Review: Frozen II

Let It Go DARKER

In photographic circles, this sort of shot is known as a ‘Kelpie’

Director(s): Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck

Writer: Jennifer Lee

Cast: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Jonathan Groff Alfred Molina, Alan Tudyk, Ciaran Hinds

Synopsis

When a mysterious voice calls out to Elsa (Idina Menzel), she feels compelled follow it, but answering the call has unintended consequences for the Kingdom of Arendelle. Looking to set things right, Elsa, Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and Olaf (Josh Gad) head far north, to the origin of the mysterious voice, and a kingdom that might hold answers to the origin of Elsa’s powers …

Main review

In the six years since Frozen debuted, at a time when Disney’s animation fortunes relied solely on Pixar, it’s still remarkable how much of an impact Frozen made. More than any of Disney’s animated films since the second golden age in the late ’80s to mid-’90s, Frozen was a cultural phenomenon that captured the imagination of an entire generation of children. Furthermore, the songs were simply superb. It was a perfect snowstorm, as it were.

Capturing that same magic in a sequel was always going to be immensely difficult. Frozen II doesn’t cast the same cultural spell that its predecessor did, but then again it never tries to. The film instead decides to tell an intriguing (and quite dark, for Disney) story about the sins of the past and the merits of cooperation.

The thematic choices are interesting, particularly as the film doesn’t shy away from some of the bleaker aspects of the Frozen universe, such as the story of Anna and Elsa’s parents. Other sequels have taken paths that Frozen II refuses to take, and Frozen II probably a better film for its choices. For what it’s worth, Frozen II really knows how to hit its emotional beats; there are some moments that have a real emotional punch.

Yet, for all of Frozen II‘s narrative cohesion, it simply doesn’t cast the same spell as Frozen. For one thing, the songs in Frozen II are just not that memorable. There’s certainly nothing as outstanding as ‘Let It Go’ in Frozen II, despite a wonderful voice cast, and Idina Menzel’s vocal range. Kristoff’s power ballad (with reindeer backing vocals) is probably the film’s funniest moment, but it only lingers, because it feels so out of place with the rest of the film.

Frozen II is a competent sequel which, given Disney Animation’s history with sequels, it as least a blessing. The animation is gorgeous and the voice cast is excellent, but Frozen II also recycles many of the thematic beats of Frozen, and arguably Elsa is too overpowered to ever be in any proper jeopardy. This film was never going to best Frozen, because expectations were simply too high. If nothing else, Frozen II is worth watching for Olaf’s ‘one snowman show’ recap of Frozen alone.

Pros

• The narrative is more mature than the first film, making some interesting thematic choices.
• The voice cast is excellent, and the animation is gorgeous.
• The film doesn’t shy away from the fact that Anna and Elsa are still orphans.
• Some story beats have a real emotional punch.
• Kristoff’s power ballad (with reindeer backup singers).

Cons

• There is no song that significantly stands out.
• Elsa feels rather overpowered.
• The film recycles a fair few themes from Frozen.

In a nutshell …

Given Disney’s history with sequels of animation classics, Frozen II is most certainly worth of its cinematic release. The themes are darker and the story is interesting, but there’s a feeling that the narrative just doesn’t have the same ‘magic’ as it did in 2013, and the songs have less of an ‘ear-worm’ quality. Frozen II is a decent sequel, but it never reaches the heights of its predecessor.