Does Frozen really need a sequel?

[Extract] "Elsa, the past is not what it seems." The opening line from the latest Frozen II trailer invites us to revisit not only the original world of the film but to re-think its meaning.

Of course, this is a well-worn technique with most sequels - a deeper dive into the mythology, sometimes deepening the experience (The Empire Strikes Back), sometimes complicating it to catastrophic effect (The Phantom Menace).

However, it's also an important time to reflect on what the original Frozen meant to our world, a very different time in 2013, and to make a bold claim: I think that Frozen is perhaps the most important feminist film ever made.

It is still the most successful animated musical of all time, having made over $1.2 billion in the cinema alone, not including the merchandising that permeates children's bedrooms all over the world.

To set the scene, in 2013 Obama was still president and Harvey Weinstein still respected, if not awed, as a film producer. No #metoo, little significant dialogue in the screen world on gender equality (although Geena Davis was making increasing impact with her Institute on Gender in Media, founded back in 2004), and even less on racial diversity and gender fluidity.

This article first appeared in The Conversation.