The Netherlands may be experiencing its warmest winter in, like, forever, but there’s no denying that a cold front has swept through the country.
I’m talking, of course, about Disney’s 2013 feature animation, FROZEN.
The film opened in the Netherlands on December 11, 2013, and drew in a crowd of 414,000 on tweede kerstdag (second Christmas day, or Boxing Day) alone.
In fact, it was the one of the most viewed films over the Christmas holiday, second only to THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.
FROZEN is the story of the love between two sisters, one with magical powers that cover their kingdom of Arendelle in snow and ice. It’s been a hit all over the world. And it’s most popular song, LET IT GO, recently received an Oscar nod.
Written by husband-and-wife team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the anthem made famous by Broadway great Idina Menzel will be competing for the little gold statue in March.
The Dutch must have realized that a song like this deserved to be belted out by a stunning set of pipes. Because when the time came to cast the actors to dub the film in Dutch, they selected Willemijn Verkaik to voice the role of Elsa, who sings the song in the film.
If you don’t know who Willemijn Verkaik is, let me tell you, the girl has gotten around. She’s played the wicked witch, Elphaba (a role originated by Menzel) in the musical WICKED in Germany, the Netherlands, on New York City’s Broadway, and in London’s West End. Which makes her the only actress to perform the role in three languages. There’s actually a really awesome clip on YouTube of her singing the show’s most popular song in one of her concerts, alternating between the three languages.
Considering the buzz the trilingual actress has generated in the theater world and again with her film debut in FROZEN, Willemijn Verkaik is doubtless a name we will be hearing much more of in the future.
Catch her (well, her voice anyway) in the video below as she sings the Dutch version of the FROZEN hit, LAAT HET GAAN. The video contains subtitles in Dutch with the English translation.
Fun Fact: Verkaik also does the voice for Elsa in the German version of FROZEN.
Have you seen FROZEN yet? In Dutch, English or both?
