Disney Makes Major 'Frozen' Announcement

Frozen is continuing as a podcast. There are plans for a new audio series based on the hit Disney animated film to be released by Disney Publishing Worldwide, ABC Audio and Walt Disney Animation Studios. The announcement comes as the film celebrates its 10th anniversary and a third film is in development, reported Deadline. Taking place after Frozen 2 and before Frozen 3, Frozen: Forces of Nature introduces new characters, including Queen Disa and Lord Wolfgang, who appear alongside Elsa and Anna. Queen Disa rules Sankerhus, while Lord Wolfgang is the nephew of the Duke of Weselton. Featuring ABC News' chief meteorologist Ginger Zee as the voice presenter, the 12-part series will premiere later this year. According to the outlet, "The series follows Queen Anna, who has a lot on her plate – there are visitors in her Kingdom, a friend in need, and even the Duke of Weselton's nephew skulking around – so when the Spirits of Nature start acting up, she knows she has to solve the problem – and fast – before things get more out of control. But when Anna and Elsa travel to the Enchanted Forest, they find mysterious copper machines that are disrupting the natural order of things. Who made these machines and what are they doing in the forest? And more importantly, how do Anna and Elsa stop them?"

Liz Alesse, VP, ABC Audio said, "ABC Audio is thrilled to introduce the power of audio storytelling to a new generation through the Disney Frozen Podcast. This immersive series created in partnership with Disney Publishing Worldwide and Walt Disney Animation Studios taps into listeners' imagination and offers parents an engaging, screen-free experience to share with their children." During Disney's Q1 earnings call held in February, CEO Bob Iger announced that Frozen's third installment was in development along with the return of other animated favorites. "Today I'm so pleased to announce that we have sequels in the works from our animation studios to some of our most popular franchises, Toy Story, Frozen and Zootopia," Iger said. "We'll have more to share about these productions soon, but this is a great example of how we're leaning into our unrivaled brands and franchises."

Frozen: Forces of Nature will launch later this year https://t.co/RJz7IlfG2c pic.twitter.com/cxf335Rvot

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 22, 2023

Those animated franchises have been massive hits on the big screen in recent years, including Frozen 2 ($1.45 billion in 2019), Pixar's Toy Story 4 ($1.07 billion in 2019), and Zootopia ($1.02 billion in 2016). Frozen 2's "Into the Unknown" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2020 Oscars, but the first film won two Oscars in 2014 including Best Animated Feature and Best Song Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez's anthem "Let It Go," which went 8x platinum with 8M units sold stateside. Even though Frozen 2's "Into the Unknown" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2020 Oscars, the first film did win two Oscars in 2014, including Best Animated Feature and Best Song, for Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez's anthem "Let It Go," which is 8x platinum and has sold 8M units in the United States. The Frozen franchise has earned $2.73 billion at the global box office.