How Frozen 2 utterly destroys two massive Disney fan theories
So much for that interlinked Disney universe
Frozen 2 is a worthy sequel to the original, with an inspirational and thoughtful message, plenty of gags and some great songs – but it’s also a ruthless destroyer of fan dreams.
How? Well, intentionally or not the new film seemingly disproves two popular fan theories that have existed since the first Frozen’s release, which fans dreamed up as evidence of a connected Disney world that no longer seems quite so possible.
But how did Frozen 2 destroy these fan theories, and what were they in the first place? Well, we’ll tell you – but only if you’ve already seen the film already, so look away now if you haven’t had the chance. Spoilers lurk beneath the jump…
Still here? OK – well the first of these theories ties Frozen in with fellow Disney animation Tangled - the two movies share a similar style, and were released at around the same time, so it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine them as connected.
In the original Frozen, it’s revealed that Anna and Elsa’s parents (played by Alfred Molina and Evan Rachel Wood in the sequel) were killed when their boat sank en route to an important wedding, and fans have long theorised that this was in fact the wedding of Tangled characters Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi).
To be fair, this conjecture was not without basis. The first Frozen’s animators included a shot of Rapunzel and Flynn as a fun Easter Egg in an early scene, with the pair visiting Arendelle for Elsa’s coronation and many fans filling in the gap that they were paying their respects.
This idea may have gone unchallenged were it not for Frozen 2, which reveals the wedding trip was a ruse. In fact, the King and Queen were on their way to a mysterious land (which we won’t spoil too much here) to find the answer to Elsa’s powers, before their ship fell below the waves. It seems like the wedding never existed – and so clearly, Flynn and Rapunzel just popped to the coronation for the open bar.
And this isn’t the only fan theory to get a pasting in Frozen 2, also related to the King and Queen’s ill-fated sea voyage. For a while, fans have speculated than the sunken ship they died on was the same one explored by Ariel in The Little Mermaid – specifically the one filled with “thingamabobs” (of which she’s got 20).
Again, this isn’t a ridiculous idea – both films take place in a sort of Scandinavian milieu – but Frozen 2 disproves it. There’s no way Ariel could have seen the ship because it didn’t stay (if you’ll excuse the pun) Under the Sea, instead washing up for Elsa to find later in the film and discover the true fate of her parents.
Alongside these big theories, other fan theories – that Elsa and Rapunzel are secretly related, or that Elsa and Anna’s parents end up having Tarzan in the jungle – also seem to get a bit of a pasting, though not quite so definitively (we suppose it’s possible the King and Queen survive and get washed up in the jungle, though Elsa appears to see a vision of their death).
All in all, then, fans are going to have to come up with some new ideas for how all of Disney is connected once they get out of Frozen 2. Time to head Into the Unknown...
Frozen 2 is in UK cinemas now