It’s a pop culture juggernaut with a soundtrack that got stuck in the minds of an entire generation. Its two movies earned more than $1bn at the box office, and it was the first Disney movie to ever win a Best Animated Feature Film Oscar, thanks to a cast comprising the likes of Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell.
Now, Frozen is moving into podcasts, without any of its original performers. “This immersive series … taps into listeners’ imagination and offers parents an engaging, screen-free experience to share with their children,” said Liz Alesse, vice-president of ABC Audio – which is collaborating with Disney on the show, entitled Forces of Nature.
The 12-episode outing is the first time Disney has expanded one of its movie franchises into a podcast series. It promises an original story, which takes place after the events of Frozen 2. Its plot is seemingly inspired by the climate catastrophe, given that “the Spirits of Nature start acting up” as a result of mysterious “machines that are disrupting the natural order of things” – only for Anna and Elsa to have to figure out how to stop them.
An all-new cast will play the parts of Anna, Elsa and co. However, this isn’t the end for the original cast of Frozen. Disney has teased that a third movie is in the works, with Menzel confirming that she is on board for the upcoming production.
A greater focus on the animation studios’ previous success stories is seemingly part of a strategy to make money to offset the costs of the corporation’ Disney+ streaming service – which has not proved as financially successful as hoped. In February, Disney announced a restructure that would involve 7,000 people losing their jobs as part of an effort to achieve US$5.5bn (£4.5bn, A$7.9bn) in cost savings.
“The streaming business, which I believe is the future and has been growing, is not delivering the kind of profitability or bottom-line results that the linear business delivered for us,” said chief executive Bob Iger.
Forces of Nature will launch in October, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the original Frozen movie. Whether or not Disney’s move into making podcasts from its movie franchises will be a success remains to be seen, but for Frozen fans, introducing the characters to a new format is unlikely to be a surprise.
“For almost a decade, Disney Publishing has journeyed through Arendelle with Anna, Elsa, and Olaf – from storybook collections to middle-grade adventure stories,” said Lynn Waggoner, Disney’s vice-president of global publishing, franchise content and creative. “We are excited to continue telling new stories in this world through this spellbinding audio-first offering.”
