Frozen II

Frozen II is a 2019 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney 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.
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 third-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,[b] 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,[b] and the Snowgies, miniature snowmen inadvertently generated by Elsa on Anna's nineteenth birthday.[c]
== Voice cast ==
Main article: List of Frozen characters
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Idina Menzel (Elsa) in 2008 and Kristen Bell (Anna) in 2013
* Idina Menzel as Elsa, queen of Arendelle and Anna's older sister, who has magical ice powers[1][2][3]
** Mattea Conforti and Eva Bella as young Elsa[4]
* Kristen Bell as Anna, princess of Arendelle and Elsa's younger sister, who becomes queen of Arendelle after Elsa's abdication[5][1][2]
** Hadley Gannaway and Livvy Stubenrauch as young Anna[4]
* Josh Gad as Olaf, a snowman created by Elsa[6]
* Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, an ice harvester and Anna's boyfriend.[2][7] Groff also voices Sven, Kristoff's reindeer and several other reindeers[8]
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]
== Production ==
=== Conception ===
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frozen_premier.jpg|alt=Three people smiling for a photograph before a Frozen-themed red carpet backdrop|thumb|(left to right) Producer Peter Del Vecho, director and writer Jennifer Lee, and director Chris Buck at Frozen's 2013 premiere
Producer Peter Del Vecho said on March 31, 2014, that he, Chris Buck, and Jennifer Lee collaborated well, and he envisioned another Frozen-related project.[18] The following month, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn said that a sequel would not be immediately forthcoming because the studio was focusing on a Broadway musical adaptation of Frozen.[19][20] In a May 2014 CNBC interview with David Faber, the Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said that the company would not force the development of a sequel, because it was concerned about not living up to the first film. Iger said that the Frozen franchise "is something that is kind of forever for the company", similar to The Lion King.[21]
On June 10, 2014, Lee confirmed that Walt Disney Studios CCO John Lasseter had authorized her and Buck to explore a possible sequel.[22][23] While working on the short film Frozen Fever (2015), they realized that they missed the characters. Meanwhile, Del Vecho had been asked by fans about Frozen'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 the Walt Disney Animation Studio, as with Pixar, 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. We enjoyed making Frozen Fever so much and being back in that world with those characters, and we love the characters in this world so much of Arendelle, that Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have come up with a great idea for a sequel and you will be hearing a lot.Iger, Lasseter, and actor Josh Gad announced at Disney's March 12, 2015, annual shareholders' meeting in San Francisco that Frozen II, 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, and Robert Lopez.[31] Overall, the budget was approximately $150 million.[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 from Maurice LaMarche to Molina.[41] The Voice's four-note call, derived from the Latin sequence "Dies irae", is delivered in a manner resembling the Scandinavian music form kulning.[42]
Frozen II's first completed scenes were test screened at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2019,[43][44] where Becky 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 transnational Saami Council, and the Sámi parliaments of Finland, Norway, and Sweden.[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 to The New York Times reporter Maureen Dowd that Elsa's main audience did not seem ready for such a relationship.[48] Lee also stated in a press conference that Frozen II would not acquire elements from the television series Once Upon a Time's Frozen storyline, which was part of its fourth season.[49]
Frozen II underwent significant revisions after its first test screening in San 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 of expository 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 of Frozen. 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 team locked 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 of Frozen II, 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 by Jeff 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, a computer-generated imagery (CGI) program, to drape each character's clothing.[53]
Anna's outfit was inspired by the Norwegian folk bunad, worn during the 1840s and 1850s. Typically made of wool, it had decorative embroidery. Anna lost the pigtail braid she had in Frozen because she is three years older in Frozen II, and it was replaced by a braid across the back of her head. Aging Elsa three years was inspired by artists Alexander McQueen and Elie Saab. Saab's designs had long trains and cumbersome floor-length hemlines; the designers instead created a tailored coat with a double-panel cape and epaulettes, highlighting Elsa's strength.[53]
The animation team used a curve-based method for the intricate embroidery. A program interpreted two-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 of Frozen II.[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 on Frozen. Steve Golberg was the supervising 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 II made use of advancements in technology, artistic performance, and skeletal animation.[59] Before the animation began, Unten showed scenes of superheroes like Frozone 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 in Frozen II instead.[60] Elsa's graceful movements were modeled on Frozen and modern dance, particularly Martha 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 from Frozen. 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 and layout.[57][63] Effects were proposed for layout before animation process to choreograph the dam-collapse scene.[64] Although Frozen's greatest difficulty for Frozen was the winter snow, Frozen II is set in fall; its main challenge was how to consistently depict the wind and "pass that downstream".[57][63]
Frozen II's animation software was influenced by the software in several other Disney films. Anna's hair was animated with Quicksilver, developed for Moana (2016) to deal with wind; for Elsa's hair, the lighting software Beast 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 in Moana.[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]
=== Music ===
Main article: Frozen II (soundtrack)
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Songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez in 2019, and composer Christophe Beck in 2012
Lopez and Anderson-Lopez returned from Frozen to write songs for the sequel, and Christophe Beck returned as composer.[69] The soundtrack album was released on November 15, 2019,[70] after the release of Panic! at the Disco's version of one of the film's songs, "Into the Unknown".[71] The seven-song album also contains a remix of "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" from Frozen.[72]
Beck said that the score 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 ==
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barren_ground_caribou_grazing_with_autumn_foliage_in_background.jpg|alt=A reindeer grazing on autumn vegetation|thumb|Reindeer have been venerated by the Sámi people, who consider them symbolic of Sámi strength and identity.
The indigenous Sámi 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 by social status and awakening of feminism. 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 II has been interpreted as a critique of colonialism and as advocating reparation.[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, King Christian 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 supplant Sámi shamanism.[5][83]
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Altakraftverket,_Norge.jpg|alt=A white dam, built between two bodies of vegetation|thumb|A subplot in which a dam is built on tribal land by King Runeard alludes to Norway's controversial Virdnejávr Dam.
The Northuldra dam reflects Sámi history. A hydroelectric power station was built on the Altaelva river in Norway from 1979 to 1981; the controversial Virdnejávr Dam flooded a Sámi village, disrupting traditional hunting and herding.[84] Slate critic Inkoo Kang said that although Frozen II 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 of Pocahontas.[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 in Frozen II 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 described Frozen II 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 that Frozen II's feminist message was subtle and realistic
Category:2019 Cartoons
Category:Walt Disney Productions Cartoons