A weekend after Coco - Lebendiger als das Leben! (2017) was released in Mexico, many viewers were annoyed with the short duration, making some theaters project the film without the short.
In the United Kingdom, this was released in Cineworld & Odeon cinemas for one weekend only (25th and 26th November 2017). It was only shown in a kid-friendly morning slot and at a discounted price and was followed by a screening of Die Eiskönigin: Völlig unverfroren (2013). Attendants were handed a free Lego toy of Olaf when they left Odeon cinemas.
Many of the traditions Olaf "collects" are based on real holiday traditions from the Scandinavian region of Northern Europe.
In the opening sequence, Olaf knocks over a tall cake made of concentric rings stacked atop one another to form a tall tree shape. This is a traditional Norwegian Christmas cake called a kransekake, which translates to "wreath cake."
The film was originally announced as a television special that was to be aired on ABC. It wasn't until halfway through production when the filmmakers and the Disney executives deemed the project "too cinematic" for television, so they decided to release it in theaters worldwide. Impressed with its eye-popping animation and emphasis on family and tradition, the Disney executives decided to release the short film with the theatrical release of Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios' Coco - Lebendiger als das Leben! (2017), as they believed it would be a perfect opener to Coco, which embraces similar thematic territory during Día de los Muertos.