Let it go? Disney thaws Frozen for blockbuster sequel
Los Angeles – Six years ago, Frozen shattered box office records, melted the hearts of youngsters and spawned a franchise so popular Disney was never likely to let it go.
And so Queen Elsa and Princess Anna return in Frozen 2, a sequel its creators promise will be “even bigger and more epic”.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, the original followed Anna on her journey to find sister Elsa, whose hard-to-control icy powers had trapped their kingdom in eternal winter.
The sequel, which opens here on Nov 21, explores the royal family’s backstory and promises to answer fans’ questions, including the source of Elsa’s formidable magic.
“That one question was just the beginning though,” returning director Jennifer Lee said at Disney’s D23 fan convention.
“Why was Elsa born the way she was? Where were their parents really going when that ship went down? Is there really such a thing as happily ever after?”
After a prologue set in the past, Frozen 2 sees a mysterious voice return to haunt grown-up Elsa, urging her to leave her happy castle and embark upon a new, perilous quest to a faraway enchanted forest.
The first Frozen (2013) reigned as the top-grossing animated film of all time, taking nearly US$1.3 billion (S$1.77b) worldwide, until this year’s The Lion King remake came along to steal its crown.
“It became an absolute phenomenon – the music, the characters, the stories really resonated,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with Comscore.
The movie’s success was all the more remarkable as, unlike Disney’s highly lucrative series of live-action remakes of classic animations, Frozen was an entirely new brand.
“It is a big deal – it’s great to have your archive, to reboot your beloved Disney stories”, said Dergarabedian.
“But it’s another thing to create something out of whole cloth, and have it now become a film that’s canonised within Disney as one of their greatest franchises of all time.”
Frozen has since spawned a Broadway musical, theme park rides and merchandise from toy figures to books and video games.
In a show of the franchise’s importance to Disney, Frozen creator Lee was promoted to chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios following John Lasseter’s 2018 exit amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
The sequel sees stars Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel return, as do the original songwriters.
The excitement surrounding the sequel “will catapult it to a potentially $100 million-plus opening weekend” in North American theatres, predicted Dergarabedian.
“At this point, it would be almost unthinkable that it wouldn’t earn at least $1 billion worldwide.” - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now