
Back in 2013, the hit film Frozen debuted to much adoration, winning multiple awards, earning over one billion dollars at the box office worldwide, and thawing the hearts of adults, teens and children alike.
Six years later, with ‘Let It Go’ finally out of our heads, Disney is back with a Frozen sequel (a fast turnaround compared to previous sequels – I’m talking about you, The Incredibles 2).
But first, let’s look at the film that started it all. Frozen was praised for its animation, script, original music and voice acting. It also challenged the stereotypical damsel-in-distress mould of previous Disney films. Some critics believe it’s one of the best animated films of Disney’s renaissance era.
Now, let’s remind ourselves where the wholesome characters of Arendelle were left after the events of the first film (spoilers ahead).
Young Princess Anna is accidentally struck by her sister Elsa’s ice powers, and with the only cure being to erase Anna’s memory of Elsa’s abilities, the two become isolated. After the death of their parents and Elsa’s 21st birthday, she is coronated as queen.
Meanwhile, Anna naively believes she has fallen in love at first sight with Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Anna publicly confronts Elsa about her dismissal of their engagement, causing Elsa’s powers to be revealed. Elsa flees to the North Mountain; unaware she has trapped Arendelle in an eternal winter. Anna enlists the help of cynical iceman Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and later, living snowman Olaf, to find Elsa.
When they reach Elsa, she is distressed upon hearing of Arendelle’s fate and accidentally freezes Anna’s heart. A visit to Kristoff’s adopted family of trolls informs them that only an act of true love will prevent Anna from freezing solid. Believing Hans to be Anna’s true love, Kristoff delivers her back to Arendelle.
In a twist, Hans betrays Anna and reveals his plan to eliminate both sisters and take the throne. Anna escapes with Olaf’s help and spots Hans about to kill Elsa. Anna leaps in front of her sister to save her, before turning to ice. This act, however, suffices as an example of true love, thawing Anna. Cunning Hans is exiled from the kingdom, the subjects make peace with Elsa’s powers, and the sisters and their new friends are reunited. Happily ever after – but not for long – as this is where our sequel picks up!
After watching the latest trailer, we speculate that Frozen 2 may include:
A Mighty Battle
In the first official trailer, Elsa ties her hair back, runs into the ocean and freezes the waves in front of her, before wiping out and seeing a lightning horse under the water. Is this a spirit – perhaps one of the voices Elsa has been hearing – or a warning of the danger ahead? The same horse also appears in a puddle in the forest, while spurts of water (and fire) chase Olaf, suggesting water powers are present in the story.
Getting back to Elsa’s wave-training, it appears she’s trying to hone her powers, but why? If she plans to enter a battle, who is she facing? The way head troll Grand Pabbie speaks makes the threat seem almost apocalyptic: “We always feared Elsa’s powers were too much for this world. Now, we must hope they are enough.”
New Villain(s) with Elemental Powers
In one scene, the forest is alight in pink flames, suggesting it’s not normal fire. Perhaps a villain possesses the opposite elemental powers to Elsa, contrasting her blue ice with their pink fire? It appears these mysterious flames (or the person who possesses these powers) have reached Arendelle somehow. A cyclonic tunnel also attacks the group, suggesting wind powers exist as well. Oh my! Is it just us, or is this starting to sound like Avatar: The Last Airbender?
We also see rock creatures similar to Elsa’s colossal snowman in the first film. Glimpses of them smashing down the forest in pursuit of our characters, and the dark silhouette and thumping footsteps of one giant as Elsa hides behind a tree, could suggest they are being controlled by a malicious leader, just as Elsa could control her snowman creation.
There are four standing stones (with a resemblance to Stonehenge) that Elsa reveals from a shroud of fog. The stones could represent each elemental power (fire, wind, water/ice and rock) seen in the trailer. The fog parts for Elsa and allows into the Enchanted Forest, perhaps because only magic users are permitted? There might be way more people with powers than we first thought, some good and some not so good.
A Long Journey North
We see Kristoff leading our friends in a sleigh going past the North Mountain, where Elsa’s ice castle from the first film is visible in the background. Grand Pabbie tells them they must “travel across the enchanted lands and into the unknown” which would suggest our team will face terrain they’ve never encountered before. Frozen is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. Therefore, it’s been deduced the fictional Arendelle is situated somewhere in Denmark, meaning north could take our characters further into Scandinavia, to Finland, or the north-west corner of Russia. Perhaps even to Greenland, Canada or Alaska, home of the Inuit people?
The King and Queen’s Past
We see a flashback of the king telling his daughters a bedtime story, explaining that the Enchanted Forest is “as far north as we can go”. The King also says magic was the undoing of the village, which is why no-one can leave or enter it. Presumably, the blonde-haired boy in the trailer is the young king and the brunette girl that appears to possess wind powers is the queen. From the queen’s expression throughout her husband’s story, we can presume they witnessed the events in the village or had something to do with causing them. Maybe this will explain the origin of Elsa’s powers?
Another thing that excites us for Frozen 2 is the music in the trailer, which is hauntingly beautiful, and we’ve only heard a snippet! We love Anna’s new hairstyle and her usual stubbornness when she insists she go on the journey with Elsa: “I climbed the North Mountain, survived a frozen heart and saved you from my ex-boyfriend, so, you know, I’m coming.” Of course, the film is bound to feature catchy new songs, more stunning animation (we adore the autumn forest scenes and Elsa and Anna’s new dresses!), not to mention, a whole lot of sisterly love, mystery and magic.
‘Frozen 2’ releases in Australian cinemas on November 28.