Frozen 2

Lore & Background

King Agnarr of Arendelle tells his daughters Elsa and Anna that their grandfather, King Runeard, forged a treaty with the neighboring tribe of Northuldra by building a dam in their homeland, the Enchanted Forest. A fight occurred, resulting in Runeard's death and enraging the forest's classical elements of earth, fire, water, and air. The elements disappeared, and a wall of mist trapped everyone in the forest; Agnarr barely escaped, helped by an unknown savior. Three years after her coronation, Elsa celebrates autumn in the kingdom with Anna, the snowman Olaf, the iceman Kristoff, and Kristoff's reindeer Sven. One night, Elsa hears a mysterious voice calling her. She follows it, unintentionally awakening the elemental spirits, who are forcing everyone in the kingdom to evacuate. The Rock Troll colony arrives, and Grand Pabbie tells the sisters they must set things right by uncovering the truth about the past. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven follow the mysterious voice, and travel to the Enchanted Forest. The mist parts at Elsa's touch, while the air spirit appears as a tornado, catching everyone in its vortex until Elsa stops it by turning the vortex into ice sculptures that show images from their father's past. Elsa also befriends the fire spirit, who is an agitated magical salamander. They later encounter the Northuldra and a troop of Arendellian soldiers who are still in conflict with one another. Anna and Elsa arrange a truce between the soldiers and the Northuldra after discovering that their mother, Queen Iduna, was a Northuldran who had saved the Arendellian Agnarr. The Northuldra tell them about a fifth spirit, who is meant to reunite the people with the magic of nature. While Kristoff and Sven stay with the Northuldra, Elsa, Anna, and Olaf continue north. They find their parents' wrecked ship and a map with a route to Ahtohallan, a mythical river said to explain the past. Believing she should continue alone, Elsa sends Anna and Olaf to safety despite Anna's protests. She encounters and tames the Nøkk, the water spirit who guards the sea to Ahtohallan. Elsa discovers that the voice calling to her is the memory of young Iduna and that her powers are a gift from nature because of Iduna's selfless saving of Agnarr.

Reader's Guide

The film features the voices of Idina Menzel as Elsa, Kristen Bell as Anna, Josh Gad as Olaf, and Jonathan Groff as Kristoff and Sven. Other voice cast includes Martha Plimpton as Yelena, Sterling K. Brown as Mattias, Jason Ritter as Ryder, Rachel Matthews as Honeymaren, Evan Rachel Wood as Iduna, Delaney Rose Stein as young Iduna, Alfred Molina as Agnarr, Jackson Stein as young Agnarr, Jeremy Sisto as Runeard, Ciarán Hinds as Pabbie, Aurora as 'the voice', Alan Tudyk as a guard, a Northuldran leader, and an Arendellian soldier, and Paul Briggs as Marshmallow. The film was greenlit in March 2015, used enhanced animation technology, and was translated into 46 languages. It premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on November 7, 2019, and was released in the United States on November 22. It grossed more than $1.453 billion worldwide, finishing as the third-highest-grossing film of 2019, the tenth-highest-grossing film in history, and the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time. It also held the title of the highest-grossing worldwide opening for an animated film for three years. Frozen 2 received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 92nd Academy Awards. A sequel, Frozen 3, is scheduled to be released November 24, 2027.

Did You Know?

• The film was accompanied by the documentary series Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2.
• The story was conceived by Jennifer Lee, Marc Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Robert Lopez.
• The film's score was composed by Christophe Beck, with songs by Anderson-Lopez and Lopez.

Production & Creative Collaboration

Following the massive success of the 2013 original, Disney Animation Studios faced an internal debate in early 2015 over whether a sequel would inevitably be judged as lesser. That concern was ultimately set aside, and the project was officially greenlit in March of that year. The production leaned heavily on upgraded animation tools and a more complex technical pipeline than the first film, requiring an interdepartmental effort across the studio. Jennifer Lee returned as co-director alongside Chris Buck, also penning the screenplay from a story she developed with Marc Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Robert Lopez. The Lopez sisters came back to write the songs, while Christophe Beck composed the orchestral score. The finished film was dubbed into forty-six languages for international audiences, and the studio paired its theatrical release with a behind-the-scenes documentary series titled Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, giving fans a look at the creative process.

The Journey Through the Enchanted Forest

Three years after Elsa's coronation, a mysterious voice draws her out of Arendelle and into the mist-shrouded Enchanted Forest, where the four classical elemental spirits—earth, fire, water, and air—have been left in a state of fury. The sisters, joined by Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven, must uncover the truth behind their grandfather King Runeard's death and the treaty that sealed the forest away. Along the way they discover that their late mother Queen Iduna was actually a Northuldran who once saved Agnarr's life, a revelation that reshapes the conflict between the two peoples. Pushing deeper into the mythical river Ahtohallan, Elsa learns the dam was never a genuine peace offering but a calculated scheme to strip the Northuldra of their natural resources, and that Runeard murdered their leader in cold blood. The film's emotional climax sees Anna destroy the dam to free the forest, while Elsa thaws in time to freeze the resulting flood and save her kingdom. In the end, Elsa recognizes herself as the fifth spirit—the living bridge between humans and nature—and steps down from the throne to become the forest's eternal guardian.

Box Office & Critical Response

Frozen 2 held its world premiere in Hollywood on November 7, 2019, before hitting U.S. theaters on November 22. Critics offered generally favorable reviews, though many acknowledged the sequel fell slightly short of the original's emotional impact. At the box office, however, the film was undeniably dominant. It collected over $1.453 billion in global ticket sales, which placed it as the third-highest-grossing release of 2019, the tenth-highest-grossing film ever at the time, and the second-highest-grossing animated picture of all time. Its opening weekend also set a record for the largest worldwide debut by an animated film, a title it held for three years. On the awards front, the film earned a nomination for Best Original Song at the 92nd Academy Awards, alongside a broader slate of industry accolades. The combination of strong critical reception and blockbuster-level financial success cemented the sequel as one of the most commercially significant animated films of the decade.

Legacy & What Comes Next

Beyond its theatrical run, Frozen 2 extended its footprint through a companion documentary series, Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, which offered audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the production. The film's final moments also planted seeds for the franchise's future: in a post-credits scene, Olaf visits Elsa's ice palace and recounts the adventure to Marshmallow, the towering snow giant Elsa created as a palace guard, and the Snowgies—tiny snowmen that Elsa accidentally conjured from a sneeze. The story's thematic resolution, in which Elsa embraces her role as the bridge between the human world and the elemental spirits, and in which lasting peace is established between Arendelle and Northuldra, sets a foundation for further exploration. That foundation has already been acted upon, with a third installment, Frozen 3, officially scheduled for a November 24, 2027 release, ensuring the sisters' saga will continue on the big screen.