“Toy Story 5,” “Frozen 3” & “Zootopia 2” in Works at Disney
Disney is dialing up a slew of its most revered animated franchises.
Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that some of the biggest hits in Disney animation history are getting second, third, and even fifth installments. Zootopia 2, Frozen 3, and Toy Story 5 are all in the works Iger said on an investors call. “We are leaning into our unrivaled brands,” the Disney chief said.
Toy Story is perhaps the single most venerated animated franchise of the modern era, ushering in an era of increasingly sophisticated storytelling, animation technology, and voice acting to deliver hit after hit. The first film, starring Tom Hanks as the toy cowboy Woody and Tim Allen as the toy space adventurer Buzz Lightyear, bowed in 1995, stunning audiences, and each iteration has only burnished the franchise’s reputation as the cream of the animation crop. Toy Story 4, which hit theaters in 2019, was a critical and commercial smash, bringing in more than $1 billion at the box office.
After Frozen‘s gangbusters debut in 2013, Frozen II arrived in 2019, once again starring Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, and drew huge audiences and critical acclaim, ending with $1.4 billion.
Zootopia was released to critical acclaim in 2016, earning more than $1 billion with a cast led by Jason Bateman and Gennifer Goodwin.
Disney is looking to get back to the animation franchises that audiences have loved, but there are still new titles on the horizon. Pixar’s Elemental is due in theaters on June 16, while Disney Animation’s Wish arrives on November 22.
Iger also revealed a new Avatar experience headed to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. This would be Disney’s second Avatar-related immersive world, with The World of Avatar already operating at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
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Featured image: FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES — In Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 4,” the toys find themselves in the dusty shadows of Second Chance Antiques—a massive set that had to be stocked with thousands of objects, creating nooks and crannies that serve as the toys’ secret corridors. Featuring Annie Potts, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key as the voices of Bo Peep, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bunny and Ducky, “Toy Story 4” opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, 2019. ©2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
