Frozen Through The Years

Frozen Through the Years

Yearly Spotlight: 2019

Written by @toriofthetrees

After six long years, 2019 saw the release of the long-anticipated sequel, Frozen II.

The lead-up up to the release was intense to say the least.

The first teaser trailer premiered in February, opening with Elsa on a black-sand beach stripped down to her bare essentials, barefoot, ready to take on a raging sea. She attempted twice to cross the torrential waters before the trailer turned to Anna’s shock of hundreds of diamond-shaped glass covered in strange symbols, taking over Arendelle. Following closely behind were several moments of Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and Anna taking on dangerous challenges, and a show of strange, foreign magic. All of this was centered around this new, mysterious setting known only at the time as an autumnal forest.

It gave just enough of a preview to hook millions.

The trailer was viewed and downloaded several million times on Twitter and YouTube within a short amount of time. In the fandom, a storm of news, posts, speculation, and discussions broke out over several platforms, too chaotic to keep track of. The months that followed the teaser were absolutely brimming with excitement! Across cinemas, television, and the internet—both in the US and internationally—came many trailers, sneak peaks, and posters about the upcoming movie. Alongside this came leaks as well, all of it sparking speculation in the fandom over what the plot of the movie could be.

Countless books about Frozen II came onto the market before the film was even released, notably without the end of the film printed within their pages. This lead to fans in many locations to protest the shops selling these books, wanting their money back.

Most of these protests lead to no results.

Success for Disney Studios, specifically. contributed to the exposure for Frozen II. ~In March, Disney invested billions of US dollars in company acquisitions across the film and TV industry, creating the most powerful media company in the world in the USA. ~This was the year of the 6th Disney D23 Expo, the biggest Disney fan event of the year! It was held on August 23–25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, showcasing news and pictures around all the new Disney parks, resorts—and movies! Including Frozen II! ~On November 12, 2019, Disney launched its streaming platform Disney+ in several countries ~2019 ultimately proved to be Disney's most successful cinema year to date, regardless of which new film was released!

All of this led up to the release of Frozen II on November 20, 2019 in most countries (unfortunately some countries had to wait until the beginning of January).

This new installment to Elsa and Anna’s story saw the sisters and their found family making a long trek away from Arendelle… in order to save it. Mysterious magics send them up north to the Enchanted Forest, that is covered in an impenetrable mist. Yet, it parts for them. The deeper they go into the forest, the more they discover about themselves, their family, the spirits, Arendelle… so that only one thing can be said for certain: Nothing will ever be the same again.

This film was polarizing.

In the cultural zeitgeist, it was a massive success like its predecessor, exceeding Frozen as the highest grossing animated film of all time. It received mostly positive reviews and it would go on to be nominated for multiple awards, including an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The Disney merchandising machinery was running at full speed and earned the company many more millions within a short amount of time. The limited edition dolls were sold out on the same day as release! However, it notably did not have the same cultural reach that its predecessor had. “Into the Unknown,” to many, was not comparable to “Let it Go.” And the film was nominated aplenty, but never actually received any awards.

However, it was within the fandom that this polarization was seen the clearest.

Frozen II made good on its promise that nothing would ever be the same for these characters. The sisters, though still as close as ever, no longer lived under the same roof by the end of the film. Elsa abdicated her crown for her duties as the Fifth Spirit and Guardian of the Enchanted Forest, while Anna took over as Queen of Arendelle. This separation, whilst to some was a step-up for the sisters, others saw as a step back. This debate rages in the fandom to this day, and many, many fans on Tumblr, Reddit, and other social media prefer Frozen to its sequel.

The fandom did gain some new content, including the addition of multiple ships. There were two that were rather popular. The first was Agduna (Agnarr/Iduna), which came about because of the major focus Frozen II had on them, the sisters’ parents. The second was Elsamaren (Elsa/Honeymaren), which came about because Honeymaren had a minor, but important interaction with Elsa in the film that sent her on the right path to Ahtohallan.

Just as Frozen II’s main theme—change—impacted the sisters, so to it did the fandom. The polarizing effect of the film lead to quite passionate arguments over its content. However, the fandom did not get any smaller or lose any passion. People continued to create, debate, discuss, and post about Frozen and Frozen II. In interviews, the cast and crew said that Frozen II was made to grow up with the audience who were there when the first film was released in theaters. With that in mind, the fandom no longer looked like it did when Frozen first came out.

Things change.

But we can still all agree on one thing: We love Frozen 💕

Stay Tuned For More

👆🏻 Click above if you want to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Frozen. The due date is April 12, 2024.

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

Frozen Through the Years

Yearly Spotlight: 2023

Written by @toriofthetrees

This year marked...

Frozen’s 10th Anniversary

It was wild.

Starting off with a bang, in February Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Frozen III was in development, later confirmed by Josh Gad. Idina Menzel and Jen Lee confirmed it in June, with Jen Lee going on to say that she would not be directing this installment of the franchise. However, she confirmed that she knew the person who was, she loved their story, and she trusted them completely.

Her enthusiasm did not go unnoticed.

On top of the 10th Anniversary for Frozen (November 27) this year also marked the 100th Anniversary for Disney Studios as a whole (October 16). To commemorate both, much of the activity peaked towards the last three month of the year.

The hashtag #Frozen10 was created to celebrate the anniversary.

On October 11, the Forces of Nature podcast was released over several installments. It was met with mixed reviews; some enjoyed it, some were more critical of it, and most agreed that while it was fun, it did not have the chops to be a major installment of the Frozen franchise.

On October 16, Disney released a short film called Once Upon a Studio to commemorate their centennial celebration. It aired on ABC and showed the hustle and bustle of Disney Studios as everyone (all of our favorite characters) prepared for the big celebration! Elsa, Anna, Kristoff (and technically Hans) were among the many classic Disney characters that appeared!

Two novels were released this year. The first book was the first installment in the Disney Legends trilogy entitled Fixer Upper, written by Jen Calonita. It tells the story of Kristoff’s childhood and life before he met Anna in Frozen. The second novel, an anthology of short stories, was created specifically to celebrate #Frozen10. It is called All is Found, and it brought together 10 authors to write 10 short stories to celebrate the anniversary. It was edited by Heather Knowles and Mari Mancusi, veterans in non-film Frozen lore.

November is the month things started reallly picking up. The merchandising train at Disney rolled out a lot of Frozen merch, including limited edition dolls of the sisters specifically for the 10th anniversary. On November 16, Bob Iger announced a fourth installment of the franchise, with multiple voice actors and creators tied to the project confirming it later that same day. This coincided with the Grand Opening ceremony of the World of Frozen at Disneyland Hongkong. Jen Lee joined in this celebration, with the gates to the park opening four days later.

She informed the world on November 22 that Frozen III and Frozen IV were one story across two installments.

The anniversary itself was on November 27. Disney released a press release on their official website commemorating all that had happened in Frozen history (kind of like what we are doing with these blog posts). And, of course, the merchandising train spun out once again to give us all new merch specifically for the #Frozen10 celebration.

Towards the end of the month, the Frozen song playlist was added to Spotify and Season 5 of Disney Speedstorm was released with Frozen characters.

The year ended with exciting activity from the fandom! The Youtuber GeekCritique worked closely with the Arendelle Archives to create a video detailing the history of Arendelle. The video was released on December 23 and managed to make headlines! The other major project was a fanzine celebrating #Frozen10. Inspired by All is Found, several fans came together to create Water Has Memory: A Frozen Decade. Within the zine are the fandom's Frozen memories, presented in the form of Elsa & Anna accessing them together through Ahtohallan.

Needless to say, this year was a major leap forward for all things Frozen. It gave so much to look forward to, and it was a sizable way to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of this beloved story.

Stay Tuned for More

👆🏻 Click above if you want to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Frozen. The due date is April 12, 2024.

4 Days Left

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

A Reminder from Queen Anna!

The deadline for 2013 is January 31!

Elsa & Anna have discovered new memories in Ahtohallan. They can only access it together, as sisters. As the Fifth Spirit. The first memories they will find is from 2013...

When it all began❄️

Those memories are YOURS, over a decade of Frozen. If you wish to share your memories, dive deep into her sound…

Water Has Memory

❄️

Email: frozen10fans@gmail.com TikTok: @water.has.memory Tumblr: frozen10fanzine.tumblr.com

Frozen Through the Years

Yearly Spotlight: 2016

Written by @secretsofthestorymakers

2016 was a BIG YEAR for the Frozen fandom. There were not many big events, but the real-world reach of the franchise itself expanded greatly.

In Disney World, the newly-rethemed Norway in Epcot opened, including the ride Frozen Ever After, the Royal Sommerhus (where guests could meet Elsa and Anna), and a Frozen-themed shop selling everything from plush dolls to drinkware. At Disney’s California Adventure, fans celebrated the opening of Frozen: Live at the Hyperion, a 55-minute show that ran multiple times per day until the park closed for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Sales of Frozen merch were going strong all over the world, to the point where discount shops stocked Frozen items along with the food they sold. Of course, most of the merch was aimed at children, but the Disney Enesco figurines proved to be popular among older fans! In March, Disney in Concert brought songs from Disney classics - including Frozen - to stages in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, allowing the magic of Frozen to be experienced by whole new audiences. The brand extension Frozen Northern Lights also began in 2016, expanding the lore of our favorite story in the form of 5 books published (4 of them in 2016) and 4 LEGO shorts (though some of this lore was decidedly not canon).

Within the fandom, 2016 was also the beginning of shipping wars; intense arguments over which characters should be together ensued, proving to be somewhat divisive for a previously unified fandom. As the official franchise and the fandom continued to grow, Frozen remained in the hearts of superfans and casual viewers alike.

Stay Tune for More

👆🏻 Click above if you want to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Frozen. The due date is April 12, 2024.

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

Frozen Through the Years

Yearly Spotlight: 2015

Written by @secretsofthestorymakers

After Frozen’s massive success in the previous two years, Disney wanted to do more with it. On March 12, Disney announced that they were going to produce a feature length sequel to Frozen.

In addition to this, the short film Frozen Fever premiered alongside the live-action Cinderella across the US on March 13. This short film excited fans with a new Frozen story, including an original song and new outfits for all the characters. This, of course, led to a whole new wave of merchandise. Frozen Fever and Making Today a Perfect Day became an instant hit with fans, who were excited to have new Frozen content.

Disney also released the collector’s edition of Frozen on DVD and Blu-ray, which included a printed 28-page booklet containing concept art and behind-the-scenes information about the creation of the story. Various Disney parks had temporary Frozen attractions in 2015, such as Frozen Fun at Disney’s California Adventure and Hong Kong Disneyland and Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Fantasy at Tokyo Disneyland.

The Frozen franchise grew very quickly as more and more chapters of the franchise were announced, promising a story that would continue several years into the future.

Stay Tuned For More

👆🏻 Click above if you want to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Frozen. The due date is April 12, 2024.

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

An Announcement from the Water Has Memory Team

If you would like to participate in Water Has Memory: A Frozen Decade, a fanzine celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Frozen, please read the announcement below.

We have some important changes to share with you:

Previously, we planned to release the fanzine in 10 installments over a 6 month period. We have changed that strategy. We are receiving submissions, but in a more scattered order than we previously thought we would. That means that while we are indeed receiving submissions, we are not receiving enough per year quickly enough to be able to continue with the "10 installments over 6 months" strategies.

Instead, as we receive each submission, we will share them on our blog, and how Anna & Elsa see them within the fanzine itself. There will be a lot more content released along with this - including illustration, the cover, and many posts for you to interact with us! We have a lot of really awesome people on our team!

We are still aiming for the April 27, 2024 end date for the project.

As for the submissions period, we are announcing now:

The submissions period for all years is officially open until April 12, 2024. There is a maximum of 10 submissions allowed per year and when that maximum is reached, we will announce that submissions for that year are closed.

You can submit your memory on our Tumblr or at frozen10fans@gmail.com

The updates to the instructions have been added to the pinned post at the top of our blog. If you have any questions, feel free to ask on our Tumblr or at our email.

Thank you so much.

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

Sincerely, The Water Has Memory Team

Email: frozen10fans@gmail.com Tumblr: frozen10fanzine.tumblr.com TikTok: @water.has.memory