Disney
Frozen 2 has long seemed like a given. I thought it had previously been made official, though that might have just been an assumption by most of us following the first movie’s take of more than a billion dollars worldwide. But today’s Disney shareholders meeting, during which boss Bob Iger also gave us some new Star Wars details, also brought definite word that the sequel is in development, according to Slashfilm.
The funny thing is that just a few days ago, word circulated about how co-directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee told Buzzfeed they weren’t sure about another Frozen feature and didn’t have a clue what to do with one. Maybe Iger needed to spin optimism to the shareholders. Maybe he saw those comments from Buck and Lee and has decided to find someone who does have ideas. Maybe he’ll just force something out of them.
Having seen the new Frozen short, Frozen Fever, I’m worried about there not being anywhere to go with a whole feature. There’s barely anything there for seven minutes. A surprise birthday party plot? Hardly original or exciting. New baby snowmen that materialize when Elsa sneezes? Sort of cute but stretched a little thin even in the brief confines of a short.
My main disappointment with Frozen Fever, though, is with the bland new tune by returning songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Also, it turns out that Elsa isn’t a very interesting character without the defining conflict she bears in Frozen. There are a number of signs in the short, actually, that the original was lightning in a bottle and its magic will never be replicated in a sequel.
Surely it doesn’t matter. I should “let it go.” I haven’t seen most of Disney’s other sequels and I don’t have to see this one. But as the father of a Frozen-obsessed toddler who knows many other parents in a similar boat, I’m concerned for the kids. They’ll obviously want to see it, and they deserve better, something confidently conceived before being promised and not just a result of businessmen putting the cart before the reindeer and teasing them with a carrot nose and stick that’ll be rotten once they get their hands on it.
At least Josh Gad (voice of Olaf) is having fun thinking up ideas so far. He shared this Star Wars-inspired image after the meeting:
A photo posted by Josh Gad (@joshgad) on Mar 12, 2015 at 11:34am PDT
