With salaries like these, the stars of Frozen will most likely never let go of the opportunity to voice Disney characters.
According to The Wrap, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad — who voice Anna, Elsa and Olaf, respectively, in the animated Frozen franchise — scored groundbreaking salaries for two new installments.
They have reportedly signed deals worth over $60 million each to return for Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 — among the highest in animation film history.
Frozen, released in 2013, earned $1.3 billion worldwide at the box office, while its follow-up, Frozen 2, earned 1.45 billion in 2019.
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The third film in the series has been in the works for a few years, and is set to be released on November 24, 2027, according to Deadline.
Frozen 4 is also in development, with Disney CEO Bob Iger telling Good Morning America in 2023, “I don’t have much to say about those films right now. [Director] Jenn Lee, who created the original Frozen and Frozen 2, is hard at work with her team at Disney animation on not one but actually two stories.”
The Wrap also reported that Lee, 54, will be returning to direct the films. Frozen songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez will also be back to pen new tunes for the two follow-up films.
Anderson-Lopez, 53, confirmed her involvement on social media, sharing a Variety story about Frozen 3 and 4. “Well, I’ve been quiet here for a while,” she wrote. “But yeah, this.”
Frozen follows Princess Anna (Bell) as she goes on an epic journey to find her sister, Queen Elsa (Menzel), whose magical ice powers have trapped their kingdom of Arendelle in an eternal winter. She is helped by an ice-maker named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven, and a snowman named Olaf (Gad).
In Frozen 2, the group journeys to an enchanted forest to find the source of Elsa’s magical powers after a mysterious voice calls to her.
In September, Gad, 44, shared an update on Frozen 3, revealing he hasn’t started recording anything for the film.
“We have not started recording. We have not heard songs yet,” he told Collider. “I was lucky enough to get sort of a preview of what the movie is, and it’s going to be worth the wait. It’s pretty extraordinary what they’re doing. Pretty extraordinary.”
He continued, “For me, my whole thing was don’t do a sequel unless there’s a reason to do a sequel. If you have a story worth telling, then call us up and let’s do it. To Jennifer Lee’s credit, she really took that note and gave herself that note and has created something that’s going to be worth the wait.”
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As for Menzel, 54, she told Parade in February that she hadn’t seen a script yet but was excited to work with the Frozen voice cast and crew once again.
“I look forward to reuniting with my entire Frozen family and getting in that creative space and getting to get in the studio and find Elsa’s voice again,” she said.
Bell, 45, told Variety in October that production is happening “soon” and that she’s “under lock and key.”
“That’s why the movies play so well because they hit every single mark,” she said of the script. “Nothing has been missed.”
