The Frozen franchise began with the 2013 Disney animated film Frozen, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, which was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen." The movie was a phenomenal success, earning two Academy Awards (Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song) and grossing $1.28 billion globally, quickly transforming from a film into a massive global brand. This expansion included theme park attractions, merchandise, video games, a Broadway musical, and the 2019 sequel Frozen 2, alongside the 2015 short Frozen Fever and the 2016 Frozen Northern Lights extension. The franchise's cultural impact was so significant that it even caused a 37% increase in U.S. tourism to Norway, which inspired the film's visuals. As TheStreet.com noted in 2014, "Frozen is no longer a movie, it's a global brand," and it has since become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, with Disney CEO Bob Iger expressing hope it would be "forever" for the company, similar to The Lion King.