Idina Menzel isn’t prepared to let it go… a fact that hopefully will delight Frozen fans around the globe.
The powerful singer could be seen on a float during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, singing Christmas tunes and (semi)promoting a duet she recorded with Michael Buble. But during an interview with the UK Telegraph, Menzel dropped a huge hint that the sequel Frozen 2 is in her sights, and sooner than we originally thought. When asked about a flurry of possible Frozen projects, including Frozen 2, a stage show and a short film, Menzel said, “They’re all in the works.” She then confirmed:
Not the stage show – I don’t know what will happen with that – but the movie hopefully. We’ll see. I’m just going along for the ride.”
There are so many reasons why Disney would want to pursue Frozen 2. For starters, it remains the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Of all time! It is a proven social media smash, with versions of the hit songs turning up in various forms on YouTube. And recently, Frozen dolls inspired by Anna and Elsa outsold Barbie according to the National Retail Federation. That is huge news, and speaks to the staying power of the characters introduced in the original movie.
And yet, Disney really hasn’t been in the sequel game when it comes to their traditional animation (unlike their partners over at Pixar, who sequelize anything that stands still longer than five minutes). Despite the recent success of movies like Wreck-It Ralph or Tangled, there hasn’t been talk of revisiting those worlds. In fact, if there’s an animated Disney property that screams “sequel,” it’s Big Hero 6, which works as an origin story for an entertaining new superhero team. I want to see them in action again, and soon!
But Frozen made so much money, and had such a huge impact on our culture, that Frozen 2 seems inevitable. Did Idina Menzel let the cat out of the bag with this statement? Is her wording confirmation, or just news that she is in on potential plans for a Frozen sequel somewhere down the line? And should John Travolta begin practicing her name, in case he has to speak it aloud at the Academy Awards once again? The answers to these, and more, are coming.
