Co-director Jennifer Lee offers few ‘Frozen 2’ details, how they approached writing the new story
2013’s Frozen became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, so expectations will be pretty high when Frozen 2, nearly impossible to reach. Jennifer Lee, who wrote and co-directed Frozen and will be doing the same for its sequel, spoke with Slash Film about the project, confessing that the creators originally had no desire to do a sequel.
“The big thing for us – and I’m being careful because I can’t give away anything. I’ll get in so much trouble,” Lee began. “I think the big thing for me is; we weren’t going to do a sequel. [Co-director] Chris [Buck] and I were like, ‘That story’s done.’ But then one day we just made the mistake of talking about something and going, ‘Oh my gosh. That’s the thing we still haven’t explored, and it’s important.’ Then I spent time writing these journals as the girls. I didn’t do it from exactly what you said because I can’t. And if we tried to do it that way, I think we would have something very hollow.
“So just like the first one, I approached it from the inside out, because I have to. So I hope – but in some ways, it gives it that inevitable feeling and yet surprise. ‘Oh, it’s going there!’ But yet it completely feels like that’s the journey they have. So that’s my hope.”
Lee wrote the screenplay for Disney’s live action adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time.
Buck and Lee will return to direct alongside voice actors Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad. Disney regular Alan Tudyk, who played a supporting role in the first Frozen, says he will also be return.
Frozen 2 is currently slated for release on November 27, 2019.
Bell previously praised the team and story: “The story is great, and they exude quality. What I know about that whole team is that they wouldn’t just put something out to put it out. That’s why it took them so long to even announce that we were doing a second one. Generally when you have a first successful movie you want to make a second one. It took them a while because they wanted to figure out what story they needed to tell and what would be important and engaging and I think they found it.”
