Frozen 3, Toy Story 5, And Zootopia 2 All Get Release Years As Disney Doubles Down On Sequels
2023 marked 100 years of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, celebrating a full century of groundbreaking and beloved generational classics that revolutionized the landscape of animated cinema, forever. To honor the institution's legacy, Disney put out "Wish," the company's first original fairy tale that was unfortunately met with less-than-stellar reviews, and the charming short film "Once Upon a Studio," which although well received, failed to earn a nomination at the Academy Awards for Best Animated Short. In fact, "Wish" was also shut out of the Best Animated Feature race, indicating that the House of Mouse is no longer the untouchable empire it once was and that resting on their legendary laurels isn't going to cut it anymore. It certainly must be a pretty tough pill for those working at Disney to swallow, especially those who are fighting tooth-and-nail to bring the company through its evolutionary next step.
It was announced in early 2023 that sequels to "Zootopia," "Frozen," and Pixar flagship "Toy Story" were heading our way. Still, it's difficult to express how quickly the tides of public opinion have turned regarding Disney. The dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes turned Disney CEO Bob Iger into the face of corporate greed, the live-action "The Little Mermaid" wasn't the massive hit it could have been, "Peter Pan & Wendy" came to Disney+ with little fanfare, and "Wish" was accused of being shameless nostalgia-bait. (For the record, I enjoyed "Wish," but that's not the point.) This is to say that the best possible thing for Walt Disney Animation Studios would be to do something wildly different than the safe path they've been on for quite some time, but it'll be years before that can happen considering how long it takes to produce and put out an animated feature.
The upcoming slate of Disney animation releases
Following the news that Disney would be turning a would-be "Moana" series into "Moana 2" and releasing it later this year, it was announced during the Disney earnings call that "Zootopia 2," "Frozen 3," and "Toy Story 5," were locked into a time window. "Zootopia 2" is first on the docket, arriving sometime in 2025. This means the follow-up to one of Disney's most profitable releases will arrive just shy of a decade later. For context, that means a kid who saw and fell in love with "Zootopia" in middle school would now be old enough to drink, but not so old that they have their own children to share the new film with. As a wise man once said, "Bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off."
2026 will see the release of two highly-anticipated legacy sequels, with "Frozen 3" and "Toy Story 5" both hitting theaters. The latter is a Pixar production and part of one of the most consistent film franchises in history, and while it might seem like an unnecessary continuation, every "Toy Story" film since the first has felt like perfection. Personally, I'm all about it. I feel similarly about "Frozen 3," as "Frozen 2" was, in my opinion, a massive improvement from the first film (and has even stronger music). Of the group, this film has the most potential to try something a bit more mature, as the "Frozen" films have grown a bit with its audience. The youngest "Frozen" fans will now be teenagers, and they deserve a story that reflects that change. I trust that director (and CCO of Walt Disney Animation Studios) Jennifer Lee will be able to deliver the goods.
These release windows are estimates and are subject to change. We will update with exact dates as they become available in the future.