Frozen 2 wasgreenlit 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, andChristophe Beck again composed thescore. The film was translated into 46 languages and was accompanied byInto the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, a documentary series.
King Agnarr of Arendelle tells his daughtersElsa andAnna that their grandfather, King Runeard, forged atreaty 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'sclassical elements ofearth,fire,water, andair. The elements disappeared, and a wall ofmist trapped everyone in the forest; Agnarr barely escaped, helped by an unknown savior.
Three years after her coronation,[b] Elsa celebrates autumn in the kingdom with Anna, the snowmanOlaf, theicemanKristoff, and Kristoff's reindeerSven. 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 atornado, 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 magicalsalamander. 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 theNøkk, thewater 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 thefjord 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 apost-credits scene, Olaf visits Elsa's ice palace and recounts the events to Marshmallow, the snow giant created by Elsa as palace guard,[b] and the Snowgies, miniature snowmen inadvertently generated by Elsa from sneezing.[c]
Frozen 2 also featuresMartha Plimpton as the Northuldra chief Yelena[9] andSterling K. Brown as the Arendelle lieutenant Mattias.[10]Jason Ritter voices Ryder, a member of Northuldra; andRachel Matthews voices Honeymaren, Ryder's sister who also resides in the Enchanted Forest.[9]
Evan Rachel Wood voices Iduna (Elsa and Anna's mother),[11] and Delaney Rose Stein voices the young Iduna.[4]Alfred Molina voices Agnarr (Elsa and Anna's father),[12] and Jackson Stein voices young Agnarr.Jeremy Sisto voices Runeard[4] (Agnarr's father and Elsa and Anna's grandfather[13][14]);Ciarán Hinds voices the Rock Troll head Pabbie; andAurora is "the voice" (a call to Elsa).[4][15][16]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.[4][17]
On June 10, 2014, Lee confirmed that Walt Disney StudiosCCOJohn Lasseter had authorized her and Buck to explore a possible sequel.[22][23] While working on the short filmFrozen Fever (2015), they realized that they missed the characters. Meanwhile, Del Vecho had been asked by fans aboutFrozen's future. Lee, Buck, and Del Vecho discussed the possibility of a sequel.[23] 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."[24] They decided on ending the sequel with Anna becoming the queen of Arendelle, while Elsa would be "free".[23]
Development
At theWalt Disney Animation Studio, as withPixar, when we do a sequel, it is because the filmmakers who created the original have created an idea that is so good that it's worthy of these characters.
Iger, Lasseter, and actorJosh Gad announced at Disney's March 12, 2015, annual shareholders' meeting in San Francisco thatFrozen 2, a full-length sequel, was in development; Buck and Lee would return as directors, and Del Vecho as producer.[25][26] The production team traveled to Norway, Finland, and Iceland for background research;[27][28] 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.[3]Allison Schroeder was hired to assist Lee with the script in August 2018 after Lee succeeded Lasseter as Disney Animation's CCO;[29] Lee was credited as the film's screenwriter, and Schroeder was credited with additional screenplay material.[30] The film's story contributions were made by Lee, Buck, Marc Smith,Kristen Anderson-Lopez, andRobert Lopez.[31] Overall, the budget was approximately $150million.[32]
Voice recording began in September 2017,[33][34] although Menzel started a couple of weeks later due to a concert tour.[35] That month, Gad announced his role in the sequel with Buck, Lee, Del Vecho, and Lasseter.[36][37] In July 2018,Variety reported that Wood and Brown were in talks to join the cast.[38] Their roles were later disclosed as Iduna[39] and Lieutenant Destin Mattias.[40] Wood was cast because her voice resembled Menzel and Bell's.[39] The voice of Agnarr was changed fromMaurice LaMarche to Molina.[41] The Voice's four-note call, derived from the Latinsequence "Dies irae", is delivered in a manner resembling the Scandinavian music formkulning.[42]
Frozen 2's first completed scenes weretest screened at theAnnecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2019,[43][44] whereBecky Bresee and effects-animation head Marlon West said that the film was "still in production, with seven weeks of animation to be completed and 10 weeks of special effects".[45] The filmmakers collaborated with Sámi experts on the depiction of the Northuldra tribe with Verdett, an advisory group which was the result of an agreement between the Walt Disney Company, the transnationalSaami Council, and theSámi parliaments of Finland,Norway, andSweden.[46] Anderson-Lopez confirmed that Elsa would have no female love interest in the film, despite some fans' desire for one.[47] Lee later explained toThe New York Times reporterMaureen Dowd that Elsa's main audience did not seem ready for such a relationship.[48] Lee also stated in a press conference thatFrozen 2 would not acquire elements from the television seriesOnce Upon a Time'sFrozen storyline, which was part of itsfourth season.[49]
Frozen 2 underwent significant revisions after its first test screening inSan Diego; Disney Animation discovered that although adults liked the film, children found it hard to follow. The production team realized they needed to clarify the identity of the Voice and the point of Elsa's transformation, and add more comedy and shots of Bruni (the fire salamander). A scene ofexpository dialogue in which the lead characters explained to the people trapped in the Enchanted Forest why they had come there was replaced with Olaf's humorous recap ofFrozen. Due to the changes, the animators needed to create 61 new shots and redo another 35. An undisclosed number of shots were cut from the finished film; about a dozen animators and artists worked for two months on an elaborate resurrection scene for Olaf before it was cut.[50]
The last major animation scene completed before the production teamlocked the picture was "Show Yourself", the musical number in which Elsa enters Ahtohallan and learns all the secrets she has been seeking. According to Del Vecho, the scene "required all of the resources at the studio" to get the film done on time.[23] Lopez said that the first draft of "Show Yourself" was very different from its final version.[51] Megan Harding directed an official documentary series on the production ofFrozen 2, which depicted the process of Del Vecho and Lopez determining The Voice's identity. Once the production team settled on Queen Iduna, the lyrics of "Show Yourself" finally began to come together, but then the studio's artists, designers, and animators needed to quickly figure out how to stage the dramatic culmination of Elsa's journey towards becoming the Snow Queen.[50] The film was edited byJeff Draheim.[52]
Design
Costume and character designs underwent several revisions before they were finalized. According to designer Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay, the process was the most intricate of any animated film. Technological advancements allowed the designer to create more-detailed outfits, with extra beads and sequins. The team used Marvelous Designer, acomputer-generated imagery (CGI) program, to drape each character's clothing.[53]
Anna's outfit was inspired by the Norwegian folkbunad, worn during the 1840s and 1850s. Typically made of wool, it had decorative embroidery. Anna lost thepigtail braid she had inFrozen because she is three years older inFrozen 2, and it was replaced by abraid across the back of her head. Aging Elsa three years was inspired by artistsAlexander McQueen andElie Saab. Saab's designs had long trains and cumbersome floor-length hemlines; the designers instead created a tailored coat with a double-panel cape andepaulettes, highlighting Elsa's strength.[53]
The animation team used a curve-based method for the intricate embroidery. A program interpretedtwo-dimensional visual designs as line strokes,rendering them as curves. This allowed quick changes, minimizing manual work during design modifications. It also supported free-form stitching with threads of various widths, colors, and densities, crucial to the production of a variety of embroidery styles.[54]
Animation
About 800 people, 80 of them animators, were involved in the production ofFrozen 2.[55] Tony Smeed and Becky Bresee were the film's heads of animation;[3] Hyun-Min Lee replaced Bresee as supervising animator for Anna, while Wayne Unten again served as supervising animator for Elsa as he had done onFrozen. Steve Golberg was thesupervising animator for visual effects.[56][57] Scott Beattie was the director of cinematography layout, while Mohit Kallianpur was the director of cinematography lighting.[58]
Frozen 2 made use of advancements in technology, artistic performance, andskeletal animation.[59] Before the animation began, Unten showed scenes of superheroes likeFrozone to Elsa's animators as examples of what to avoid.[56] Creating the personal flurry effect was so difficult for the animators that the directors had Elsa put a permafrost coating on Olaf inFrozen 2 instead.[60] Elsa's graceful movements were modeled onFrozen andmodern dance, particularlyMartha Graham's work.[56]
In accordance with Disney's preference for a different style for each film and the directors' and production designer's artistic vision, the multi-departmental animation team[30] was instructed to reconstruct the characters so they were slightly different in tone and style fromFrozen. They differed in "very subtle ways", with a "through line from the first movie to the second".[59] As well as making the Enchanted Forest vegetation autumnal, the effects team applied two internally developed applications (Vegetation Asset and Fire Tree) to enhance the film's vegetation and fire animation.[61] Lighting and special effects were applied to glacial ice, spirit magic, and memory.[62]
The first step for the animation team was to study the screenplay and understand the characters.Blocking (creating key poses) was next, followed by CGI andlayout.[57][63] Effects were proposed for layout before animation process to choreograph the dam-collapse scene.[64] AlthoughFrozen's greatest difficulty forFrozen was the winter snow,Frozen 2 is set in fall; its main challenge was how to consistently depict the wind and "pass that downstream".[57][63]
Frozen 2's animation software was influenced by the software in several other Disney films. Anna's hair was animated with Quicksilver, developed forMoana (2016) to deal with wind; for Elsa's hair, the lighting softwareBeast was used. A vocal coach instructed the animators on how a singer would breathe.[65] The animators then spent about eight months creating Nøkk, which has a liquid appearance, with effects supervised by Erin Ramos.Jötunns had a long rigging process to avoid making rocks distracting.[30] The water simulation was intended to be more realistic than inMoana.[66] To create Gale, the wind spirit, a tool called Swoop was developed. They later received real-time feedback from the supervisors, directors, and producer.[67][68]
Beck said that thescore conveys Elsa and Anna's emotional growth, "matured and introduc[ing] more sophisticated musical concepts and thematic elements". He wanted it to reflect the film's complex, intense imagery.[72] Anderson-Lopez described the album's theme as a "meta-story". Although Harding sent a camera crew to the Lopez home in Brooklyn to document their songwriting and composing,[73] the composers found the crew intrusive and did most of their work off-camera.[74]
Thematic analysis
Reindeer have been venerated by theSámi people, who consider them symbolic of Sámi strength and identity.
The indigenousSámi people were historically associated with reindeer, and identified with the animals' strength. Trude Fonneland wrote that a female divinity emphasized female contributions with themes including unity, courage, hope, friendship, and truth.[75][76][77] Elsa attempted to send Anna away because she was concerned about her sister's safety.[78][79]
In animation, female characters embody female images as a whole. The film's female characters are emotionally diverse, motivated bysocial status and awakening offeminism. The elegant, noble Elsa wants to be free and live a normal life, and Anna is dreamy, cheerful and enthusiastic; both acted to defend their kingdom from danger.[80]
Frozen 2 has been interpreted as a critique ofcolonialism and as advocatingreparation.[5][81][82] Before Elsa and Anna were born, their grandfather King Runeard built a dam for the Northuldra tribe. Ostensibly a gift, the dam weakens the tribe's magical power. Runeard's plot fails after he murders the leader of Northuldra and war breaks out. The forest spirits which preside over Northuldra shroud it in an impenetrable mist, preventing anyone from leaving or entering.[5][82] The Northuldra are modeled on the Sámi people, indigenous to Scandinavia and northwestern Russia, who experienced discrimination as pagans reputed to be skilled in magic and witchcraft. In 1609, KingChristian IV of Denmark wrote that the Sámi were adept at magic, and no mercy should be granted in cases involving Sámi sorcery. Nordic missionaries confiscated or destroyed religious items and sites and built churches to supplantSámi shamanism.[5][83]
A subplot in which a dam is built on tribal land by King Runeard alludes to Norway's controversialVirdnejávr Dam.
The Northuldra dam reflects Sámi history. Ahydroelectric power station was built on theAltaelva river inNorway from 1979 to 1981; thecontroversial Virdnejávr Dam flooded a Sámi village, disrupting traditional hunting and herding.[84]Slate critic Inkoo Kang said that althoughFrozen 2 was obviously influenced by Sámi history, the Northuldra may also be interpreted as representing displaced Native Americans; Arendelle can be seen as representing the United States' colonial past, evocative of the embellished life ofPocahontas.[5] The Northuldra are presented in an appealing way,romanticized as a people with magical power who live in harmony with the spiritual and physical worlds.[85]
While Elsa attempts to find out who was calling her, Anna destroys the dam to make amends to the Northuldra for Arendelle's mistakes. Elsa's last-minute intervention prevents the destruction of the kingdom, but Anna destroys the dam in the belief that Elsa is dead. According to Kang, the film promotes reparations for past atrocities.[5] Matt Goldberg wrote that the symbolism of the film's ending is undercut by having Elsa save Arendelle, instead of rebuilding the kingdom elsewhere.[82]
Racial issues inFrozen 2 are mitigated by making Elsa and Anna half Northuldran, and their mother is depicted as a heroine who saved their father (King Agnarr) from death during the battle.[5][86]
Jennifer Baldwin describedFrozen 2 as a film about trauma, transformation, and faith communities' more-active role in environmental repair.[87] Environmental trauma is caused by the dam, which weakens the elemental spirits. Olaf describes the forest as a place of transformation, including venturing into the unknown, befriending the spirits and the indigenous Northuldra, and confronting trauma. Elsa gains the trust of the spirits, each leading her closer to the truth and her transformation into one of the elements. Anna employs the giants (symbolic of the earth) to break the dam (symbolic of trauma and mistrust) and gains her own strength, independent of her relationship with Elsa. According to Baldwin, this encourages the audience to adopt more sustainable practices, make amends, and work together to preserve the natural world.[81] The film can introduce young children to environmental issues, such as climate change.[88]
Sociologist Lauren Dundes describes Elsa's relationship with the mythological horse Nøkk and concludes that "her skills as a horse whisperer do not threaten men's ascendancy [...] These themes show how Disney balked at modernizing Elsa, retreating to outdated conceptions of gender roles".[89] Nia Kurniawati wrote thatFrozen 2's feminist message was subtle and realistic.[90]
Marketing and release
Prior to the film's first trailer, aFrozen 2 DVD appears in the 2016 filmZootopia, alongsideMoana and the unproduced filmGigantic.[91] Disney released the first trailer forFrozen 2 on February 13, 2019.[92] Viewed 116.4million times in its first 24 hours, it was the most-watched animated film trailer until the teaser ofInside Out 2 (2024) surpassed that record in November 2023.[93][94] At the release of the preview poster, American astrophysicistNeil deGrasse Tyson commented that "water crystals have hexagonal 'six-fold' symmetry" (shown correctly inFrozen) but the poster had a four-sided snowflake.[95] Lee replied that it was not really a snowflake; the four sides represented the four elemental spirits and its center represented Elsa, the fifth spirit.[96][97] Disney partnered with 140 other brands worldwide to promoteFrozen 2, the highest number of brands for a Disney animated film. They marketedFrozen 2 in the U.S. through internal and external partners, includingEnterprise Rent-A-Car,McDonald's, andLego.[98] To support the film's marketing campaign, the lead voice cast made several public and televised appearances; these included aFriendsgiving stunt night onABC, introductions onThe Masked Singer, and aWomen of Impact program onNat Geo Wild.[99] In November 2019, the lead voice cast's schedules were so full that Bell said: "Time [was] not there".[100]
The 103-minute filmFrozen 2 premiered on November 7, 2019, at theDolby Theatre inHollywood, Los Angeles.[101][102] It was initially scheduled for release on November 27,[103] but was moved forward five days, to November 22, 2019.[104] On January 17, 2020, a sing-along version ofFrozen 2 was released.[105] It waslocalized byDisney Character Voices International into 45 languages by its original theatrical release date;[106]Frozen had been translated into 41 languages.[107] The success ofFrozen's localized versions led to the release of an album with all versions of "Let It Go",[108] andJikŋon 2 (aNorthern Sami version) was released to honor the people's contributions.[109]
Megan Harding (who had directed a 2014 making-of ABC television special aboutFrozen) reached out to Disney Animation about documenting the production ofFrozen 2; with the company's cooperation, Harding, working withLincoln Square Productions, commuted from New York City toBurbank, California and shot 1,300 hours of footage in 115 days between December 2018 and the November 2019 world premiere.[74] She edited the footage[116] down to six episodes, about 35 to 45 minutes long.[74] Disney Animation knew that Harding intended to take a "fearless" and "honest look" at the filmmaking process; her crew was asked to leave only once,[73] when the production team wanted to decide the mysterious voice's identity.[50] The documentary series,Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, was released on June 26, 2020.[74]
Reception
Box office
Frozen 2 grossed $477.4million in the United States and Canada and $976.3million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.453billion.[32] It was thethird-highest-grossing film of 2019,[117] thetenth-highest-grossing film of all time,[118] and thesecond-highest-grossing animated film of all time.[119] On December 15, 2019,Frozen 2 passed the $1billion mark at the global box office.[120]Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $599million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it second on their list of 2019's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[121] According to Disney (who did not consіder the2019Lion King remake an anіmated fіlm but alive-action reboot),Frozen 2 was the hіghest-grossing anіmated fіlm (surpassingFrozen) at that time.[122]Frozen 2's box-office success was attributed to its release date nearThanksgiving. According toComscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian, the film was "perfectly positioned to play well into 2020."[123]
Worldwide,Frozen 2 grossed $228.2million in its opening weekend in 37 markets, for a global debut total of $358.5million. This surpassed the 2019 remake ofThe Lion King to become thehighest-grossing film for an animated title untilThe Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) took over. It had the best all-time opening of an animated film in the United Kingdom ($17.8million) and France ($13.4million); the biggest start for a Pixar or Disney Animation title in China ($53million), Japan ($18.2million), Germany ($14.9million) and Spain ($5.8million), and the third-biggest opening of any film in South Korea ($31.5million).[128][135][136] The film grossed $11.4million in its second week in the United Kingdom, bringing its total gross there to $35.3million.[137] By January 5, 2020, the film's offshore gross had exceeded $875.3million.[138] As of July 2021[update], its top international markets were Japan ($122.6million), China ($122.3million), South Korea ($95.5million), the United Kingdom ($69.7million), Germany ($60.6million), and France ($53.9million).[32]
Critical response
Frozen 2 received generally positive reviews.[139][140][141] It has an approval rating of 77% based on 336 professional reviews on thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Frozen II can't quite recapture the showstopping feel of its predecessor, but it remains a dazzling adventure into the unknown."[142][143]Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assignedFrozen 2 a score of 64 out of 100 score based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[144][145] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− (lower thanFrozen's A+) on an A+ to F scale,[146] andPostTrak rated it 4.5 out of five stars on the film's opening day.[124]
Frozen II continues in the same nonthreatening, emancipatory vein, jumping to life when Elsa responds to the siren's call. As before, the songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez are pleasantly melodious with lyrics that can have the quality of a confession, as if a friend were sharing her inner-voice struggles.
Critics praisedFrozen 2's craftsmanship, delivery, and themes.[d]The New York Times critic Manohla Dargis called the narrative a "pink world of adventure and aspirational uplift", andNell Minow ofRogerEbert.com noted its frank, compelling depiction of issues which were understandable by audiences of all ages. Dargis citedFrozen 2's engaging visual imagery, balanced by romance and history, and Minow noted the film's autumnal palette.[31][147]Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Simran Hans (The Guardian), andTodd McCarthy (The Hollywood Reporter) praised the film. Travers, who enjoyed reconnecting with the characters, called the animation stunning and referred to the music as "tantalizing earworms". Hans compared the film's narrative to real-world efforts to mitigate climate change. McCarthy praised its "catchy songs", "easy-to-like characters", and "astonishing backdrops", with humor and a plot driven by "female empowerment galore".[148][149][150]
Frozen 2's narrative, music, and focus were criticized.[e] InThe Wall Street Journal, John Anderson noted that the sequel was not innovative and criticized the film's flawed narrative and low-quality music in comparison withFrozen.[151] In anEmpire review, Ben Travis said that the narrative relied too much on mythology and hazy backstories.[153] Minow criticized the film's excessively detailed narrative,[31] andObserver writer Oliver Jones said that the film's energy and originality were overly focused on the sisters.[152] Reviewers for theLos Angeles Times andThe Washington Post citedFrozen 2's complicated story and dark tone.[161]
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