Frozen sequel
The first images from the Frozen sequel Forever Frozen have been released.

A first look at the sequel to animated musical Frozen has been unveiled.

The seven-minute animated short titled Frozen Forever sees directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee reunite for the project, which is due to hit theatres in March.

The short film brings back the much-loved characters from the 2013 smash hit movie and the actors who voiced them, namely Anna (Kristen Bell), Elsa (Idina Menzel), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and Olaf (Josh Gad).

According to a synopsis the story centres on an attempt by Elsa and Kristoff to throw Anna a birthday celebration, "but Elsa's icy powers may put more than just the party at risk."

Buck told USA Today: "It's another side of Elsa the audience hasn't seen before and we hadn't really played with in the original feature."

Frozen sequel
The story of the 7 minute short is centred around Anna's birthday party.

The eagerly anticipated short film will also feature a new song from composer duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

The couple won an Oscar for the original film's hit song Let It Go which captivated children of all ages.

Josh Gad, who voices Olaf, warned parents that the new track is just as infectious.

"If history is any indicator, kids will go nuts," he told USA Today. "The gang is back together. And literally it's like we never went away. Every day we're reminded of Frozen in our lives."

The sneak peak at the sequel coincided with Disney's announcement that merchandise sales from Frozen helped drive the company's income up 19% for the last three months of 2014.

Frozen sequel
The original cast unite for the animated short film.

Total revenue for Disney rose 9% in the first quarter to $13.39bn (£8.8bn) and net income grew 19% to $2.18bn.

Chairman and CEO Robert Iger said: "This was yet another incredibly strong quarter for our company with diluted earnings per share up 23% driven by record revenue as well as significant growth in segment operating income."

The short will be shown ahead of Disney's live-action Cinderella, featuring Cate Blanchett, which releases on 13 March.

Captivating a generation, Frozen became the highest grossing animation film in history.

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