It's been a few years since Disney's Frozen burst onto the screen, so we wouldn't blame
you if you've let go some of the finer details of the plot.
Fortunately, we've gathered together everything you need to know before heading to the theater
for the sequel.
Originally conceived as a loose retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Snow
Queen," the initial vision for Frozen looked a lot different than the movie Disney wound
up releasing.
In the original script, Elsa was an indisputable villain, she and Anna weren't sisters or even
royalty, and the story culminated in a climactic battle featuring an army of snow monsters
and a devastating avalanche.
However, director Chris Buck and writer, and eventual co-director, Jennifer Lee realized
something was missing, and decided to make its two central characters sisters instead
of strangers.
"Do you wanna build a snowman?"
The final piece of the Frozen puzzle fell into place when songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez
and Robert Lopez wrote their first song that would make it into the finished film, "Let
It Go."
After hearing the song, Lee and Buck realized they couldn't keep Elsa a villain, and rewrote
the script in order to make her more of a conflicted co-lead.
The final version of the film featured a pair of sisters who loved each other dearly, but
were driven apart by Elsa's inability to control her powers.
This change also required the filmmakers to reimagine the character of Olaf from a villainous
henchman into a lovable, goofy sidekick.
C'mon…could you even imagine this guy getting up to no good?
As evidenced by the original film's twisting path to the screen, Frozen was a collaborative
effort between the writers, directors, and songwriters, and wouldn't have come to exist
in its current form without any one of those specific peoples' input.
Fortunately, the whole team is returning for the sequel, albeit in slightly altered roles.
Chris Buck is back in the co-director's chair, as is Jennifer Lee, who was also named head
of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2018.
On the music front, songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez are returning with 11 original
new songs for the soundtrack, and Christophe Beck is coming back to compose the score.
The only significant difference in the creative team between Frozen and Frozen 2 is the screenwriters.
While the original movie's script was penned by co-director Jennifer Lee, she'll share
writing duties on the second film with Allison Schroeder, who wrote the screenplay for 2018's
heartwarming Christopher Robin.
Schroeder was also nominated for an Oscar for her screenplay for 2017's Hidden Figures,
making her a strong addition to the Frozen team.
Frozen tells the tale of the two daughters of the King and Queen of Arendelle: Elsa,
the elder sister, and Anna, the younger one.
Although the two were close as children, they drifted apart after their parents taught Elsa
that the best way to deal with her magical icy powers was to conceal them from the world
and to repress her emotions.
As a result, Elsa has isolated herself, and only pulls further away when the King and
Queen are lost at sea.
However, as the oldest daughter, it's Elsa's duty to take up the crown, but on the day
of her coronation, she loses control of her powers and flees the kingdom.
Anna pursues her into the mountains, aided by the ice harvester Kristoff and his trusty
reindeer Sven, hoping to convince Elsa to end the sudden winter she's created in Arendelle.
Convinced she can't control her powers, Elsa accidentally freezes Anna's heart, a spell
that will slowly kill her.
Dying and heartbroken, Anna returns to Arendelle, where the sinister Hans is in the midst of
maneuvering to take control of the kingdom.
But before he can kill Elsa and seize the crown, Anna stops him, and her act of true
love in saving her sister thaws her heart.
Realizing love is the key to controlling her powers, Elsa ends the magical winter, reconciles
with Anna, and takes up her crown as Queen of Arendelle.
Although six years will have passed for us between Frozen and Frozen 2, according to
Disney's head of animation, Becky Bresee, the story of Frozen 2 will begin three years
after the end of the first film.
Bresee told The Hollywood Reporter:
"It's an evolution and an expansion of the story of Frozen, and many of the questions
raised in the first movie become the mysteries that our gang are trying to solve in this
film."
She added that the main question of Frozen 2 will be, "Why was Elsa born with her powers?"
"Your power will only grow.
There is beauty in it, but also great danger."
But for anyone worried that Frozen 2's mystery-centered storyline will be a departure from the first
film's focus on the relationship between two sisters, you can put your fears to rest.
Disney's head of effects Marlon West assured THR that the sequel is ultimately, quote,
"about two sisters trying to stay together while the world tries to tear them apart."
That sounds like exactly what we'd hoped for after the emotional, family-driven tale of
the first film.
Based on the trailers Disney has released for Frozen 2, we can start to piece together
some of the plot.
In the beginning, all appears to be well in Arendelle, with Queen Elsa ruling peacefully
over her subjects from her gently ice-frosted castle.
But some sort of malevolent unseen force, manifesting as pink flames, drives the Arendellians
out of their homes.
Determined to get to the bottom of what's happened to them and fix it, Anna and Elsa
set off on a quest, accompanied by Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf.
While the first film focused mostly on Anna, Elsa looks to be the main protagonist of Frozen
2, as she attempts to track down the source of a mysterious voice she hears calling to
her.
She hopes to discover the source of her powers, and through that knowledge, somehow save her
kingdom.
The trailers also indicate that an enchanted forest in the far north will prove to be significant
to the two sisters, and possibly provide some further clues about the backstory of their
parents.
In discussing the story for Frozen 2, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, together with
songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, realized they still had a few big lingering
questions after the events of the first film.
So they set about creating a story that would answer them.
If the biggest question is indeed "why does Elsa have her powers," then that leads to
a logical follow-up: "Why doesn't Anna have powers?"
In digging into answers about the two sisters, it becomes obvious that we really need to
know more about their parents, which calls into question the circumstances surrounding
their deaths.
According to Lee, although the first film implied that the King and Queen were headed
away on routine business when their ship sank, things may not all be as they appear.
During the 2019 D23 Expo, Lee teased the question:
"Where were their parents really going when that ship went down?"
We've been promised that the answers to all these questions, and more, will be revealed
in Frozen 2.
Although audiences were introduced briefly to King Agnarr and Queen Iduna at the beginning
of Frozen, they died very early on in the film's narrative, and we learned almost nothing
about them.
At least, nothing beyond their instructions to Elsa:
"Conceal it."
"Don't feel it."
Agnarr and Iduna weren't given names in the first film, and had hardly any lines; for
their all-too-short presence, the queen was voiced by co-director Jennifer Lee, with veteran
voice actor Maurice LaMarche as the king.
For their expanded roles in Frozen 2, however, the royal couple will be voiced by Alfred
Molina and Evan Rachel Wood.
Judging by her two songs on the movie's soundtrack, Iduna will have a particularly hefty role,
and according to Disney's press release, the queen will begin to wonder if the answers
she seeks can be found in her own past.
The press release has less to say about Agnarr, saying only that he'll do anything protect
his daughters from harm.
But the casting of the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated Molina makes it seem as though the king will
have a significant part to play as well.
Joining the impressive cast for Frozen 2, which includes nearly every major player and
a few returning minor characters from the first movie, is This is Us actor Sterling
K. Brown, who will be voicing Lieutenant Destin Mattias.
An Arendelle soldier who's been trapped in the Enchanted Forest for more than 30 years,
Lieutenant Mattias has, according to Disney's press release,
"...never forgotten his sworn duty to Arendelle, but the arrival of Queen Elsa and discovery
that she has magical powers is just the first of many challenges to his long-held beliefs."
Lieutenant Mattias originally traveled to the forest to fight against the nomadic Northuldra
people, presumably the enemies of Arendelle.
However, when we see him in the trailer, he and his men appear to be standing alongside
the Northuldra, raising the question of whether the animosity between the two groups was some
sort of misunderstanding, or whether the trailer is simply working to mislead us.
A significant theme running through the first Frozen was about first impressions being unreliable,
as evidenced with both Elsa and Hans, and we wouldn't be surprised if it carries through
to the sequel in an even more prominent way.
Frozen may have had a compelling plot, but the sequel will be broadening the scope of
the series' storytelling quite a bit.
Not only will Anna and Elsa be venturing far outside the borders of Arendelle, but they'll
also be meeting new people who, at least at first glance, appear very different from them.
Joining the cast of Frozen 2 are several members of the Northuldra people, including their
leader, Yelana, the bold and brave Honeymaren, and the eager, fun-loving Ryder.
According to Disney's press release, Yelana is, "fiercely protective of her family and
community but is known to soften when people show an understanding of nature and their
environment."
Meanwhile, Frozen 2's new pair of siblings, Honeymaren and Ryder, seem to have views that
could put them at odds, with Honeymaren being "a true free spirit [who] wants nothing more
than to bring peace to the Enchanted Forest," while Ryder "longs to embrace the world and
venture beyond the magical mist."
It'll be interesting to see how this brother and sister pair plays against Arendelle's
royal sisters, and whether they'll all be able to work together, or wind up butting
heads as only siblings can.
While the original film introduced us to such non-human favorites as Olaf the snowman, Sven
the reindeer, and a colony of trolls, Frozen 2 looks to significantly expand its roster
of mystical, magical, and just plain adorable creatures.
Nokk the water spirit can be seen in the trailer as the watery horse that Elsa encounters in
the ocean.
Disney's press release states that Nokk is "a fierce warrior and guards the secrets of
the forest fiercely," and that to get past it, "a person must prove they are worthy and
earn its respect, an almost impossible task."
However, based on the brief shot of Elsa riding the water stallion in the trailer, it appears
as though she manages to impress Nokk somehow.
Frozen 2 will also introduce us to Gale, a playful wind spirit who can seemingly be seen
in the trailer tossing leaves and children up into the air.
In addition, there are the massive stone earth giants who we see in the trailer towering
over the treetops of the Enchanted Forest.
We'll also meet Bruni, a salamander who lives in the Enchanted Forest who is fascinated
by Elsa's powerful ice magic.
After Elsa spent so much of the first movie in isolation, it'll be nice to see her make
a tiny new friend in this one.
And if Josh Gad's tweets and Bruni's adorable Japanese character poster are any indication,
when we finally meet Bruni on screen, we fully expect to fall in love with the little guy
ourselves.
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