, Father.
(Instrumental break)
Chorus: Aaaaaah...
Bishop: (speaking) In the name of our king and queen lost at sea, Arendelle shall honor their ways until our young queen comes of age. May they rest in peace.
Young Anna: Elsa?
18-year-old Anna: Elsa?
Please, I know you're in there
I'm just wondering you've been
Do you maybe want to take a walk
Or sit and talk
Or let me in
Are you ready for tomorrow?
It's your big day
Is there anything I can do?
21-year-old Elsa: Do you want to build a snowman?
Other versions
| Performers | Title | Translation | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vlora Mezini & Alma Koleci | "A Do Të Bëjmë Një Plak Dëbore?" | "Are We Going To Make A Snowman?" | Albanian |
| خلود عمر (Kholod Omar) & شروق صلاح (Shoruogh Salah) | "تريدين رجل جليد؟" (Tureedina Rajula Jaleed?) | "Do You Want An Ice Man?" | Arabic |
| Alice Lieban, Eduarda Móras & Gabi Porto | "Você Quer Brincar Na Neve?" | "Do You Want To Play In The Snow ?" | Brazilian Portuguese |
| ?, ? & Весела Бонева (Vesela Boneva) | "Искаш Ли Да Поиграем?" (Iskash Li Da Poigraem?) | "Do You Want To Play?" | Bulgarian |
| Marguerite D'Amour & Véronique Claveau | "Je Voudrais Un Bonhomme De Neige" | "I Would Like A Snowman" | Canadian French |
| 梁菀桐 (Liang Wan Tong) & 黃山怡 (Candy Wong) | "你要雪人砌幾呎高?" (Nei Jiu Syut Jan Cai Gei Cek Gou?) | "How Tall Should The Snowman Be?" | Cantonese |
| Emma Amselem, Naima Barroso & Carmen López Pascual | "Hazme Un Muñeco De Nieve" | "Do Me A Snowman" | Castilian Spanish |
| Rita Martínez, Arantxa Rodas & Paula Ribó | "Véns A Fer Un Ninot De Neu Amb Mi?" | "Come To Make A Snowman With Me?" | Catalan |
| Lucija Jagar, Matea Jagar & Sementa Rajhard | "Snjegovića Sa Mnom Gradi" | "Build A Snowman With Me" | Croatian |
| Alena Kokrdová & Tereza Martinková | "Ráda Sněhuláky Stavíš?" | "Glad You Build A Snowman?" | Czech |
| Marie Dietz, Natasha Jessen & Kristine Yde Eriksen | "Skal Vi Ikke Lave En Snemand?" | "Why Don't We Build A Snowman?" | Danish |
| Manou Jue Cardoso, Chelsea Hegener & Noortje Herlaar | "Zullen Wij Een Sneeuwpop Maken?" | "Shall We Make A Snowman?" | Dutch |
| Hanna-Liisa Peenmaa & Hele Kõrve | "Kas Me Lumememme Teeme?" | "Can We Make A Snowman?" | Estonian |
| Neve Sirkiä, Iris Kovalainen & Saara Aalto | "Lumiukko Tehtäisiinkös?" | "Could We Make A Snowman?" | Finnish |
| Jo Leyers, Lotte De Clerck & Aline Goffin | "Kom Dan Maken We Een Sneeuwman" | "Come & Then We'll Make A Snowman" | Flemish |
| Coralie Thuilier & Emmylou Homs | "Je Voudrais Un Bonhomme De Neige" | "I Would Like A Snowman" | French |
| Valeska Gerhart, Magdalena Haier & Pia Allgaier | "Willst Du Einen Schneemann Bauen?" | "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" | German |
| Αθανασία Αχλιαδιώτου (Athanasía Achliadiótou), Ειρήνη Ρουβά (Eiríni Rouvá) & Βάσια Ζαχαροπούλου (Vásia Zacharopoúlou) | "Θες Χιονάνθρωπο να Φτιάξεις;" (Thes Khionánthropo Na Phtiáxis?) | "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" | Greek |
| איילה פלדמן (Ayala Feldman), בר סביר (Bar Savir) & עינת אזולאי (Einat Azulay) | "את רוצה לבנות איש שלג؟" (At Rotsa Livnot Ish Sheleg?) | "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" | Hebrew |
| ઐશ્વર્યા મજમુદાર (Aishwarya Majmudar) | "किया बर्फ का पुतला बनाएं" (Kiya Barph Ka Putala Banaen) | "Create The Effigy Of Snow" | Hindi |
| Boldog Emese & Vágó Bernadett | "Csak Egy Pici Hó Kell" | "We Only Need A Bit Of Snow" | Hungarian |
| Emelía Bergsdóttir, Arna Marín Thorarensen & Þórdís Björk Þorfinnsdóttir | "Viltu Koma Að Gera Snjókarl?" | "Do You Want To Make A Snowman?" | Icelandic |
| Miranty A.& Nadia Rosyada | "Yuk, Buat Boneka Salju! | "Let's Make A Snowman!" | Indonesian |
| Elisa Rinaldi, Lucrezia Cesari & Serena Rossi | "Facciamo Un Pupazzo Insieme" | "Let's Make A Snowman Together" | Italian |
| 稲葉菜月 (Natsuki Inaba), 諸星すみれ (Sumire Morohoshi) & 神田沙也加 (Sayaka Kanda) | "雪だるまつくろう" (Yukidaruma Tsukurō) | "Let's Make A Snowman" | Japanese |
| Кючюкланы Асият (Küçüklanı Asiyat), Кючюкланы Азиза (Küçüklanı Aziza) & Гуталаны Мариям (Gerğoqalanı Xalimat) | Karachay-Balkar | ||
| 윤시영 (Si Young Yoon), 이지민 (Ji Min Lee) & 박지윤 (Ji Yun Park) | "같이 눈사람 만들래?" (Gati Nunsaram Mandeullae?) | "Do You Want To Make A Snowman Together?" | Korean |
| Andrea Rebeca Gómez Arias, Sara Paula Gómez Arias & Romina Marroquín Payró | "¿Y Si Hacemos Un Muñeco?" | "And If We Make A Snowman?" | Latin Spanish |
| ?, ? & Beāte Zviedre | "Vai Vēlies Uzcelt Sniegavīru?" | "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" | Latvian |
| Laura Norkūnaitė & Neringa Nekrašiūtė | "Nulipdykim Sniego Senį?" | "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" | Lithuanian |
| ?, ? & Amylea Azizan | "Nak Tak Bina Orang Salji?" | "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" | Malay |
| Oline Hopen Sofi, Charlotte Funner & May Kristin Kaspersen | "Blir Du Med Å Lager Snømann?" | "Do You Want To Make A Snowman?" | Norwegian |
| ثمین مظفری (Samin Mozafari) | "دلت ادم برفی میخواد؟"(Delet Adam Barfi Mikhad?) | "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" | Persian Glory |
| Malwina Jachowicz, Julia Siechowicz & Magdalena Wasylik | "Ulepimy Dziś Bałwana?" | "Are We Going To Build A Snowman Today?" | Polish |
| Luz Fonseca & Isabel Jacobetty | "Vem Fazer Bonecos De Neve" | "Come To Make Snowmen" | Portuguese |
| 李潇潇 (Eva Li) | "你想不想堆雪人?" (Nǐ Xiǎng Bùxiǎng Duī Xuěrén?) | "Do You Want To Make A Snowman?" | Putonghua |
| Anedis Mihalache, Andra Gogan & Cătălina Chirțan | "Hai Afară La Zăpadă!" | "Come Outside To The Snow!" | Romanian |
| Наталия Быстрова (Varvara Novoshinskaya) & Наталья Быстрова (Natalia Bystrova) | "За Окном Уже Сугробы" (Za Oknom Uže Sugroby) | "There Are Snowdrifts Outside Already" | Russian |
| Андријана Оливерић (Andrijana Oliverić) & Лејла Хот (Lejla Hot) | "Да Ли Би Да Правиш Снешка?" (Da Li Bi Da Praviš Sneška?) | "Do You Want To Make A Snowman?" | Serbian |
| Ela Hlucháňová & Lucia Molnárová Bugalová | "Poďme Stavať Snehuliaka" | "Let's Build A Snowman" | Slovak |
| Klara Šmuc & Tanja Ravljen | "Greva Naredit Snežaka" | "Let's Go Build A Snowman" | Slovene |
| Niji Dyall Price, Zoë Ackerman & Mimmi Sandén | "Vill Du Inte Ut Och Leka?" | "Don't You Want To Go Out And Play?" | Swedish |
| 梁博堯 (Liang Boyao), 詹蕙瑜 (Zhanhui Yu) & 劉軒蓁 (Xuan Zhen Liu) | "想不想要做個雪人?" (Xiǎng Bùxiǎng Yào Zuò Gè Xuěrén?) | "Do You Want To Do A Snowman?" | Taiwanese Mandarin |
| พรสรวง รวยรื่น (Paunsuang Ruayruen) & หนึ่งธิดา โสภณ (Nuengtidah Sohpon) | "ปั้นมนุษย์หิมะด้วยกันมั้ย" (Bpân Má-Nút Hì-Má Dûay Gan Máai) | "Let's Build A Snowman Together" | Thai |
| Idil Kuner & Deniz Sujana | "Kardan Adam Yapsak Senle" | "Let's Build A Snowman Together" | Turkish |
| ? & Марія Назарівна Яремчук (Marija Nazarivna Jaremčuk) | "Сніговик На Нас Чекає" (Snihovyk Na Nas Čekaje) | "A Snowman Is Waiting For Us" | Ukrainian |
| ?, ? & Võ Hạ Trâm | "Ra Đây Chơi Người Tuyết Với Em Nhé?" | "Come Out And Play The Snowman With Me, Will You?" | Vietnamese |
Gallery
Trivia
- Before the final script, there were minor differences:
- Instead of "Please let me in," it was "Just let me in."
- Instead of "Just you and me," it was "It's just you and me."
- The line "Hang in there, Joan" has been suggested to be anything but a distraction in terms of subtext: Anna is in a sense really saying, "Hang in there, Elsa." Ballad writer Leonard Cohen described Joan of Arc as "a cold and lonesome heroine," much like Elsa. Both were accused of sorcery, and both would find fire to be their nemesis. (This is due to elemental affiliation in Elsa's case, much like the aquatic creatures who were also threatened in The Little Mermaid.)
- There is more dialogue in the movie version than the soundtrack version.
- While beautifully rendered, the painting of Joan of Arc is historically inaccurate. Joan never used a shield in battle, and instead should have been carrying her standard: a large white banner depicting the Risen Jesus Christ flanked by angels with the words "JESUS MARIA." The standard may have been omitted to avoid any overt religious imagery.
- Elsa provides a tacit answer to this song during her own number, "Let It Go", as one of the very first things she does is build a snowman.
- As a child, Anna is voiced by two of the film crew's daughters: first, she is voiced by Katie Lopez, daughter of songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and then, she is voiced by Agatha Lee Monn, daughter of director Jennifer Lee. Coincidentally, Jennifer Lee recorded the sole line of Anna's mother, Iduna.
- Despite the song's cheerful title and tone in the beginning, the song is quite sad and tragic, as many sad events took place during this song: the deteriorating friendship of Elsa and Anna, their growing loneliness due to being isolated from society and each other, and the death of their parents, which left them both orphaned, sad and alone.
- At the end of the film, viewers can hear the instrumental reprise of the song along with "For the First Time in Forever" (known as "Epilogue") while everyone in Arendelle is skating and in the credits. It can also be heard on the DVD and Blu-ray's main menu with a sort of "mash-up" between "For the First Time in Forever". The "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" instrumental reprise could be a reference to how at the end the sisters were finally reconnecting.
- Since the film's release, there have been many internet parodies of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" focusing on an alternative response from Elsa in song. For example, "Of course I want to build a snowman", or "Yes, I want to build a snowman". There are several non-Frozen parodies of the song as well, such as one called "Do You Want to Be My Boyfriend?", "Do You Want to Build a Robot?" focusing on Hiro and Tadashi from Big Hero 6, and a Power Rangers-themed one sung by Alpha 5 called "I Want to Fight Like You Guys", which focuses on Alpha's friendships with the Power Rangers and his secret wish to become one himself so he could join his friends in battling evil. One famous parody is a called Do you want to build a SPACESHIP, replacing the word "snowman" with "spaceship". This song is a parody of The LEGO Movie, representing Benny the Spaceman's love of building spaceships. There is even a Star Wars parody in which an Imperial TIE fighter pilot (who repeatedly confirms his hatred of rebels) attempts to convince Darth Vader, who is busy thinking about Anakin Skywalker and his deceased wife Padmé Amidala (who Darth Sidious tricked him into thinking he killed, though she actually died in childbirth), to help him shoot down enemy Incom X-wing starfighters, with "Do you wanna build a snowman?" replaced with "Do you wanna kill some rebels?".
- The bridge of this song contains an instrumental that foreshadows "Let It Go"; particularly (and very appropriately) to the musical accompaniment to its lines, "Don't let them in, don't let them see..."
- Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf, said on the ABC documentary "The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic" that "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" is his favorite song in the film and that it almost did not make the final cut.
- In the first two verses, Anna's knock is the distinctive "Shave and a Haircut".
- The Disney Channel Circle of Stars did their own version of the song in 2014.
- Elsa apparently clearly remembers Anna singing this song, for she takes Anna for a bike ride around the halls in Frozen Fever.
