A new podcast series in the Frozen universe has just been announced, with a story that picks up after the events of the most recent sequel. After the success of the first film in 2013, the story of Kristen Bell’s Anna and Idina Menzel’s Elsa continued in Frozen 2. The sequel became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, and the Disney franchise is now set to expand further.
As the wait for Frozen 3 drags on, Collider now reveals that a new podcast series is in the works that will continue the story of Elsa and Anna. The new 12-episode series, which is called Frozen: Forces of Nature, will feature a standalone story and an array of new characters, in addition to some familiar voices. While the series does not yet have a release date, an official logline has been released, which you can read below:
Queen Anna 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? Disney Frozen Podcast: Forces of Nature is a 12-episode audio-first story for kids.
Is The Frozen Podcast A Sign Of Things To Come?
The two existing movies in the franchise have been massively successful for Disney. Despite the sequel not being quite as universally-adored as the first, the fact that Frozen 2 is the highest-grossing animated movie of all time all but guaranteed that the franchise would continue. The announcement that Frozen 3 is happening was not entirely surprising, but the new push into the podcast medium serves as an interesting experiment for Disney.
Podcasting as a medium is more popular than ever, and, while it’s unclear if it will be effective at bringing in new audiences, it could end up being a useful tool for keeping the franchise top-of-mind for existing fans. It’s now been four years since the sequel hit theaters and it’s still unclear when the third film will be released. A podcast, then, may be a cost-effective way of further exploring the Frozen 2 ending and reminding audiences what they love about Anna, Elsa, and the kingdom of Arendelle.
The fact that the Frozen podcast is standalone is also a smart move. This way, Disney will hopefully be able to avoid what happened with the MCU and its Disney Plus shows, with the interconnected stories across different mediums ultimately proving somewhat confusing to more casual audiences. It remains to be seen how the Frozen podcast will be received by listeners, but, if successful, more youth-oriented Disney franchise podcasts could be on the way.
