Frozen Again?

Frozen is not only Disney Animation’s biggest film, it is the biggest animated film of all-time. A year and a half later, it’s still going strong with Disney plugging it into just about everything they have. Frozen has become a cultural phenomenon. The company officially announced plans to produce a sequel during the Walt Disney Co.’s annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco but a release date and production details have yet to be announced. Here are some reasons why Disney should and shouldn’t make a second installment.

Cons

1. Sequels aren’t Disney’s forte

From the mid-90s to the late 2000s, Disney released direct-to-video sequels to some of their biggest hits. Lion King 2, Cinderella 2, Bambi 2, Fox and the Hound 2, etc. They all sucked. But those were not made by Disney Animation Studios, which is the main animation branch of Disney, those were made by DisneyToon Studios. They make their animated TV shows and of course they were bad. Has anything released direct-to-video ever been considered good? Though Disney would have to explain why they thought releasing Return to Neverland and The Jungle Book 2 in theaters was a good idea. The only sequels Disney Animation has ever made were The Rescuers Down Under and Fantasia 2000. They were box-office bombs but that was because they were sequels that no one really wanted, mainly due to the fact that their previous films were not all that popular. I know a lot of people who would love to see a sequel to Frozen. The same people that made the first one a billion dollar hit: the fan base.

2. What story could they tell?

Many would argue that the story is complete already. All seemed right in the land of Arendelle; Elsa is loved by the people, Olaf gets to experience summer, Anna and Kristoff start their relationship and all who did wrong got what was coming to them. Where else could they possibly go from there?

3. The hype may be too high

If Frozen 2 was made, it would easily be the most hyped and anticipated animated movie since Toy Story 3. That lived up to the hype. It won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Sound Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was huge, the highest grossing animated film upon it’s release. However, that was after more than 10 years of anticipation. And that was just a rare instance. Remember the last time a film with so much hype lived up to it? It happens so rarely. There always seem to be a huge backlash to really big films. There is even a huge backlash to the success of Frozen. Can any film live up to the hype anymore? Can any song they make ever top “Let it Go”?

Pros

1. Sequel is the best option

Disney is trying to cram Frozen everywhere; in their theme parks, merchandise, TV shows, and so forth. Frozen Fever (an 8 minute short based on the film) recently debuted in theaters alongside Cinderella on March 13. Why did they do this? Because, believe it or not, Disney did not expect Frozen to be as big as it became. They actually thought it would bomb. The film was handled by what was considered by Disney to be the B-team. The A-team was focused on Big Hero 6. The same thing happened almost 20 years ago with a little movie known as The Lion King. So of course, maybe the best option to please Frozen fans is to give them more Frozen.

2. What story couldn’t they tell?

Let’s face it. Frozen wasn’t perfect. There were some unanswered questions that we all kind of asked. My question: How did Elsa get her powers? And don’t just say “Oh, she was born with them” I know that, but why her? Are there others like her out there? Is she the start of a new race of human beings with super-powers? Was she destined for something? How would the world react to the fact that a queen is so powerful she could wipe out armies with her powers? Would other kingdoms go to war? Would her subjects fear her? Would others want her dead? So many questions and more that a sequel can explain.

3. The hype will be so big, it’s bound to be a success.

Even if the sequel doesn’t live up to the hype, by the time people notice, it will already have made a billion dollars at the box office. And if they end it just right, and people love it so much they want one more, then Disney can get started on a third installment. And if you get that right, then by all means, Disney has the bragging rights to say they made one of the best trilogies of all-time and wouldn’t that be something.