Frozen II
Frozen II is a 2019 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures as the sequel to Frozen (2013). Produced by Peter Del Vecho, the film was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee from a screenplay by Lee. The directors co-wrote the story 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 II 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.
This article is about 2019 film. For the 2020 book, see Frozen 2: Dangerous Secrets. For the film's soundtrack, see Frozen II (soundtrack).Frozen 2
Jennifer Lee
- Jennifer Lee
- Chris Buck
- Marc Smith
- Kristen Anderson-Lopez
- Robert Lopez
Mohit Kallianpur
- Christophe Beck (score)
- Robert Lopez (songs)
- Kristen Anderson-Lopez (songs)
Scott Beattie
- November 7, 2019 (Dolby Theatre)
- November 22, 2019 (United States)
103 minutes
United States
English
$150 million
$1.453 billion
Frozen II 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 II, a documentary series.
Frozen II 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 II received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 92nd Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. Two sequels are in development, with the first scheduled for release in 2026.
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,[a] 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. Elsa sends Anna and Olaf to safety and continues alone. 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. 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 sends this information to Anna before she becomes frozen due to venturing into the most dangerous part of Ahtohallan. This also 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 is released and rides the water spirit to Arendelle, where she freezes the flood and saves the kingdom. As the mist disappears, she rejoins Anna and revives Olaf. Realizing she is the fifth spirit herself, Elsa explains to Anna that they are the bridge between the people and the magical spirits. Anna then becomes Queen of Arendelle and accepts Kristoff's marriage proposal. Elsa becomes the protector of the Enchanted Forest, and visits 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,[a] and the Snowgies, miniature snowmen inadvertently generated by Elsa on Anna's nineteenth birthday.[b]
Frozen II also features Martha Plimpton as the Northuldra chief Yelena[9] and Sterling K. Brown as the Arendelle lieutenant Mattias.[10] Jason Ritter voices Ryder, a member of Northuldra; and Rachel 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; and Aurora 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]
Reception
Box office
Frozen II grossed $477.4 million in the United States and Canada and $976.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.453 billion.[32] It was the third-highest-grossing film of 2019,[116] the tenth-highest-grossing film of all time,[117] and the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time.[118] On December 15, 2019, Frozen II passed the $1 billion mark at the global box office.[119] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $599 million, 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".[120] According to Disney (who did not consіder the 2019 Lion King remake an anіmated fіlm but a live-action reboot), Frozen II is the hіghest-grossing anіmated fіlm (surpassing Frozen).[121] Frozen II's box-office success was attributed to its release date near Thanksgiving. According to Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian, the film was "perfectly positioned to play well into 2020."[122]
Frozen II was released with A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and 21 Bridges on November 22, 2019, in 4,440 theaters:[123] 2,500 in 3D, 800 in the premium large format (including 400 in IMAX), and 235 in D-Box/4DX.[124] It grossed $41.8 million on its first day,[125] including $8.5 million from Thursday night previews.[123] The film debuted grossing $130 million, the highest opening for an animated film that month.[126] Frozen II primarily drew a mostly female audience and approximately 70 percent of the viewers were families.[127] Its second weekend grosses dropped by 34 percent to $85.6 million (with a record $125 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend)[128] and followed by another $34.7 million the third weekend.[129] By December 29, the film's domestic grosses topped $400 million.[130] Frozen II left theaters by March 19, 2020, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2019 in the United States and Canada,[131] at which point the film industry became significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[132][133]
Worldwide, Frozen II grossed $228.2 million in its opening weekend in 37 markets, for a global debut total of $358.5 million. This surpassed the 2019 remake of The Lion King to become the highest-grossing film for an animated title until The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) took over. It had the best all-time opening of an animated film in the United Kingdom ($17.8 million) and France ($13.4 million); the biggest start for a Pixar or Disney Animation title in China ($53 million), Japan ($18.2 million), Germany ($14.9 million) and Spain ($5.8 million), and the third-biggest opening of any film in South Korea ($31.5 million).[127][134][135] The film grossed $11.4 million in its second week in the United Kingdom, bringing its total gross there to $35.3 million.[136] By January 5, 2020, the film's offshore gross had exceeded $875.3 million.[137] As of July 2021, its top international markets were Japan ($122.6 million), China ($122.3 million), South Korea ($95.5 million), the United Kingdom ($69.7 million), Germany ($60.6 million), and France ($53.9 million).[32]
Critical response
Frozen II received generally positive reviews.[138][139][140] It has an approval rating of 77% based on 336 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten 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."[141][142] Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned Frozen II a score of 64 out of 100 score based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[143][144] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− (lower than Frozen's A+) on an A+ to F scale,[145] and PostTrak rated it 4.5 out of five stars on the film's opening day.[123]
Sequels
Two Frozen sequels are in development as of 2023.[166][167] Gad was set to reprise his role as Olaf in the third film,[168] and Lee has confirmed that she will not direct the sequels.[169] In February 2024, Iger stated that "we're already looking forward to 2026 and beyond with Frozen 3, the first Toy Story movie since 2019, and a new Star Wars movie that brings The Mandalorian and Grogu to the big screen for the very first time."[170]
