OnScreen Review: "Frozen II"
Ken Jones, Chief Film Critic
Unless you were hiding under a rock, it was impossible to miss the fact that Frozen was a massive hit for Disney in 2013. In addition to making a ton of money, the songs were a hit as well, as many parents can testify, with “Let It Go” and “Do You Want To Build a Snowman?” in particular becoming ubiquitous earworms. Given the popularity of everything attached to the animated feature, a sequel seemed inevitable, and now Frozen II has arrived with all the beloved characters in tow in a slightly darker but less consequential sequel.
Arendelle is peacefully ruled by Elsa (Idina Menzel) with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell) as close as they’ve ever been. Anna boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), along with his trust sidekick reindeer Sven, is fumbling for the right moment to propose to her, and Olaf (Josh Gad) is dreaming of the day when he becomes an older and wiser sentient snowman (Look, we all know Olaf is 1000% a character for the little kids; whatever he does or says will be the funniest thing they’ve ever heard in their short lives; or at least that was the impression I got in the movie theater.) While things finally seem idyllic, Elsa begin to hear a siren call (a literal call to an adventure, as it were) and awakens the elemental spirits of the forest: water, earth, fire, and air. It leads to the evacuation of Arendelle and sends Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf on an adventure into a northern region that has been sealed off by mysterious magic and ties back into Anna and Elsa’s family history.
There is no outright villain in this story, though there wasn’t an overt one in the first movie until the third act. What serves as the conflict for the story is more about family and history and the sins of the past, so to speak. There is a magical barrier north of Arendelle, similar to The Shimmer in Annihilation, that has walled off the people of Northuldra and a few soldiers of Arendelle for nearly 30 years, which happened because of a breech of an alliance between the two peoples, resulting in a magical curse falling on the forest. This curse and Elsa’s powers are tied to her journey.
It’s not exactly paint by numbers, but the plot makes it pretty obvious where certain things are headed. Flashbacks to Elsa and Anna’s father as a child and the moment the curse fell upon the forest give some breadcrumbs, and the revelation of the existence of a fifth unknown element also strongly hint at the ending of this movie. Also, most of the new characters, voiced by Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Jason Ritter, and Martha Plimpton are mostly superfluous to the overall story.
The movie has a darker tone to it than the first one, but nearly all of it is undercut by the need to make sure it is safe for children, so there is little in the way of actual consequences when it comes to the truth of past events being revealed and what must ultimately be done to lift the curse. Weirdly enough, where the movie ends up is reminiscent of the ending to Ralph Breaks the Internet.
While there is the romantic relationship between Anna and Kristoff, it is still refreshing that the relationship at the center of these movies is the one between sisters Anna and Elsa. It’s a nice change of pace to have a Disney princess story that isn’t geared around the romantic ideal of the “happily ever after” that so many of them fall back on. If this sequel is not quite as fresh as the original was (or, rather, as fresh as the original movie was before your kid watched it 500 times, I assume), this aspect is still quite refreshing in a Disney animated movie.
The songs are also not quite as memorable as “Let It Go” or “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” There aren’t any clunkers, but the standout “Into the Unknown” never quite reaches the heights of “Let It Go” though it certainly tries. In the movie, “Lost in the Woods” is something of a strange interlude of essentially Kristoff and Sven performing an 80s power ballad, complete with music video motifs. “The Next Right Thing” is a song that has a good message of perseverance.
Frozen II is sure to be a hit with kids; and for parents, well, at least they will have some newer songs to throw into the Frozen playlist rotation. It’s a little darker, and a little less fresh, but it is a suitable sequel that will likely make another boatload of money for Disney and even though it wraps up nicely, there is no reason we shouldn’t expect another sequel in another five or six years.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars