Frozen II

***Frozen II*** is an animated musical comedy-drama/fantasy film produced at Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Released on November 22, 2019, it is the sequel to the 2013 film, *Frozen*, and it is the 58th animated feature in the Disney Animated Canon.

Taking place three years after the events of the first film, *Frozen II* follows Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven as they journey to an enchanted forest to save their kingdom from a curse involving the elemental spirits of water, wind, fire, and earth.

Co-directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck returned to helm the project, alongside producer Peter Del Vecho. While still retaining much of the humor of its predecessor, the film is notably darker in tone, with a heavier focus on action, death, and intense imagery. This was a deliberate move by the filmmakers, who likened the tone of *Frozen II* to earlier Walt Disney-era fairytales such as *Pinocchio*.

Upon release, *Frozen II* received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice performances, and music by songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. On its opening weekend, the film grossed $127 million domestically, and $350 million worldwide, making it the highest-opening of all time for an animated film. The film went on to surpass the original *Frozen* to become the highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation Studios film, and the highest-grossing animated film of all time, according to Disney and industry insiders.

## Contents

* 1 Synopsis
* 2 Plot
* 3 Cast
	+ 3.1 Additional voices
* 4 Development
* 5 Release
	+ 5.1 International premieres
	+ 5.2 Home media
* 6 Reception
* 7 Videos
* 8 Gallery
* 9 Trivia
	+ 9.1 Cameos and other Disney references
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Synopsis

Elsa, the Snow Queen, has an extraordinary gift -- the power to create ice and snow. But no matter how happy she is to be surrounded by the people of Arendelle, Elsa finds herself strangely unsettled. After hearing a mysterious voice call out to her, Elsa travels to the enchanted forests and dark seas beyond her kingdom -- an adventure that soon turns into a journey of self-discovery.

## Plot

Inside one of the rooms of Arendelle Castle one evening, young Anna and Elsa have built a forest out of snow and ice, sourced from Elsa's ice powers. As she conjures small snow people to play with, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna enter, telling the girls that it is time for them to go to bed. Seeing that Anna and Elsa are happily playing together, the king and queen smile, then take the girls to their bedroom. There, the sisters beg their father to tell them a bedtime story. King Agnarr agrees and begins the tale of an enchanted forest: King Runeard, the founder and first king of Arendelle, establishes a treaty with the woodland Northuldra tribe, building a dam between Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest, home of the Northuldra. However, a fight between the two armies occurs, killing Runeard and many of his men. The four elemental spirits were earth, fire, air, and water, which inhabit the forest, become enraged due to the fight. The spirits disappear, and a thick wall of mist encases everyone in the forest. No one is able to enter or leave, and the contents of the forest become preserved in time. Runeard's son Prince Agnarr barely escapes with the help of an unknown savior. After the story, Queen Iduna tucks the girls into bed, singing them an old lullaby taught to her by her mother.

Three years after her coronation, Queen Elsa of Arendelle stands on the castle balcony, returning from her flashback to the present. Kai comes to retrieve her, startling her as she didn't see him coming as she was too lost in her thoughts to notice, causing her to make a sudden shoot of frost to stick her hands to the railing before she pulls them loose. After tending to her royal duties, she goes to the town square to celebrate autumn in the kingdom with her younger sister, Princess Anna, Olaf, their talking snowman, Kristoff, Arendelle's resident ice harvester, and Sven, Kristoff's pet reindeer and best friend, and they sing "Some Things Never Change".

That same evening, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf play a game of charades. After having some fun with her sister and friends, Elsa decides to go to bed early. Later, Anna enters Elsa's room, concerned. She notices that Elsa is wearing their mother's shawl, which she only wears when nervous or troubled. Anna and Elsa talk for some time, and eventually, huddled together, and they fall asleep.

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, Elsa wakes up when she hears the mysterious voice calling to her again. Unable to ignore it this time, Elsa tries to follow the voice "Into the Unknown", but unintentionally awakens the elemental spirits, forcing everyone in the kingdom to evacuate as many of Arendelle's resources are stripped from the kingdom: The waterfall dries up, as do the fountains, the flames providing light in buildings and the street lamps are extinguished, the wind becomes fierce, and the streets are disrupted like something is burrowing beneath them. Grand Pabbie, the leader of the trolls, senses danger and arrives in Arendelle with the rest of the trolls. Pabbie informs Anna and Elsa that they must set things right by discovering the truth about the kingdom's past, or he foresees no future for Arendelle. Deducing she must follow the voice she has been hearing, Elsa tries to tell her sister that she must go alone, but Anna insists upon coming with her. As Elsa tries to reason with her sister, Anna says she went through many odds three years ago such as climbing the North Mountain, surviving a frozen heart, and saving Elsa from the evil Hans, which in Anna's opinion, is the reason why she's going. Elsa had asked to borrow Kristoff's wagon and Sven, which he did not feel comfortable with. After Anna states that she is coming, Kristoff agrees, insisting on driving. Olaf agrees, adding, "*I'll bring the snacks!*" Pabbie promises to look after the people of Arendelle in the meantime until the royal sisters return from pacifying the elemental spirits and restoring Arendelle's resources once the spirits are no longer angry.

Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven embark on their journey to the Enchanted Forest, traveling via Kristoff's wagon. They pass landmarks from the first film, such as Elsa's ice palace. Olaf also talks all through the journey there and believes that this will all make sense "When I Am Older". Finally arriving at the entrance to the Enchanted Forest, the group encounters the impenetrable wall of mist, but it parts open as Elsa uses her magic, before closing again once they are inside. The group first encounters Gale, the wind spirit, which appears in the form of a tornado and sweeps everyone into its vortex. Elsa stops it by blasting streams of snow, forming a set of ice sculptures. They discover the sculptures are from their father's past and that their mother, Iduna, was the mysterious Northuldra who saved Agnarr's life during the battle between King Runeard and his soldiers and the Northuldra fighters. They encounter the Northuldra, along with a troop of Arendellian soldiers, as the two groups are still in conflict with each other. The fire spirit appears and Elsa attempts to stop its fire from spreading. Elsa discovers that the spirit is in the form of an agitated magical salamander named Bruni. She calms it down by placing it in her palm and creating a small snow flurry, ceasing its flames. Elsa and Anna form a truce between the soldiers and the Northuldra, explaining that their mother was Northuldra and their father was Agnarr, the prince of Arendelle. An Arendellian soldier named Lieutenant Mattias is impressed, recalling memories of the young prince. Later, at the Northuldra camp, the group encounters two young Northuldra siblings named Honeymaren and Ryder. Elsa talks to Honeymaren, learning that Queen Iduna's shawl is decorated with a traditional Northuldra pattern. Anna talks with Lieutenant Mattias, Olaf is rearranged by a group of Northuldra children, and Kristoff talks with Ryder, who also loves reindeer. Elsa later learns from Honeymaren of the existence of a fifth spirit, which will unite people and the magic of nature. Everyone is soon forced to take cover and hide from the elemental spirits of earth, the Earth Giants, when they stomp pass the Northuldra encampment without seeing anyone.

Elsa continues to head north with Anna and Olaf, while Kristoff and Sven stay behind with Ryder and the rest of the Northuldra. Kristoff tries to propose to Anna, not realizing that she is gone, but instead finds the leader of the Northuldra tribe, Yelana, who lets him know where Anna and Elsa went before revealing that the Northuldra are packing up camp to move elsewhere, possibly to get away from the Earth Giants so they won't be threatened by them. Meanwhile, the sisters find their parents' shipwreck after being guided to it by Gale, and a map with a route to Ahtohallan, the mythical river said to have answers and explanations about the past. Ahtohallan was the "river full of memory" that was mentioned in Queen Iduna's lullaby, which Elsa learned was a traditional Northuldra song, and reinforcing what Olaf said earlier about water having memory. The sisters find an ice sculpture of their parents huddled together that Elsa makes from the water still embedded in the ship's hull, apparently about to meet their fate at the hands of the Dark Sea. Elsa and Anna begin to cry. Feeling extremely guilty that their parents were lost at sea in search of answers about her magic powers, Elsa decides to travel alone, sending Anna and Olaf away in an ice-boat where they have to avoid the now sleeping Earth Giants, ignoring Anna's warnings and reminder of their mother's song "Go too far and you'll be drowned". Anna and Olaf become stranded in a dark, mysterious cavern.

With Anna and Olaf safe as far as she knows, Elsa encounters the Nokk, the water spirit who guards the ocean in the form of a glistening stallion, on her way to Ahtohallan. After a fierce fight with the Nokk trying to drown her before reaching Ahtohallan, Elsa tames the Nokk and finally reaches Ahtohallan. Elsa discovers that the voice was the call of Iduna from memories of the past, as an image of her singing her mysterious call to an unconscious Agnarr after saving him flashes onto the wall. Elsa discovers that her power was a gift from the magic of nature, due to Iduna's selfless act of saving Agnarr when the Northuldra and Arendellians starting fighting and the elemental spirits turned against humanity. This makes Elsa the fifth spirit, a bridge between humans and nature, who unites differences. Elsa wields her mother's mantle of the fifth spirit and asks the voice to "Show Yourself". She also learns through flashbacks and memories that the dam was built as a ruse to reduce the Northuldra's resources, due to Runeard's dislike of the tribe's connection with magic. Elsa learns that King Runeard, although depicted as good, was the one who initiated the conflict with the Northuldra. Elsa sends this information to Anna. However, as she had ventured into the most dangerous part of Ahtohallan and ignored her mother's warnings, Elsa becomes frozen herself, turning to solid ice in a more slow, painful version of what happened to Anna under the frozen heart curse, entombing her in Ahtohallan. Olaf, being made of Elsa's now-defunct magic, fades away and becomes a pile of snow. Anna is left devastated and alone. She feels that her life is over and that she must give up, but she convinces herself to do "The Next Right Thing" and continue.

Anna concludes that the dam must be destroyed for peace to be restored, even if it means Arendelle's destruction in the process. She escapes from the cavern and awakens the sleeping Earth Giants, who immediately turn hostile on her for being disturbed. Anna lures them towards the dam with help from Kristoff, Sven, and Lieutenant Mattias with his Royal Guard detachment, which is destroyed by boulders hurled by the giants. This causes them to become docile as the bane of their rage had been destroyed. Back in Ahtohallan, with the dam destroyed, Elsa finally thaws herself out and returns to Arendelle, stopping a flood from the destroyed dam with Nokk, witnessed by the people, Grand Pabbie, and his rock trolls, who cheer for Elsa and Nokk while Pabbie gives Elsa a respectful nod for her triumph. As the wall of mist disappears, Elsa reunites with Anna and revives Olaf, to the delight of everyone. Kristoff finally, properly, proposes to Anna, and she accepts. Elsa points out that she and Anna are now the bridge between the people and the magical spirits, just like their mother had two daughters. As the Enchanted Forest and Arendelle are now open and connected to each other, Elsa decides that she is meant to live in the forest with the Northuldra, being the fifth spirit. Anna becomes the new Queen of Arendelle, and Elsa becomes the protector of the Enchanted Forest. She regularly visits Arendelle as peace is restored in all the lands. Anna and Kristoff enjoy time together after Anna's coronation and first royal event. Olaf and Sven eagerly explore Arendelle. Lieutenant Mattias, now promoted to General under Anna, is seen together with an Arendellian woman he mentioned back at the Northuldra camp, now reunited with her, as she shows him a "new invention" called a photograph. Together with Anna, he unveils a new statue of a younger Agnarr and Iduna to honor their memory and the new unity between Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest. Anna has Gale send a message to Elsa, and shortly after reading it, Elsa takes a ride on the Nokk towards Ahtohallan, passing by Ryder, Honeymaren, and the other elemental spirits as she does.

In a post-credit scene, Olaf retells the story to Marshmallow and the Snowgies.

## Cast

* Idina Menzel as Elsa
	+ Mattea Conforti as Young Elsa
	+ Eva Bella as Young Elsa (Ahtohallan/archive recording)
* Kristen Bell as Anna
	+ Hadley Gannaway as Young Anna
	+ Livvy Stubenrauch as Young Anna (Ahtohallan/archive recording)
* Jonathan Groff as Kristoff
* Frank Welker/Jonathan Groff as Sven
* Josh Gad as Olaf
* Sterling K. Brown as Lieutenant Mattias
* Evan Rachel Wood as Queen Iduna
	+ Delaney Rose Stein as Young Iduna
* Aurora as The Voice (revealed to be Iduna in a flashback in Ahtohallan)
	+ In one 'behind the scenes' video, she is credited as "The North Wind" which is fitting given her role in the film calling to Elsa. [1]
* Alfred Molina as King Agnarr
	+ Jackson Stein as Young Agnarr
* Martha Plimpton as Yelana
* Rachel Matthews as Honeymaren
* Jason Ritter as Ryder Nattura
* Jeremy Sisto as King Runeard
* Ciarán Hinds as Grand Pabbie
* Alan Tudyk as Duke of Weselton (Ahtohallan/archive recording), Guard, Northuldra Leader, and Arendellian Soldier
* Santino Fontana as Hans (Ahtohallan/archive recording)
* Paul Briggs as Marshmallow
* Maia Wilson as Bulda
* Stephen J. Anderson as Kai
* Halima V. Hudson as Halima

### Additional voices

* Isabella Acres
* Nick Fisher
* Arthur Ortiz
* Stephen Apostolina
* Jackie Gonneau
* Paul Pape
* Kimberly Bailey
* Franck Gourlat
* Michael Ralph
* Dave Boat
* Daniel Kaz
* Akai Robinson
* June Christopher
* Phil LaMarr
* Lynwood Robinson
* Antonio Corbo
* Arnaud Leónard
* Maddix Robinson
* David Cowgill
* Mimi Maynard
* Kaitlyn Robrock
* Wendy Cutler
* Scott Menville
* Violet Schaffer
* Hudson D'Andrea
* Melanie Minichino
* Pepper Sweeney
* Grey DeLisle-Griffin
* Max Mittelman
* Fred Tatasciore
* Jessica DiCicco
* Matt Nolan
* Jean-Alain Velardo
* Terri Douglas
* Capri Oliver
* Kari Wahlgren
* Robin Atkin Downes
* Matthew Wood

## Development

Development on a theatrical *Frozen* sequel was officially announced at a Disney Shareholder meeting, alongside being confirmed by Jennifer Lee on her Twitter account. Co-directors of the original film, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, as well as producer, Peter Del Vecho, all returned to helm the project. The filmmakers had not originally considered making a sequel to *Frozen* at all and the road to its creation was bumpy. Co-director Chris Buck began by considering that what would be next for Elsa, having been in hiding for so long and finally being accepted by her people. One question the filmmakers were repeatedly asked was the question of why Elsa has her powers, which led them to explore this question for the sequel. As part of the production process, the filmmakers took part in a four-hour psychological personality test, assuming the roles of the characters and answering questions posed by an actual psychologist. In doing so, they discovered that Anna was a "fairy tale" character, optimistic, and human, while Elsa was a "mythic" character, with the weight of the world on her shoulders and special powers. The film's visual developers worked on special finishing touches to the characters' outfits, including lining inside the fabric of every character's clothes. Both Elsa and Anna wear pants when traveling into the Enchanted Forest, Jennifer Lee stating that they wear what's right for the situation and she loves that they can wear anything. The film is said to be "darker" than the original *Frozen* and Kristen Bell stated that "*we don’t give kids enough credit because they’re projections of us and we want them to be happy because we want ourselves to be happy all the time. We don’t give them enough credit for their ability to digest complex situations and trauma and struggle.*"

Following concerns about cultural appropriation regarding the original *Frozen*, Disney signed a contract with the Sámi people to respectfully portray Sámi culture. As the culture was to feature in an even greater role in *Frozen II*, the Sámi parliaments of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, along with the Saami Council reached out to collaborate with the film's producers. The contract also included an agreement that Disney would produce a dubbed version of *Frozen II* in one Sámi language and participate in cross-learning initiatives that contribute to Indigenous communities in Scandinavia. The Sámi people and those working with the filmmakers appear in the film's credits.

On April 25, 2017, the official release date for the *Frozen* sequel was announced by Disney. On September 28, Josh Gad and Disney announced on social media that recording for the film had officially begun.

In 2018, Jennifer Lee was the appointed replacement for John Lasseter following his discharge from The Walt Disney Company. With her attention now focused on several facets of the studio, writer Allison Schroeder was brought on to co-write the script for *Frozen 2*. On November 1, it was announced that the *Frozen* sequel had been pushed up a few days from November 27, 2019, to November 22, 2019. On February 13, 2019, the film was retitled as *Frozen II*.

The film's soundtrack was released on November 15, 2019, in CD, digital, and vinyl formats.

## Release

The film's red carpet world premiere was held on Thursday, November 7, 2019, in Hollywood, California, with members of the cast and crew in attendance. Although the film's official U.S. release was November 22, 2019, a number of theaters offered multiple showings as early as 6 P.M. on November 21, 2019.

### International premieres

* November 20, 2019 (Belgium, Germany, France, Indonesia, Netherlands, Philippines, Turkey)
* November 21, 2019 (Colombia, Croatia, Hungary, Israel, South Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Peru, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, Taiwan)
* November 22, 2019 (Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Spain, Ireland, India, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom, Vietnam)
* November 27, 2019 (Italy)
* November 28, 2019 (Australia, Chile, Greece, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine)
* November 29, 2019 (Lebanon)
* December 7, 2019 (Premiere - Comic-Con Experience - São Paulo, SP, Brazil)
* December 25, 2019 (Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Sweden)
* December 27, 2019 (Estonia)
* January 2, 2020 (Argentina, Brazil)

### Home media

*Main article: Frozen II (video)*
*Frozen II* was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Digital HD on February 11, 2020, followed by an Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD release on February 25. In response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Disney announced that the film

would begin streaming on its Disney+ service three months earlier than originally planned, beginning on March 15, 2020.

## Reception

Advance ticket sales for *Frozen II* set a first-day record for an animated film for both Fandango and Atom Tickets. The film outpaced sales of *Toy Story 4* to set the new record. Based on early sales, the film was predicted to open with at least $100 million over its opening weekend, with more optimistic predictions setting it at $125 million. Globally, the film was predicted to shatter the previous *Toy Story 4* record with a $242 million global opening weekend. The film in fact shattered the record, with an estimated domestic opening weekend of $127 million and $350.2 million worldwide. The film also set a record in China with $55 million. The film's spectacular opening weekend was followed by an equally stellar Thanksgiving weekend. The film made $123.7 million domestically over the five day holiday weekend, breaking the 2013 record of $109 million by *The Hunger Games: Catching Fire* in 2013. Globally, the film's take rose to $753.4 million dollars over 12 days.

The film's first reviews appeared on November 14, 2019. The film holds a score of 78% fresh with 330 reviews on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus stating that "*Frozen II* can't quite recapture the showstopping feel of its predecessor, but it remains a dazzling adventure into the unknown." Mara Reinstein of *U.S. Weekly* stated that while the film was not as spectacular as the original, it was "still a beautifully designed, sharply written, and toe-tapping piece of family entertainment." Nicholas Barber of BBC was one of those who was critical of the film, stating that the film "takes an ice age" to get going and describing it as "an avalanche of half-formed ideas." On November 19, 2019, the film was certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

## Songs

1. All is found (Iduna)
2. Some things never change (Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, Elsa)
3. Into the unknown (Elsa)
4. When I'm older (Olaf)
5. Lost in the woods (Kristoff, Sven)
6. Show Yourself (Elsa)
7. The next right thing (AnnaAnna on "Some things never change"Anna as queen of ArandelleElsa and Anna babies listen to their father's storyElsa in the magic forest