Frozen II

"The worldwide phenomenon returns."

- Tagline

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 studio's 2013 animated feature film, Frozen, and it is the 58th animated feature in the Disney Animated Canon.

Taking place three years after the events of the previous 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.

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, 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. 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 since "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 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 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. 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. Anna and Olaf become stranded in a dark, mysterious cavern.

Elsa encounters the Nokk, the water spirit who guards the ocean in the form of a glistening stallion, on her way to 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. 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, Elsa becomes frozen herself, turning to solid ice in a more slow, painful version of what happened to Anna under the frozen heart curse. 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, 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. 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.

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 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
 * 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.
 * 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

Trivia

 * This is the first Walt Disney Animation Studios sequel in the Disney Animated Features canon to focus on the secondary character (in this case it being Elsa) rather than the protagonist of the original film, thus promoting Elsa as the primary female character.
 * This is, to date, the only film in the Disney Animated Feature canon where the central antagonist dies before the events of the movie take place, and the closest a film of the canon has come to have a film without a villain.
 * While fans of Frozen campaigned to have Elsa come out as a lesbian in the sequel, at D23 Expo the filmmakers were forced to permanently silence those rumors. This did not stop many fans from shipping her with Honeymaren after the film's release.
 * This is the sixth sequel in the Disney Animated Features canon, after The Three Caballeros, The Rescuers Down Under, Fantasia 2000, Winnie the Pooh, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
 * This is the last Walt Disney Animation Studios film to use the 1967 MPAA logo. It is also the last theatrical Disney film to do so; the next Disney-distributed theatrical films would start using the 2019 MPA logo in the end credits beginning with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while further theatrical Walt Disney Pictures films would start doing so with Pixar's Onward.
 * In addition, it is the last theatrical animated feature film in history to include the 1967 MPAA logo in the end credits; as further theatrical animated feature films would start using the 2019 MPA logo beginning with the North American release of .
 * However, further Disney+ original films would continue to use the 1967 MPAA logo until the Disneynature films that debuted exclusively on the streaming service on April 3, 2020, such as Dolphin Reef and Elephant. In fact, further Disney+ original films would start using the 2019 MPA logo beginning with Artemis Fowl (which was originally slated for a theatrical release but went directly to the streaming serve following the COVID-19 pandemic).
 * This is the fifth Disney animated theatrical sequel to be rated PG by the MPAA, after Planes: Fire & Rescue, Finding Dory, Incredibles 2, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
 * This is the second Walt Disney Animation Studios film to feature the full 2011 logo as a closing logo, after Moana.
 * This is the last Walt Disney Animation Studios film with John Lasseter's involvement before he left his position from Disney and Pixar animation at the end of 2018 and therefore making it the first to be released under Jennifer Lee's supervision.
 * This is the seventh (and, for so far, final) Disney animated film to feature the full 2011 logo as a closing logo, after Finding Dory, Moana, Cars 3, Coco, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4.
 * This is the eighth Walt Disney Animation Studios film to include a post-credits scene after The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Brother Bear, Winnie the Pooh, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Moana, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
 * This is also the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film since Winnie the Pooh in 2011 not to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
 * Ironically, the first film was the first one from the studio to win that award back in 2014.
 * Arguably despite these shortcomings, Frozen II was more well-received by the general audience compared to the first film as it deals with more mature and realistic themes as well as having a more coherent character development as well as expanding the franchise and properly fleshing out the characters as a whole.
 * The film takes place three years after the events of Frozen.
 * Elsa is 24 years old and Anna is 21 years old.
 * Frozen II was originally set to be released sometime after the film Gigantic, which was later canceled.
 * The teaser trailer became the most viewed animation trailer of all time, with a record-breaking 116.4 million views in 24 hours.
 * Anna's voice actress - Kristen Bell - spoiled the entire plot of the film to her two daughters, only realizing afterward that it placed her in breach of contract and she could potentially be sued by Disney. She then told her girls that if they revealed any information, their teeth would fall out.
 * People magazine released a special Frozen II issue filled with secrets from the film, including the signing of a contract with real-life Norwegians.
 * When Olaf recounts the events of Frozen, several of Christophe Beck’s musical cues from the film were reprised.
 * The scenery and color schemes in Frozen II were greatly inspired by the traditional hand-drawn animated classic, Sleeping Beauty. There are some parallels between the Enchanted Forest in this film and the ethereal backgrounds that artist Eyvind Earle painted for the 1959 animated classic. According to animator Justin Sklar, the filmmakers were drawn by the organization and graphics of the imagery in Sleeping Beauty.
 * During a flashback into Agnarr and Iduna's childhood, Agnarr is reading a book that he states is from a "new Danish author". This is a reference to Hans Christian Andersen, the writer of The Snow Queen, the fairy tale by which Frozen was inspired.
 * Despite Elsa being the main protagonist, she isn't listed on top of the credits. Instead, it's still Anna.
 * Some of the scenes from the trailers didn’t end up in the film, such as Elsa protecting Olaf from the flames.
 * During the post-credits scene, Elsa's coronation crown is shown on Marshmallow's head.
 * Frozen II shares many similarities with the Frozen arc of Once Upon a Time. Both act as sequels to the first film, Anna and Kristoff are engaged, both involve venturing into an Enchanted Forest, both reveal that the reason for the King and Queen's voyage was due to Elsa's powers, both explore the Queen of Arendelle, in her youth and both have Anna and Elsa find preserved memories of their mother.
 * It is unknown if the directors made the film similar to the show on purpose.
 * According to Jennifer Lee in a Q & A session:
 * The prologue of the sequel took place on the same night of the accident in the first film.
 * Elsa is still human despite becoming the Fifth Spirit, putting to rest the theories on Elsa being immortal in which fans had speculated.
 * The sequel served as the end of the franchise as it served the end of the character arcs of Anna and Elsa.
 * In addition to this, both Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck mentioned in an interview that with the sequel, they have told the complete story of the franchise.
 * There are a few continuity goofs.
 * In the library in the first film, Agnarr's portrait is closest to the door and the portraits of Runeard and Mattias are not there.
 * Elsa mentions Pabbie's name despite the fact she never learned his name before.
 * During "Let It Go", Elsa claims the cold does not bother her. However, when she enters the deepest part of Ahtohallan, she becomes frozen.
 * Elsa is somehow aware of Olaf's death despite the fact she wasn't there to witness his death.
 * During "Into the Unknown", the clock shows midnight when Elsa answers the call of Ahtohallan, despite claims by songwriters Robert and Kristen Anderson Lopez that Elsa sang it at 3 a.m. that night during the interview.
 * A map in the ship shows the dam's path has two openings one taking to Arendelle and the other to sea however it still takes the path to Arendelle if there are no two paths during "Into The Unknown" after Elsa said the title 3 times the shot shows there is no canyon big enough for the flood.
 * Olaf mentions the events of Elsa accidentally hurting Anna, their parents' deaths, Anna quickly getting married to Hans, and Elsa cursing the kingdom however he couldn't even have knowledge of the events and acts it out as if he was alive at the time.
 * This is the first Disney film to feature an unnamed scene index in the home media menus.
 * This is the second Frozen story to be released in 2019 the first being Kingdom Hearts III where the story was based on the first film.
 * This is the darkest sequel in the Disney Animated Canon to date as it deals with mature, dark and realistic topics such as homicide, xenophobia, depression, indoctrination, mental abuse, mental health as well as colonization.
 * This is the first Disney film to stream on Disney+ about three weeks after its Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD releases (and one month after its digital release), due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 * This film shares many similarities with the first film.
 * Elsa endangering Arendelle (in the first film, it's her powers; in the second film, she actually awakens the spirits).
 * On the way to the forest, Kristoff and Anna sit next to each other in the front of the sled. The moment is somewhat similar to their first sled ride together.
 * Elsa freezes similarly to how Anna froze in the first film.
 * When they reunite, Elsa and Anna hold hands in a similar manner in the first film after Anna thawed.
 * In contrast to its predecessor, the word "frozen" is only spoken twice in Frozen II. The first time is when Anna argues with Elsa about the former going with the latter to the Enchanted Forest by saying, "Excuse me, I climbed the North Mountain, survived a frozen heart, and saved you from my ex-boyfriend." The second time is when Elsa and the Nokk come upon Ahtohallan, and she says, "Ahtohallan is frozen."