Back in March, just before the short filmFrozen Feverdebuted in theaters withCinderella, Disney confirmed that a sequel to the animated blockbusterFrozenis finally happening. Unfortunately, we haven’t heard anything else aboutFrozen 2since then, but a sequel was always inevitable, after the originalFrozentook in a massive $1.2 billion worldwide at thebox office. Today, we have a few updates from Chris Buck, who co-directed the original movie withJennifer Lee, in an interview withFandango. Here’s what he had to say about how Elsa (Idina Menzel) will continue her happy ways fromFrozen Fever.
“[InFrozen] she had such a dramatic journey, and at the end she’s just starting to feel like she can open up and have some fun again. That’s what was really good about the short [Frozen Fever] - we could have fun with Elsa. And that personality … you will see in the next one.”
The originalFrozenfollowed Anna (Kristen Bell), who sets off on a journey to find her sister Elsa (Kristen Bell), whose frigid powers have brought an eternal winter to their homeland of Arendelle. Anna is joined on her journey by Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and the snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), and while none of thesevoice castmembers are confirmed yet, they all came back to reprise their roles for the short filmFrozen Fever, so it seems likely that they will be back forFrozen 2. Chris Buck also confirmed that he’s currently working on the story with his co-directorJennifer Lee, but there are no concrete release plans as of yet.
“We’re working on the sequel right now.Jen (Lee)and I are getting back in the room and we’ve got some cool ideas coming up. I can’t divulge anything, but for us,Jenand me, it’s been so fun to get back in the room and be with these characters again. These characters are part of us – both forJenand me. Anna, Kristoff, Elsa, Olaf – they’re all parts of our personality, so it’s fun to play with these characters again and sort of see where we can go next with them. Just like any characters that you love, to see them grow and to see what happens next.”
In a separate interview withMTV, Chris Buck hinted that theanimated moviesequel will delve into other issues currently prevalent in our society. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t touch on anything specific, but it seems they will still strive for the same type of emotional resonance that so many fans connected with in the first movie. Here’s what he had to say below.
“We have two very strong female leads in Frozen. We will keep that going in the next one. We will tackle other issues that, I think, are out there today that boys and girls, men and women, are dealing with. I think we’re very aware of what is happening in society. I don’t think any of us take [them] lightly, even though they can be very funny and entertaining, the messages that our movies have and the influence they can have on young people. When the kids [watch] them, they watch them over and over again, and if we don’t have a decent message in there, I think we’ve missed an opportunity.”
