FROZEN 2: Perfectly Fine With Amazing Animation

Frozen might be Disney’s biggest triumph yet. It was a surprise hit, at least as big of a surprise as anything from Disney can be, but it somehow managed to delight both young and older audiences equally. Its lovable and relatable characters, catchy songs and surprisingly emotional story proved irresistible for audiences and the song “Let It Go” (I dare you not to get it stuck in your head now) went on to become one of the biggest hits of recent years.

Six years, and countless merchandise items later, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee return for the inevitable sequel which sets out to explore Elsa’s powers further and go deeper, darker and bigger in any way.

Some Things Never Change

We return to Arendelle and things are well. Elsa rules as a rightful and just queen, Anna and Kristoff are lovey-dovey and Olaf now has perma-frost which allows him to sunbathe all he wants. Things change when mysterious powers push the citizens of Arendelle out of their city and Elsa hears a mysterious voice singing and she is immediately drawn to it, hoping to find the source of her powers. The gang sets out to the enchanted forest, which has been surrounded by a thick, impenetrable fog. Their adventure has serious and surprising consequences.

Frozen 2 does everything a sequel should do and with impeccable visual flair. The gang is back and the voice actors once again meld together with their characters with such ease.  We have some new character additions, but Frozen 2 mostly sticks with Elsa and Anna on their quest to save Arendelle and find answers to their past and Elsa’s powers.

Goofy snowman Olaf is once again the film’s comedic highlight. He’s a mixture of classic slapstick and hilarious gullibility which all come together in the animation and Josh Gad’s perfect voice performance. Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel breathe life into Anna and Elsa respectively. Menzel’s singing still sends shivers down one’s spine every time she hits those high notes.

“Show Yourself” and “Into The Unknown” are the two songs guaranteed to become massive hits and rightfully so. “Into The Unknown” is catchier and similar to “Let It Go”, but it’s “Show Yourself” which packs the bigger punch. For slightly spoiler-y reasons Disney isn’t pushing this quite as much, but it’s the song to open up the tear gates.

Elsa’s story, which is ultimately the focus of both Frozen films, is explored deeper here. Although she has learned to love herself and her powers, she craves answers to their origin. She’s still lost on the inside and desperate to find where she comes from, where she belongs. If Elsa was slightly frustrating in the first Frozen, she is a fully fleshed out woman here and there’s much to admire for young girls and women.

The one character who seems to have pulled a short stick is Kristoff. He is absent for much of the film and when he’s on screen he attempts to propose to Anna, but seems to only mess things up more and more. Thankfully Buck and Lee, along with songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez finally give the ridiculously talented Jonathan Groff his own song and “Lost In The Woods” is one of the film’s highlights. A classic, 80s inspired power ballad, filmed in the style of a cheesy music video is as funny as its true. The film could have benefited from some more Groff-charm, but this is ultimately a story about Elsa and Anna.

Into The Unknown

Frozen 2, along with last year’s Into The Spiderverse, is one of the most gorgeous animated films of all time. It’s breath-taking and pushes the art of animation forward with a giant leap. It’s so detailed it brings a certain level of realism to the film, but it never wants to look like real life. It strictly remains the fantasy realm of animation, but pushes the boundaries of it as art. Scenes involving water are especially beautiful.

The film goes much darker and even gets a little frightening. The stakes are much bigger throughout and towards the end, Frozen 2 becomes distinctly different from the first one. Without saying much, good luck holding back tears.

Animation has always been a great medium for introducing kids to some darker, real-life themes and issues. Much like Mufasa’s death in The Lion King or more recently, the whole narrative of Pixar’s Inside Out, Frozen 2 isn’t afraid to inject some real despair and hopelessness into its story. It’s thrilling to see a film aimed at kids raise the stakes and ask them to experience a whole range of emotions instead of just happiness and delight.

Lost In The Woods

Despite how much Frozen 2 does right, it doesn’t quite click. It looks gorgeous, the songs are possibly even better than the first one’s but something is missing. Perhaps it’s the unbalanced narrative that hops too much between Elsa and Anna or the exclusion of Kristoff, or maybe the magic has simply worn off but despite its best efforts, Frozen 2 never becomes the masterpiece it clearly wants to be.

At times it feels like extraordinary sequences hastily tied together without much connective tissue. The film entertains throughout, but it never finds it rhythm. The film begins abruptly, jumping straight into the action and it stumbles too many times throughout the narrative until finally finding its stride. The last 30 minutes are the film’s best, but it’s too little, too late.

The queer readings of the character of Elsa in the first film were interesting and the sequel seems to add fuel to the fire, but not in any truly meaningful way. There’s still no love interest of any sort for Elsa. Perhaps the film wants to portray the loneliness that comes when you’re in search for your true self, but it’s at times frustrating how alone Elsa has to be. While Elsa is given animal companions here and she is allowed to portray some motherly and caring emotions, she is once again denied any meaningful female companionship aside from Anna. Buck and Lee are undoubtedly aware of the queer readings and want to use it to their advantage, but they’re too scared of controversy to truly explore such a subject in a film. Regardless, Elsa’s personal journey is sure to resonate with audiences far and wide.

Frozen 2 – yay or nay?

Frozen 2 is almost the perfect sequel. Despite some wobbliness in the beginning, this is a worthy and entertaining sequel to one of the best animated films of the decade. It looks gorgeous, the characters are still lovable and the story is engaging.

Some of the magic is gone for sure, but maybe that’s the point. Frozen 2 is more mature, much like its characters. It’s still full of joy, but with real-life emotions and true sadness behind it. It makes for a rich viewing, even if not everything works quite as seamlessly as you’d hope.

Did you love the first Frozen? What did you think of the sequel? Let us know in the comments!

Frozen 2 will be released in theaters in the US and UK on November 22, 2019 in the US and UK. Click here for all international release dates.