‘Frozen II’ is directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and is the sequel to the mega-hit ‘Frozen’, starring Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonothan Groff, and Josh Gad. Elsa and the gang return in this story where we learn about the magical forest, that for as long as Elsa and her sister Anna can remember was forbidden. Anyone who enters the forest hasn’t been seen since, but when Elsa gets an irresistible call from the unknown. Herself, Anna, Olaf, and Kristoff will journey into the mysterious woods in a surprisingly more adult and entertaining film from the original.
The previous ‘Frozen’ has been a pop culture phenomenon since it was released, that mainly in part to the iconic song ‘Let It Go’. I swear to god, this song has been embedded into my brain without being played once in my house, car, or workouts (or lack thereof). Still, I know the melody, I can sing along with the best of them, and that makes the movie, regardless of what you think personally of it, a Disney classic. So how have sequels to Disney classics stood over time? Not so good in my opinion. I grew up with the straight to DVD sequels of Aladdin, The Lion King, and Cinderella. None of these continuations truly recaptured the magic of the originals, and now Disney proves to continue that trend in a new form of rebooting their classics to live-action. I say all of this to illustrate just how rare ‘Frozen II’ is as not just a good animated sequel, but as maybe one of the strongest Disney sequels ever made.
I loved the story delving more into the magical side of the first film, and an enchanted forest is about as magical as you can get. No, don’t expect any crossover between Elsa and any other Disney Princess, it’s not trying to connect to any universe which is great. The magic I feel was visually really fun to explore and learn about. The story is more adult, it’s more nuanced and I admire the creators treating it an audience with respect in that regard. The voice acting done by the entire cast is great, standouts to me being an adorable and funny musical number from Olaf. Josh Gad gets a chance to expand his singing and he has a fun song to sink his coal into.
The animation is spectacular in this, some shots look photorealistic and are very close to what you saw on Toy Story 4, where the background almost looks completely real. I really enjoyed the fall esthetic the film had, all of the colorful leaves of the forest were incredibly vibrant and detailed. I’m really amazed how far animation has come and this film does a good job of showcasing this.
Yes, there is another song akin to ‘Let It Go’. I hummed a part of the song with my wife (who hadn’t seen the film) in the car. A few minutes later getting told that it was stuck in HER head now. Imagine that, a movie you never saw and a song you never heard before, yet it’s now stuck in your brain. I don’t know if that means this new single is going to break the records from the previous song, but I think overall, the music in ‘Frozen II’ is actually an improvement from the first film. Time will tell whether we start hearing the deafening shrieks of young boys and girls everywhere trying to hit the high notes that weren’t meant to be done by humans.
There are some points from a narrative point of view feel VERY forced into the plot in the third act. It’s reversed as soon as it happens which leaves me to wonder what the emotional weight was that the directors though would contribute to the overall story. Instead, it felt like a cheap way to kick a kid in the ‘tearsticals’ (yes, I coined that phrase). The overall message is political in nature, but remember adults, this one ain’t for you. Leave all that at the door, go in ready to have laughs, and sing along to the new catchy songs and you will have a great time!
Overall, Frozen II is a fairly good sequel. Sure it isn’t perfect, but for the reputation, Disney has in their sequels from classic films and yes, Frozen is now a ‘classic’, this is a good watch in the theaters for everyone I would definitely recommend it.
I’m giving ‘Frozen II’ an