Like most sequels, Walt Disney Animation Studios is going "bigger" and "more epic" with
Frozen 2. The highly anticipated sequel to 2013's animated blockbuster has already received a teaser and a trailer which suggested as much, but now director Chris Buck and Walt Disney Animation Studios COO Jennifer Lee confirmed as much - while sharing a few more details about the film.
"Frozen 1 and Frozen 2 work together to form one complete story," Buck said, with Lee stating that the movie will ask — and presumably answer — some of the biggest questions left from the first movie. Why was Elsa born with powers? Where were Anna and Elsa's parents really going when that ship sank? Is there really such a thing as happily ever after?
Today's panel didn't spoil those answers, but we did get to meet two new characters joining the cast. Evan Rachel Wood will be playing Queen Iduna, mother to Elsa and Anna, in a prologue set in the past during which she sings a lullaby to her young girls. Sterling K. Brown will voice Lieutenant Mattias, leader of a troop that has been lost in an enchanted forest for over 30 years.
Fans in attendance were treated to a sneak peek clip from
Frozen 2, which sounds similar to
the one shown at Annecy Animation Festival back in June.
Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven playing a game of charades. This seems like a lighthearted moment as Olaf transforms himself into various forms to allow Kristoff to easily guess what he's acting out. However, when it's Elsa's turn, she becomes distracting by a haunting voice that only she can here. The scene ends with her excusing herself form the game to retreat to her room to be alone.
As the clip ends, Elsa is seen singing about following the voice and traveling into "the unknown."
Chris Buck teased that "nothing will be the same" after
Frozen 2, but it's unclear exactly what that means. One thing that will be same in the sequel, however, is the musical component. To close out the panel, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad took the stage to perform a song from the upcoming movie.
Why was Elsa born with magical powers? The answer is calling her and threatening her kingdom. Together with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven, she'll set out on a dangerous but remarkable journey. In “Frozen,” Elsa feared her powers were too much for the world. In “Frozen 2,” she must hope they are enough.
Frozen 2 hits theaters on November 22, 2019.