Frozen 2

Frozen 2, stylized as Frozen II, is a 2019 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The second film in the Frozen franchise, following the 2013 film, it was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and written by Lee, from a story they conceived with Marc Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Robert Lopez. It stars the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff. Set three years after the events of the first film, Frozen 2 follows sisters Anna and Elsa, and their companions Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf as they travel to an enchanted forest to unravel the origin of Elsa's magical power.

Frozen 2 was greenlit in March 2015 after a company debate about whether it would be perceived as inferior to the original. It used more-complex, enhanced animation technology compared to the first film, and was an interdepartmental collaboration. Anderson-Lopez and Lopez returned as the film's songwriters, and Christophe Beck again composed the score. The film was translated into 46 languages and was accompanied by Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, a documentary series.

Frozen 2 premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on November 7, 2019, and was released in the United States on November 22. It received generally positive reviews from critics, although it was considered inferior to its predecessor. The film grossed $1.450 billion worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the third-highest-grossing film of 2019, the tenth-highest-grossing film in history, and the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time. It also held the title of the highest-grossing worldwide opening for an animated film for three years. Frozen 2 received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 92nd Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. A sequel, Frozen 3, is scheduled to be released in 2027.

Plot

King Agnarr of Arendelle tells his daughters Elsa and Anna that their grandfather, King Runeard, forged a treaty with the neighboring tribe of Northuldra by building a dam in their homeland, the Enchanted Forest. A fight occurred, resulting in Runeard's death and enraging the forest's classical elements of earth, fire, water, and air. The elements disappeared, and a wall of mist trapped everyone in the forest; Agnarr barely escaped, helped by an unknown savior.

Three years after her coronation, Elsa celebrates autumn in the kingdom with Anna, the snowman Olaf, the iceman Kristoff, and Kristoff's reindeer Sven. One night, Elsa hears a mysterious voice calling her. She follows it, unintentionally awakening the elemental spirits, who are forcing everyone in the kingdom to evacuate. The Rock Troll colony arrives, and Grand Pabbie tells the sisters they must set things right by uncovering the truth about the past. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven follow the mysterious voice, and travel to the Enchanted Forest.

The mist parts at Elsa's touch, while the air spirit appears as a tornado, catching everyone in its vortex until Elsa stops it by turning the vortex into ice sculptures that show images from their father's past. Elsa also befriends the fire spirit, who is an agitated magical salamander. They later encounter the Northuldra and a troop of Arendellian soldiers who are still in conflict with one another. Anna and Elsa arrange a truce between the soldiers and the Northuldra after discovering that their mother, Queen Iduna, was a Northuldran who had saved the Arendellian Agnarr. The Northuldra tell them about a fifth spirit, who is meant to reunite the people with the magic of nature.

While Kristoff and Sven stay with the Northuldra, Elsa, Anna, and Olaf continue north. They find their parents' wrecked ship and a map with a route to Ahtohallan, a mythical river said to explain the past. Believing she should continue alone, Elsa sends Anna and Olaf to safety despite Anna's protests. She encounters and tames the Nøkk, the water spirit who guards the sea to Ahtohallan. Elsa discovers that the voice calling to her is the memory of young Iduna and that her powers are a gift from nature because of Iduna's selfless saving of Agnarr. Venturing into the most dangerous part of Ahtohallan, she learns that the dam was built as a ruse to reduce Northuldran resources because of Runeard's contempt for the tribe's connection with magic, and that he began the conflict by murdering the Northuldran leader in cold blood. Elsa relays this information to Anna before freezing solid, which in turn causes Olaf to fade away from existence.

Upon discovering the truth, Anna concludes that the dam must be destroyed for peace to be restored and the forest to be freed. She awakens the earth spirit, Jötunn, and lures it towards the dam. The massive rock giants hurl boulders, destroying the dam and sending a flood down the fjord towards the kingdom. Elsa thaws and rides the Nøkk to Arendelle, where she freezes the flood and saves the kingdom. As the mist disappears, she rejoins Anna and revives Olaf, before Kristoff proposes to Anna. Realizing she is the fifth spirit herself, Elsa explains to Anna that they are the bridge between the people and the magical spirits. Elsa abdicates the throne to Anna and becomes the protector of the Enchanted Forest, visiting Arendelle regularly with peace restored.

In a post-credits scene, Olaf visits Elsa's ice palace and recounts the events to Marshmallow, the snow giant created by Elsa as palace guard, and the Snowgies, miniature snowmen inadvertently generated by Elsa from sneezing.

Voice cast

• Idina Menzel as Elsa, queen of Arendelle and Anna's older sister, who has magical ice powers
  • Mattea Conforti and Eva Bella as young Elsa
• Kristen Bell as Anna, princess of Arendelle and Elsa's younger sister, who becomes queen of Arendelle after Elsa's abdication
  • Hadley Gannaway and Livvy Stubenrauch as young Anna
• Josh Gad as Olaf, a snowman created by Elsa
• Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, an ice harvester and Anna's boyfriend. Groff also voices Sven, Kristoff's reindeer and several other reindeers

Frozen 2 also features Martha Plimpton as the Northuldra chief Yelena and Sterling K. Brown as the Arendelle lieutenant Mattias. Jason Ritter voices Ryder, a member of Northuldra; and Rachel Matthews voices Honeymaren, Ryder's sister who also resides in the Enchanted Forest.

Evan Rachel Wood voices Iduna (Elsa and Anna's mother), and Delaney Rose Stein voices the young Iduna. Alfred Molina voices Agnarr (Elsa and Anna's father), and Jackson Stein voices young Agnarr. Jeremy Sisto voices Runeard (Agnarr's father and Elsa and Anna's grandfather); Ciarán Hinds voices the Rock Troll head Pabbie; and Aurora is "the voice" (a call to Elsa). Alan Tudyk voices a guard, a Northuldran leader, and an Arendellian soldier. Paul Briggs reprised his role in the post-credits scene as Marshmallow, a snow monster created by Elsa.

Production

Conception

Producer Peter Del Vecho said on March 31, 2014, that he, Chris Buck, and Jennifer Lee collaborated well, and he envisioned another Frozen-related project. The following month, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn said that a sequel would not be immediately forthcoming because the studio was focusing on a Broadway musical adaptation of Frozen. In a May 2014 CNBC interview with David Faber, the Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said that the company would not force the development of a sequel, because it was concerned about not living up to the first film. Iger said that the Frozen franchise "is something that is kind of forever for the company", similar to The Lion King.

On June 10, 2014, Lee confirmed that Walt Disney Studios CCO John Lasseter had authorized her and Buck to explore a possible sequel. While working on the short film Frozen Fever (2015), they realized that they missed the characters. Meanwhile, Del Vecho had been asked by fans about Frozen's future. Lee, Buck, and Del Vecho discussed the possibility of a sequel. Buck later said, "The one thing that we did right away was to figure out what would be satisfying for Anna and Elsa at the end of the movie." They decided on ending the sequel with Anna becoming the queen of Arendelle, while Elsa would be "free".

Development

Iger, Lasseter, and actor Josh Gad announced at Disney's March 12, 2015, annual shareholders' meeting in San Francisco that Frozen 2, a full-length sequel, was in development; Buck and Lee would return as directors, and Del Vecho as producer. The production team traveled to Norway, Finland, and Iceland for background research; they decided to make Elsa a "mythic hero" with magic ice powers and Anna a "fairytale hero" who lives in a magical world but has no magic powers. They concluded that the first film successfully combined the two elements. Allison Schroeder was hired to assist Lee with the script in August 2018 after Lee succeeded Lasseter as Disney Animation's CCO; Lee was credited as the film's screenwriter, and Schroeder was credited with additional screenplay material. The film's story contributions were made by Lee, Buck, Marc Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Robert Lopez. Overall, the budget was approximately $150 million.