Set during the events of Frozen, Once Upon a Snowman follows Olaf's early adventures to discover his identity after he was created by Elsa, before he met Anna, Kristoff, and Sven.

As Olaf happily leaves with his new nose, a pack of wolves suddenly appear and begin to chase him through the snowy tundra, during which Anna and Kristoff can be heard arguing with each other over the concept of love.

He referenced the original sketches from 2013 showcasing ideas of Olaf discovering himself, and he took advantage of Disney+ partnership at D23 Expo to help develop and release the short film.

[2][3] Dan Abraham joined the project at the recommendation of Frozen co-director Jennifer Lee, who was impressed by his understanding of Olaf's character.

[5] Ryan Britt from Fatherly praised "Once Upon a Snowman" as a refreshing Christmas short, highlighting its unexpected amusement for its duration,[6] while Drew Taylor of Collider gave it an A rating, appreciating the entertaining humor, Josh Gad's portrayal of Olaf, and the appealing animation.

[7] Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media rated the short film 5 out of 5 stars, lauding its depiction of curiosity and self-discovery in Olaf and the portrayal of optimism and perseverance.

[9] Matt Fowler of IGN gave it a 6 out of 10, praising Gad's performance and the story but feeling it lacked substantial addition to the Frozen franchise.