Last week, Walt Disney Animation Studios dropped the teaser trailer for the highly anticipated “Frozen 2,” which was received with a record-breaking 116.4 million views in 24 hours. It became the most-watched trailer for an animated movie of all-time, and gave fans a first look at what’s to come.
Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), Princess Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Sven the reindeer and Olaf the hilarious snowman (Josh Gad) are back in what appears to be an epic, action-packed sequel as our heroes embark on a new adventure. In this one, where the groups goes “far in the forest to learn the truth about an ancient mystery of their kingdom,” they leave Arendelle for the first time in forever.
What caused our heroes to leave the kingdom they know and love? Why does everyone look so serious? And who are these two new characters that debuted in the trailer? Here are some good guesses.
Teaser Trailer Breakdown
The trailer for “Frozen 2” opens with a determined Elsa standing alone at the shore of an ocean, before removing her boots and running on icy platforms she creates with her magic in the water. She appears to be battling the ocean, only for the waves to break and throw her back to the shore, but Elsa doesn’t back down. Whether she is training or testing her powers is unclear, but something about the ominous storm in the beginning of the trailer suggests that there is something serious on the horizon.
The next series of images provide more questions than answers. Strange, diamond-shaped objects hover around Anna as she eyes them warily, before the trailer cuts to a scene of Kristoff, Sven and the other reindeer charging through a forest draped in fall foliage. Given the image of Anna huddling at the bottom of cliff, could the group be charging to save her?
In the next scene, Elsa is seen defending Olaf against some dangerous magical mist, which looks like fire. The scene might be an allusion to the new film’s villain, as maybe Elsa will encounter another person with magical abilities like her own.
The trailer then reveals what everyone’s been looking forward to, other than the sequel, of course: new characters. One is a young girl with similar hair as Anna’s, with a leafy tornado next to her who seems to have a connection with the young man caught in it.
Some fans have theorized that, because of their similar appearances, the two characters are Anna and Elsa’s parents in a flashback, which would suggest that Elsa’s powers were passed down. If Anna and Elsa’s mother had such power, wouldn’t she have been able to help Elsa control it better instead of having her hide it? This theory might be a stretch.
Although his face is obscured by the motion and leaves, the other new character is a young boy with blonde hair. Theories have posited that he controls the leafy tornado, which suggest that he has similar seasonal magic power to Elsa’s ice abilities.
At the end of the trailer, Anna is seen unsheathing Kristoff’s sword to attack someone. Who though? The dialogue-free teaser offers no answers.
Josh Gad has hinted that the poster for the film contains a hidden message, which has led to the theory that “Frozen 2” will have to do with the four seasons and possibly feature three new characters with spring, summer and autumn magic. Perhaps Elsa, Anna and Kristoff’s quest is to find other people like Elsa with these seasonal powers.
What’s the Story?
Although millions of fans have watched the trailer, the teaser is careful to avoid revealing anything significant about the plot. What fans of the beloved movie do know is that Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf are setting off on some sort of journey together. They’re also introduced to imagery of fall, with leaves blowing about, making it pretty clear that instead of snow, “Frozen 2” will have an autumnal theme.
One hint the trailer does give are those strange crystals that are seen hovering around Anna and also appear in the sequel’s first poster. No one knows what they are or what they do, but they seem to be very important.
Co-director Chris Buck has said that fans of “Frozen” will see more of Elsa enjoying her newfound freedom, something that was touched on in the “Frozen Fever” short. Gad has added that he would like to see Olaf grow up some, since he is basically a child in the first film and should mature, at least a bit, in between films. Imagine a snowman, perhaps slightly taller, and with a soul-patch.
Four Princesses?
Since the trailer didn’t reveal much, fans have been left to their imagination and potential theories.
One such theory is that Elsa isn’t the only princess with magical powers, and if one of the new characters has fall magic, then perhaps there are two more people with magic that relate to the seasons. There’s also the chance that anyone with magical abilities is a princess, one for each season.
Fans got the idea of four princesses from both the movie poster and the trailer for “Frozen 2,” where Anna looks out over dozens of floating crystals.
The crystals in this particular scene match the four crystals in the movie’s poster, and it looks like each one represents a season. If these crystals are falling on Arendelle, it could be the motivation for Anna and Elsa to go in search of what they mean and end up discovering the other princesses as a result.
Not only would the existence of four princesses in “Frozen 2” make for a great story, it would allow Elsa to learn more about where her mysterious powers come from, giving her more insight on herself.
It also makes sense for Disney from a brand perspective. “Frozen” is an extremely successful brand, and a reason why it was such a huge hit is because it focuses on two princesses, rather than a princess and prince. Expanding that lineup to four super-powered princess would certainly give the series more potential. Does this mean there might be more “Frozen” movies in the works?
Although it’s been almost six years since the first “Frozen” film, as Gad has said, “It’s well worth the wait.”
“Frozen 2” will hit theaters on Nov. 22.
