Disney Refuses to ‘Let It Go’: ‘Frozen 2’ To Become a Theatrical Release

After the success of the movie Frozen, which included the hit song “Let It Go,” Disney Studios has decided to release the sequel, Frozen 2, as a theatrical release. The original Frozen is the highest grossing animated movie of all time and made a record breaking $1.3 billion at the box office. Although all other Disney animated sequels have gone straight to video, Disney is defying its tradition with this release to theaters.

Historically, Disney Animation handed the job of making sequels for its animated films to DisneyToon Studios, the direct-to-video arm of Disney. Sequels were cheaper to make this way.

In the Toledo Blade, Tom Sito, a former animator and storyboard artist and now a professor of Cinematic Arts at USC, said as follows.

“It used to be that if Disney had a hit they would turn the sequel over to the second-string team. The reputation of sequels was never very good.”

Disney avoided sequels with its latest movies and developed new properties, including Tangled (2010), Wreck-It-Ralph (2012), and Big Hero 6(2014). The development of new intellectual properties and fewer sequels led to greater success for Disney.

Although Disney Animation developed fewer sequels, other divisions saw success with theirs. Dreamworks produced a successful sequel to Shrek while Pixar produced a successful sequel to Toy Story. Frozen‘s success at the box office may have swayed Disney executives to create a sequel.

Frozen, in addition to producing the $1.3 billion in worldwide tickets sales, also produced two Oscars and the hit song “Let It Go.” The first Oscar, and the first for Disney in this category, was for best animated picture. The song “Let It Go” received the second Oscar for best original song. In addition to booming ticket sales, the soundtrack boosted the sales of the movie and became a bestseller because of songs “Let It Go” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”

In the Detroit Free Press, Disney chief executive Robert Iger said as follows.

“A full year after its release, we’re seeing the true impact of ‘Frozen’ across our entire company,”

The plot, loosely based on the story of the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, tells the story of a pair of sisters, Elsa and Anna. After Elsa and Anna’s parents die, Elsa becomes queen. Elsa runs away after her powers cause her to make snow and ice, freezing her kingdom of Arrendale in perpetual winter. Her sister, Anna, sets out to find her, accompanied by a young man named Kristoff and a funny snowman named Olaf.

As published in New Vision, the studio tweeted as follows.

“Forecast: Winter weather ahead! Disney Animation developing #Frozen2”

Directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, who directed the original movie, will return to direct the sequel. Although there is no word yet on a release date, plans are in the works to develop a musical, too. Although Kristen Bell sings “Let It Go” in the hit movie, Idina Menzel sang it at the announcement of the musical.

Not all parents are fond of the Frozen characters or the song “Let It Go.” According to Fox News, Odessa Waters, a mom in Raleigh, North Carolina, posted a video saying she would like to choke the characters from Frozen. “Let It Go,” she said after listening to her daughter sing the song “Let It Go” for three days. Waters has received over 200,000 views for her video comments.

Are you looking forward to watching the new sequel? Did you like the song “Let It Go” from the first movie?

[Photo Credit: Wallpapers Wide]