The Broadway musical adaptation of Frozen has been released on Disney+, and many new viewers are wondering why this one song was cut from the iconic Disney movie. Frozen is one of Disney’s biggest hits of all time, with it spawning several Frozen sequel movies, spinoffs, short films, video games, and more. One of the biggest pieces of additional media in the Frozen franchise is the Broadway musical, which adapts the movie for the stage. The Frozen musical adds all kinds of songs on top of many of the songs from the original animated film, although it does cut one.

Frozen premiered on Broadway in March 2018, with it running until it was closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The musical received mixed reviews, but it was a big hit for Disney Theatrical Productions, which is unsurprising considering the Frozen movie’s box office and critical success. Now, Disney+ has released a professional recording of the Frozen musical on the streaming service, тιтled Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical. This continues the platform’s recent trend of releasing live event recordings, such as Hamilton and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.

Frozen’s Broadway Musical Cuts “Frozen Heart”

The Opening Number Is Completely Changed

The original Frozen movie famously opens with “Frozen Heart,” a short song about ice-cutters who are working in Arendelle. This song sets up the frozen heart theme that recurs throughout the film, although it doesn’t feature any of the main members of Frozen‘s cast. Despite the importance of this song as the movie’s opening number, Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical cut this number.

Instead, the Frozen musical opens in a different way. After using “Vuelie,” the chant song from the Frozen movie, the Broadway musical jumps straight to young Anna and Elsa. The musical scores this with an original opening number, “Let the Sun Shine On.” This song acts as an introduction to the story’s main characters as well as the kingdom of Arendelle, with it featuring several other members of the kingdom.

Frozen’s Musical Cutting “Frozen Heart” Keeps The Focus On Anna & Elsa

Although “Frozen Heart” Motifs Are Still Used

Although some Frozen fans may be sad that “Frozen Heart” is missing from the Broadway musical, there is a good reason why the song was cut. “Frozen Heart” is a good song, but it doesn’t feature Anna and Elsa at all, meaning that the main characters aren’t the focus of the very beginning of the movie. By opening the musical with “Let the Sun Shine On,” the Frozen Broadway musical puts Anna and Elsa in the spotlight from the very beginning, which could be seen as an improvement on the source material.

However, “Frozen Heart” isn’t completely absent from the musical. The melody of the song is used as a motif throughout the Broadway play, proving that it still has an impact on the story. This continues the thematic importance of the original opening number without hurting the play’s story. “Frozen Heart” would also require another set and a lot of other actors, and this may have been too difficult or expensive to produce due to the difference in medium.

What Songs Frozen’s Musical Adds

& What Frozen Songs Return

Although “Frozen Heart” is missing from the Broadway musical, Frozen also adds a lot of songs that weren’t in the original animated classic. Act I features “Let the Sun Shine On,” “A Little Bit of You,” “Hidden Folk,” “Hans of the Southern Isles” and a reprise, “Queen Anointed,” “Dangerous to Dream,” and “What Do You Know About Love?.” Songs from the original movie featured in Act I are “Vuelie,” “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” “For the First Time In Forever,” “Love Is an Open Door,” “Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People,” “In Summer,” and “Let It Go.”

The original songs featured in Act II of the Frozen musical are “Hygge,” “I Can’t Lose You,” “Kristoff Lullaby,” “Monster,” another “Hans of the Southern Isles” reprise, “True Love,” “Colder by the Minute,” and “Finale: Let It Go.” Act II also features “Fixer Upper” from the original Frozen.