Frozen 3: Disney reveals plot details – and announces Zootopia 3
With Clay, another Walt Disney Animation Studios film is also in the works
Elsa and Anna are back! The Disney event D23 offered the first glimpses of "Frozen 3." In the third installment of the immensely popular animated film series, wedding bells will be ringing. Anna and Kristoff are getting married. But it seems things won't stay quite so romantic for long. As reported by Deadline, the audience at D23 got to see a few scenes in which a new threat looms.
Elsa apparently finds a mysterious stone that opens a portal to another dimension, leading to a frozen, dangerous land. When Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff step through the portal, they encounter a character who seems to be up to no good. According to Deadline, the character's face wasn't revealed, but by all appearances, it's a female character with short, dark hair. We'll have to wait a while longer to find out what this is all about. "Frozen 3" hits theaters on November 24, 2027.
"Frozen" is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1844 fairy tale "The Snow Queen." The animated films center on the sisters Elsa and Anna. In addition to the lovingly portrayed relationship between the two, the films explore Elsa's supernatural powers, which allow her to harness snow and ice in seemingly magical ways. The first two films proved to be massive hits. The first installment grossed $1.2 billion at the global box office. The sequel managed to top that, grossing $1.4 billion. It's no surprise, then, that there will be a third installment.
Zootopia 3 is in the works
However, the third installment of "Frozen" isn't the only sequel coming from Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was announced at D23 that "Zootopia 3" is also in development, as multiple media outlets have reported. The "Zootopia" films are set in a world inhabited exclusively by anthropomorphic animals. The story centers on Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. At first glance, the duo couldn't be more different – yet in the first two films, they team up to get to the bottom of a far-reaching conspiracy. While the second installment focused on snakes in the anthropomorphic world of "Zootopia," the new film is taking things to new heights: In "Zootopia 3," birds are set to play a central role.
Much like "Frozen," the "Zootopia" series has proven to be a success story for Walt Disney Animation Studios. The first installment was already a resounding success, raking in one billion U.S. dollars at the box office worldwide. The sequel was even more of a runaway hit: "Zootopia 2" posted spectacular box office earnings of 1.8 billion. Accordingly, it was clear that "Zootopia 3" was only a matter of time, even if we'll have to wait for a specific release date.
Clay: A new film from Walt Disney Animation Studios
However, another new Disney film is scheduled for November 2028: "Clay." The animated adventure – which features "Succession" star Kieran Culkin as a voice actor – was also announced at D23. Jared Bush, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, commented on the plot, as reported by Deadline. He described the protagonist, Flip, with a touch of humor:
"We have a rich history of stories that celebrate inspiring mentors and their aspirational students. So, with that in mind, we asked ourselves one very important question: What if the next Disney mentor stunk? And he does, and his name is Flip, and he has chosen to be his village's next great mentor and is assigned his first student – a literal ball of clay born that very moment, named Mushi. So, like all inspiring mentors, Flip runs away in the middle of the night, only to discover that Mushi is inescapable and pure chaos."
What follows is a journey through a fantastical forest, during which Flip must try to keep Mushi alive. Given the plot description, one wonders what these two unusual heroes will look like. Fortunately, Disney also offers a little preview of what to expect visually in "Clay." A first concept art image gives us a glimpse of the film's look: