Idina Menzel Calls Elsa ‘a Good Role Model for Me’ in “Frozen 3”: ‘She’s Not Apologizing for Who She Is’ (Exclusive)

Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell and Josh Gad appeared at D23 on Friday, Aug. 14 to preview ‘Frozen 3,’ in theaters Nov. 24, 2027

NEED TO KNOW

• Idina Menzel tells PEOPLE how her Frozen character Elsa has grown into “a good role model” for herself over the years
• Menzel is gearing up to voice Elsa for a third time in the forthcoming third Frozen movie, set for release in November 2027
• Menzel’s Frozen costars Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad will reprise their voice roles for the sequel

Idina Menzel is sharing how she compares herself to her Frozen character Elsa as the blockbuster franchise marches ahead with its upcoming third movie.

Menzel, 55, appeared at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. during D23 on Friday, Aug. 14 alongside her Frozen costars Kristen Bell and Josh Gad to preview Frozen 3 before it hits theaters in 2027. When the trio chatted with PEOPLE at the event, Menzel said that she feels she can “emulate” her fan-favorite character as she steps into her third film voicing Elsa.

“She’s a good role model for me because now she’s not apologizing for who she is,” Menzel says. “I feel like I’m getting much better into owning my power and finding that. So she’s always been a shining example.”

Elsa has magical powers that enable her to manipulate snow and ice. The first Frozen movie, released in 2013, deals with her attempts to hide her powers as a child and her estranged sister Anna’s quest to find Elsa after she flees the kingdom and accidentally creates an unending winter. Frozen sees Elsa learn to control her powers through finding love for her family. The 2019 sequel expands on the origins of Elsa’s magical powers.

When Gad, 45, and Bell, 46, were asked whether they feel their characters have rubbed off on them, Gad jests, “I’m least like my character in that I’m not a snowman.”

“I think we both share just a disease of whatever comes to our head, our mouth doesn’t stop us. We just have no off button — just say it out loud,” he says.

Bell, for her part, adds, “Anna has a similar thing in that I am probably more like Anna in many ways than almost any other character I’ve played. Wearing my heart on my sleeve, jumping into action, probably being pretty codependent and talking before I think.”

“Maybe that’s where Olaf learned it from,” Gad quips.

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During Frozen 3‘s presentation at D23 on Aug. 14, Bell and Menzel sang a song seemingly from the new movie and Gad sang a new Olaf-centric tune about being in love. The trio explained that in the series’ third installment, Anna and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) will get married and Olaf himself will fall in love. Bell, Menzel and Gad showed a teaser for the forthcoming movie at the event, and the night ended with snow confetti falling from the ceiling.

Frozen 3 will be released in theaters on Nov. 24, 2027. Disney confirmed back in 2023 that Frozen 4 is also in development, but a release date for that sequel has not yet been announced.

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