The cat’s out of the bag.
Earlier this week, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, the co-creators of Disney’s “Frozen” denied that a sequel is currently in the works as they were unsure of what to do next. However, Variety broke the news that Disney has announced its plans to produce “Frozen 2” during a Walt Disney Co.’s annual shareholders meeting on 12th March.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen”, “Frozen” follows the epic journey of a fearless princess Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell), who goes on the search of her sister Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel), whose icy powers trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.
The 3D computer-animated music fantasy-comedy film is the 53rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was ranked as the highest-grossing animated film of all time and it received strongly positive reviews from the critics and the audiences. The movie even received various prestigious awards at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the BAFTA Awards, the Grammy Awards, and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.
Due to its massive commercial success, a sequel was long rumoured to be in the works. Though Idina Menzel was hoping that Disney will develop a sequel, she cleared up all the rumours and speculations by admitting that she had “no idea” about the future of the movie. At that time, perhaps she was asked to keep the project as a secret because John Lasseter, CCO of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, said that the studio “has kept its ‘Frozen’ sequel plans quiet until now”.
He added:
We enjoyed making “Frozen Fever” so much and being back in that world with those characters. Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have come up with a great idea for a sequel and you will be hearing a lot more about it and we’re taking you back to Arendelle. We are so excited about that.
Lasseter made the announcement with Disney chief Bob Iger and Josh Gad, who voices the character of Olaf in “Frozen”, during the meeting in San Franciso.
Disney also released an official statement on the movie’s official Facebook page:
It’s of-f-f-f-f-icial: “Frozen 2” is in development at Walt Disney Animation Studios with directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and producer Peter Del Vecho, the Oscar-winning filmmaking team behind “Frozen.”
The news was announced at Disney’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders this morning by Bob Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company; John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios; and actor Josh Gad, who provides the voice of Olaf from “Frozen.” A release date and production details are on ice for now.
Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck will reunite with producer Peter Del Vecho to develop the project for Walt Disney Animation Studios. They had earlier teamed with Del Vecho to develop “Frozen Fever“, a 7-minute animated short sequel which will debut in theatres exclusively ahead of Kenneth Branagh’s live-action “Cinderella” on 13th March.
What do you think of the announcement? Are you excited for the sequel?
For more information, visit the movie’s official website and Facebook page.
