By Daniel Miller And Rebecca Keegan
Los Angeles Times
Breaking with tradition, Walt Disney Animation Studios will make a sequel to its blockbuster animated film “Frozen,” marking a rare instance in which the company will release a theatrical follow-up to one of its movies.
Walt Disney Co., the parent of the animation company, used its annual shareholder meeting last week to announce “Frozen 2,” which follows the 2013 smash hit about the adventures of princesses Anna and Elsa that grossed more than $1.2 billion.
“Frozen” was the highest-grossing animated picture of all time, spurred a merchandising craze and collected two Oscars. At most movie studios, including Disney Animation’s corporate sibling, Pixar, such a film would be an obvious candidate for a big-budget sequel.
But Disney Animation has historically relegated most of its sequels to DisneyToon Studios, the company’s direct-to-video arm, where they were produced more inexpensively and viewed as lesser in quality to the main studio’s product.
Besides “Frozen,” a string of successes — “Tangled” (2010), “Wreck-It-Ralph” (2012) and “Big Hero 6” (2014) — revitalized Disney Animation after a slump in the early 2000s that saw the company release duds “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” and “Treasure Planet.”
Disney Animation has produced only a few sequels, among them 1990’s “Rescuers Down Under,” a follow-up to 1977’s “The Rescuers.”
But JP Morgan analyst Alexia Quadrani said “Frozen’s” success must have swayed Disney executives.
“‘Frozen’ is in its own category, in the sense of breaking all records for animated films and having incredibly long-lasting success,” she said. “That would make anybody revisit a historic policy.”
“Frozen” filmmakers Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, as well as the character Olaf, who was voiced by Gad, will return for the sequel, Iger said. No release date or other details were revealed.
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