Walt Disney Studios Animation unveiled five scenes from the first half of Frozen 2 during a recent press event, and here's a complete description of each one, three of which include new songs to the franchise. Coming six years after the first Frozen hit theaters and became a worldwide phenomenon - not just with children but adults as well - Frozen 2 sees Anna and Elsa embark on another journey, one that answers questions about their past as they seek to save their future.
Taking place three years after the first Frozen movie ended, Frozen 2 sees Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf head to the Enchanted Forest, where Elsa is hoping to find out who or what has been calling out to here and how they can once again save Arendelle. But this story will answer certain questions that were left unanswered in the first film - about Anna, Elsa, and their family - and it will act as the second part of a two-part story. Whether or not that turns into three parts is unclear.
At an early press day for Frozen 2, Disney screened approximately 20 minutes of footage from the first half of the film, showing off a variety of what viewers can expect when the movie releases in November. A significant portion of the footage - namely the first two clips shown - was first screened at D23 Expo 2019 in August, though the second scene shown at this event was an extended version.
Queen Iduna's Lullaby To Anna & Elsa
Frozen 2 begins with a flashback to when Anna and Elsa were children. In the scene, their father, King Agnarr, telling them a story about when he visited a real enchanted forest. This forest is one that's ruled by the "magical spirits of nature", according to director Chris Buck, but are really the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Something went wrong when he was there, and so, the forest banished everyone and put up a mist wall so nothing could get in or out.
This story frightens Anna and Elsa, and their mother, Queen Iduna (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood in Frozen 2, who replaces writer-director Jennifer Lee who lent her voice as the queen in the first film), sings them a lullaby called "All is Found" in order to get them to sleep. She tells them to come in close, and then she slowly strokes her finger down the bridge of their noses while calmly singing the song. It doesn't take long for them to fall asleep, especially Anna.
Elsa's "Into The Unknown" & The Village's Destruction
Years after the opening flashback sequence and three years after the end of the first Frozen movie begins the story of Frozen 2, with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf having a family game night. They play charades, and when it's Elsa's turn, she becomes distracted and looks out the window. Anna thinks the answer is "distracted", but Elsa is really just distracted because she hears a voice - a distant cry - which audiences should, at this point, recognize coming from the Enchanted Forest.
Elsa leaves and goes to bed, and Anna expresses her concern with Kristoff, though she herself is distracted. Kristoff tries to propose to Anna, but Anna doesn't realize and leaves the room. Anna goes to speak to Elsa and begins to sing her the lullaby that their mother, Queen Iduna, had sung to them when they were children. Sometime later, after they had both fallen asleep, Elsa suddenly awakes and hears that distant voice again. She leaves the room and starts to sing the song "Into the Unknown".
She's hesitant at first, whispering that she doesn't want to listen to the voice, but then she can't help herself. Bursting through the balcony door, Elsa begins to belt out the rest of the song, leaving the palace and going down to the water. During this sequence, that spirit echoes back to Elsa while she's singing and it even takes control of Elsa's powers, showing her ice visions in front of her. It seems that at least some of these visions foreshadow what's to come in the rest of the film, seeing as Bruni can be seen running around Elsa.
Elsa follows the spirit's voice (which actually appears to have manifested into a tiny ball of ice/light, presumably using Elsa's powers) and when she comes into contact with it, she unleashes all of the ice crystals that take over Arendelle. Each ice crystal represents a specific element. At that moment, Anna comes out onto the balcony at the palace and sees the crystals, too. But the moment doesn't last long, as whatever Elsa did seemed to have awoken the spirits at the Enchanted Forest to the north.
Suddenly, the ice crystals begin to fall since the four elements are essentially being taken away. Water disappears from the fountains, the air rages and rips apart the flags, the lights go out once the fire is gone, and the ground begins to crumble at their feet, as they all flee from Arendelle to high ground.
Anna & Elsa Arriving At The Enchanted Forest's Mist Wall
Though Disney Animation chose not to show the scene in which Anna and Elsa consult with Pabbie about what's plaguing Arendelle, we were told that Pabbie tells them the "past is not what it seems" (which is in the second Frozen 2 trailer), and Elsa realizes that she must follow the voice to figure out how and why she awoke the spirits. Sometime after that, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf arrive at the Enchanted Forest and find the four rock structures that resemble the ice crystals that Elsa created outside the Arendelle palace.
Olaf, being the innocent creature that he is, runs towards the mist wall and gets shot back. Instead of feeling hurt, he thinks it's fun and tries it again. Elsa appears anxious and concerned about what she'll find on the other side of the wall, so Anna comforts her and tells her that they'll be doing this together. That's when Elsa touches the mist wall and it parts for them to all pass through. Once they are inside, it closes behind them, presumably again sealing the forest off from the outside world.
Olaf's Song In The Enchanted Forest
Just like Olaf's "In Summer" song from the first Frozen movie, Olaf's solo song in Frozen 2 will once again highlight his naivete. At one point in the sequel, Olaf will find himself alone in the Enchanted Forest (as seen at the end of the second Frozen 2 trailer). It's then that the wind spirit, Gale, appears to play around with - or possibly attack - Olaf. She spins him around, tosses things at him, and overall frightens him. Olaf knows that what he's seeing is strange, but he's okay with that.
The title of Olaf's song in Frozen 2 is "When I Am Older", and it's about the loveable snowman thinking about maturing, getting older, and understanding life. (He is starting to read a lot, after all.) He frequently repeats a phrase about how everything that's happening to him in this scene will make sense when he's older, because adults are supposed to have everything figured out in life. Olaf's song comes to a quick end when he sees something in the water and begins to run away - screaming - as Gale throws even more debris and rocks at him.
Elsa Fighting The Nokk In The Dark Sea
One of the trials Elsa must face is the Dark Sea. As shown in the first Frozen 2 trailer, Elsa readies herself and charges at the oncoming waves, using her powers to create a massive ice ramp. Unfortunately, the ice ramp breaks and she falls into the crashing wave. It's then, when she's underwater, that the Nokk - a water-based shape-shifting spirit that takes the form of a horse; a warrior and a protector of the Dark Sea - appears in front of her.
The Nokk seems to think Elsa is a threat and attacks her, at which point Elsa uses her emergency magic to break free from the water spirit, though it doesn't leave her alone for long. (In this sequence, think of the Nokk as more of a majestic shark grabbing ahold of its prey, but obviously depicted in a much more appropriate manner for children.) At the end of the short clip, the Nokk is dragging Elsa away from the shore, though, in the second Frozen 2 trailer, it seems she manages to wrangle the water horse.
