New ‘Frozen 2’ Trailer Shows Off A Much Larger World Than Original

Walt Disney Animation Studios has released a new trailer for Frozen 2, the highly anticipated sequel to its 2013 global hit based on Hans Christian Andersen’s public domain fairytale The Snow Queen.

The original film used a traditional fairy tale structure that contained a variety of unexplained magical elements; the sequel seeks to define the world by explaining the magic, specifically: 1) Why was Elsa born with magical powers?, and 2) What truths about the past await Elsa as she ventures into the unknown to the enchanted forests and dark seas beyond Arendelle?

The tone of Frozen 2 looks more serious, and the world is more action-oriented. The world-expanding elements are thrown at the viewer one after the other in the new trailer suggesting the sequel will be patterned more like a broad fantasy-adventure journey than the intimate coming-of-age character study that defined the first film’s narrative arc. It would be interesting to hear how much of this world was built out during the development of the first film, and how much of it was invented afterward for the sequel.

The original Frozen won two Academy Awards, for animated feature and original song, on its way to becoming the highest-grossing animated production of all time with $1.27 billion at the worldwide box office. Its record has since been eclipsed by Disney’s animated remake of The Lion King, which has grossed $1.62 billion to date.

Frozen 2 is directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, and produced by Peter Del Vecho, the same team that made the original film. Lee also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Allison Schroeder, who recently co-wrote the Academy Award-nominated Hidden Figures and Christopher Robin. In 2018, Lee also became the chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios, following the departure of John Lasseter.

All four main voice cast stars will reprise their parts for this new chapter: Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa), Josh Gad (Olaf), and Jonathan Groff (Kristoff). Also returning are husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

The film will open in U.S. theaters on November 22.