Frozen 2: Everything You Need to Know Before the Sequel

Catch up on Disney's smash hit fairy tale Frozen before Elsa the Ice Queen returns in the sequel.

Frozen became a smash-hit for Disney when it was released in 2013. The female empowerment story turned the idea of what a Disney film could be on its head and reinvigorated the studio's animation division. The Oscar-winning computer-animated flick introduced fans to Elsa and Anna, a pair of sisters whose strange, isolated life is torn apart after the death of their parents. Elsa's journey of self-discovery quickly made Frozen a cultural phenomenon and the fact that it was filled with catchy songs and adult-friendly jokes that were reminiscent of a Pixar film didn't hurt either.

Now over half a decade later, Anna, Elsa, Sven, Kristoff, and Olaf are returning to the big screen in Frozen 2. In case you didn't check out the rebel of the Disney Princess family when it was first released, or if you just need a primer on the original, you can catch up on everything you need to know about the beautiful modern fairy tale right here!
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Frozen: A New Take on a Classic Tale

If you can believe it, Frozen had been in the works at Disney since before the release of their first-ever groundbreaking animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Yep, the animation powerhouse had been working on an adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's classic fairy tale The Ice Queen for well over half a century with multiple versions of the story being started and canned before 2013's Frozen finally took shape. The record-breaking film centers on a reimagining of the fable that gives the Ice Queen character, Elsa (Idina Menzel), a heartwarming origin story that focuses on independence and the power of female friendship.

Set in the magical kingdom of Arendelle, Frozen crafts a fictional world inspired by the folklore and traditions of Scandinavia. Although at first things are all very Happily Ever After in the lush green land, that all changes when Elsa's burgeoning ice powers hurt her younger sister, Anna (Kristen Bell). The accident leads their parents to seek out the help of a magical troll who gives the royal family some (very questionable) parenting advice that will change the sisters' lives and the fate of Arendelle forever.

Conceal, Don't Feel, Don't Let Them Know

The general gist of the troll's warning is that although Elsa's ice powers--which enable her to control, and even create sentient life from, snow and ice--are beautiful and special (she is a Disney Princess after all), they are also filled with great danger. The mystic troll suggests that Elsa's parents erase all memories of magic from Anna's brain as she recovers, though she'll still remember the fun they had. Sadly for Elsa, her parents decide that this means they've got to keep her prisoner in the castle whilst also forcing her to conceal her powers. Obviously as a young girl she's traumatized by hurting her sister, and ends up essentially living as a hermit in her room, trying to hide the powers she was born with. It's a strangely powerful analogy for repression and the danger of holding feelings inside.

Anna is devastated and utterly confused by the fact that her sister has essentially ignored her for a decade-plus, and when the sisters' parents are killed during a routine trip across the ocean--we'll come back to this--Elsa has to take her place as Arendelle's queen, meaning that the girls have to open the gates to the palace for the first time in forever. (Yep, that's also a song!) Though the coronation seems like a success at first and Elsa manages to keep her powers under control after Anna falls in love with a stranger she's just met (through the medium of song) and asks for her sister's blessing, Elsa's cover is blown as she gets angry and sets off an eternal winter in the kingdom before running for the hills.
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Let It Go

Frozen didn't just deliver a record-breaking box office performance but also an Oscar-winning song in the shape of "Let It Go." The power ballad performed by Menzel as Elsa became an anthem and a nonstop presence in the house of anyone with children aged 10 and under when the film was released. The song is pivotal to the film as it plays as the moment when Elsa realizes she's incredibly powerful and that hiding her gifts has done nothing but damage, hurting her and those around her. It's the big moment where Frozen truly reveals its intentions. Although the film seems like it's your standard Disney Princess fare, it actually wants to shake up the tropes and expectations that the audience has, which shouldn't be that surprising seeing as the hero of the film is traditionally portrayed as a villain in this tale.

As the film heads towards its climax, it relishes in subverting the normal route of a Disney flick. Anna heads out to find and save her sister from herself, making friends along the way who are legitimately invested in her well-being and independence. Of course, they're an ice salesman named Kristoff who was raised by trolls, his reindeer Sven, and a sentient snowman that Elsa created called Olaf (it's still a kids animated film, after all). After the young heroine is struck down by her sister's icy temper, the magical trolls reveal that she can only be saved by an act of true love, which is where the film's best and most controversial reveal occurs.

An Act of True Love Can Thaw a Frozen Heart

In the mold of a classic fairy tale, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf rush Anna back to the palace to her "true love" Prince Hans, the guy she fell in love with during a song earlier (sandwiches?) and left in complete control of her kingdom. All Hans needs to do to save his love is to plant a smooch on her lips. After all, what's more powerful than true love's kiss? But in one of Frozen's biggest and most interesting twists, it turns out that the handsome, sweet, and romantic Prince doesn't actually love Anna at all. This isn't a Sleeping Beauty or Snow White sort of tale. In fact, he wants to kill Elsa and leave Anna to die so he can take control of the throne and rule Arendelle alone.

It was a choice that flew in the face of the internal logic and rules that Disney had set up over their decades of animated films and one that immediately made Frozen stand out. From there, Anna and Elsa try to find each other in a huge, foggy blizzard. As Hans manages to find Elsa first, Anna jumps in front of his sword, saving her sister as she turns to ice. But before anyone can be like "wow, her sister totally killed her," the magic of her actions unfreezes her because the true love here isn't romantic love; it's the love between two sisters whose friendship has reignited something magical between them. In 2013 it felt practically radical, and as the film ends it's revealed that Elsa can stop the eternal winter by channeling love. And so they all lived happily ever after... at least until the inevitable sequel.
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Into the Unknown

With Frozen 2 headed to screens, there are some big questions that need to be answered: How did Elsa get her powers? How can she create sentient life? Is she a god? How do the people of Arendelle feel about their queen now that they know the truth? From the trailers, we know that a few of those questions are at the heart of the sequel, as well as an exploration of more Scandanavian folklore and myths. Whether Anna and Elsa will get another happily ever after is yet to be seen, but you'll be able to find out all that and more when Frozen 2 hits on November 22.

If you want to learn more about Frozen 2, check out our description of the footage from our Disney Animation visit, and read more about how the new film's songs will compare to the old.

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Frozen 2

Release DateNovember 22, 2019