‘Frozen’ director Chris Buck has unveiled an unexpected family connection between his successful Disney film and the 1999 animated flick ‘Tarzan.’
As he recently sat down with MTV News, Buck was asked to shed light on his co-director Jennifer Lee's eye-opener in a 2014 Reddit AMA of how he speculated that Elsa and Anna’s parents did not die at sea, as shown in the movie.
"According to Chris, they didn't die on the boat (but) got washed up on a shore in a jungle island,” Lee stated. “The queen gave birth to a baby boy. They build a treehouse. They get eaten by a leopard...”
The scenes mentioned by Lee underline the start of Disney’s ‘Tarzan,’ which led to fans speculating that the director was teasing about the ‘Frozen’ royals being associated with the King of the Jungle by blood.
Buck shed light on his theory, telling MTV News that he likes to believe that Tarzan is the long-lost brother of Elsa and Anna.
“When you’re working on a feature, you have a lot of time to think about stuff because it takes four years to make one,” Buck explained. “I think Jen and I were walking to a meeting, and I just start to tell her the entire story.”
He further expanded on the other members of the family, adding, “Of course Anna and Elsa’s parents didn’t die. Yes, there was a shipwreck, but they were at sea a little bit longer than we think they were because the mother was pregnant, and she gave birth on the boat, to a little boy."
Buck also stated that, after getting shipwrecked, the folks get washed away from the Scandinavian waters and eventually find themselves in the jungle.
“They end up building a treehouse and a leopard kills them, so their baby boy is raised by gorillas,” the director shared. “So in my little head, Anna and Elsa’s brother is Tarzan,” he said.
Although there has been no official confirmed connection between the animated movies, Buck encouraged viewers to believe in his theory if it makes them feel good.
“If you want to tie them all together, then do it,” he said. “That’s the spirit of Disney.”
‘Frozen’ had been one of the studio's most successful films, becoming their third-highest grossing movie as it made a total gross of $1.274 billion in 2013 and smashed numerous records.
The highly popular animated film also introduced viewers to characters that eventually became well-loved all over the world, such as sisters Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) as well as their mascot snowman Olaf (Josh Gad).
When it comes to the ‘Frozen’ sequel, Buck is now opening up on the process of making a 'Frozen' story, and how the sequel will bring on certain changes to Elsa's character.
In the first movie, Elsa experienced difficulties in accepting who she was. After things went dark during her journey, her little sister took charge by finding the time to bond with her older sister. Elsa was subsequently deemed a misunderstood villain, although many fans found themselves empathizing with the character.
Coming to terms with herself, Buck reveals that viewers will get to see a whole new side of her. In a recent interview with Fandango, he explained: "[In 'Frozen'] she had such a dramatic journey, and at the end she's just starting to feel like she can open up and have some fun again. That's what was really good about the short -- we could have fun with Elsa. And that personality... you will see in the next one."
There have been no announcements when it comes to production or release dates, although Buck will be joined by co-director Lee and producer Peter Del Vecho for the sequel.
There have also been no official details on the returning cast, but both Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell are reportedly keen on lending their voices to the project once again.
