Calling Disney Animation’s 2013 release Frozen one of
the most successful projects that they’ve ever made would easily be one of the
biggest understatements of all-time. Upon its release, this loose adaptation of
author Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen became the
studio’s first animated film to gross over $1 billion worldwide (not counting
subsidiary Pixar’s Toy Story 3, which did the same thing in 2010). It
won two Oscars for Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature and has widely
been regarded as one of Disney Animation’s modern masterpieces. And while there
have undoubtedly been a select number of folks out there who were likely driven
mad by the truly extensive mark that the film left on pop culture, there’s no
denying that Frozen was very much one of those films that was fully
deserving of becoming the full-on cultural phenomenon that it still is today. Whether
it was thanks to its lovable cast of characters or its undeniably catchy
soundtrack, Frozen quickly blossomed into one of Disney’s biggest
animated franchises that would later spawn a few animated shorts to build up
hype for the film’s heavily anticipated feature-length follow-up. And now, the
story of the Royal Sisters of Arendelle officially continues with Disney
Animation’s 58th official animated feature, Frozen II. Luckily,
for fans of the franchise, this sequel brings back almost all the key players from
the first film, including songwriters Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez, the
core quartet of leads Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad,
and directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. And because of this, Frozen II is
a fantastic sequel to its equally fantastic predecessor as it flawlessly
retains everything that made the original Frozen a beloved Disney
classic.
For the past three years, the Kingdom of Arendelle has
thrived under Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel), especially after she was
able to rekindle her relationship with her younger sister, Princess Anna
(voiced by Kristen Bell). However, on one faithful night, Elsa becomes entranced
by a mysterious voice calling out to her from afar, and when she finally
interacts with it, the kingdom is suddenly ravaged by mysterious elemental
forces. Elsa and Anna soon learn from the wise troll Grand Pabbie (voiced by
Ciaran Hinds) that this recent turn of events is due to Elsa unintentionally
awakening the four elemental spirits of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. And as he
informs them, the only way to set things right is to travel to the Enchanted
Forest that their parents, King Agnarr (voiced by Alfred Molina, replacing
Maurice LaMarche from the first film) and Queen Iduna (voiced by Evan Rachel
Wood, replacing director Jennifer Lee from the first film) told them about when
they were younger. For years, this Enchanted Forest has been consumed by an impenetrable
wall of mist that has trapped all those inside it after an unexpected fight occurred
between the native Northuldra tribe and a group of Arendellian forces. Thus,
Elsa, Anna, sentient snowman Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad), and Anna’s ice
harvester boyfriend Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) embark on a journey to
appease the elemental spirits, specifically by uncovering the cause of this
long-standing conflict. Along the way, Anna and Elsa even begin to discover the
secrets behind the magical ice powers that the latter has possessed her whole
life.
Frozen II certainly fits the bill when it comes to
being a ‘bigger sequel’ in every sense of the phrase. The adventure that Anna
and Elsa go on in this film is far grander in scale than the one from the first
film, and while it does continue to maintain the usual light-hearted atmosphere
of a Disney animated film, it is a little darker in tone compared to its
predecessor. In other words, Frozen II does what any good sequel should
do by naturally expanding its universe while also showing a genuine sense of
maturity from a storytelling perspective. At the same time, though, it never
loses sight of any of the things that made its predecessor so iconic,
especially the strong and loving relationship between its lead sister duo. The
animation is superb as always and the new songs by Robert and Kirsten-Anderson
Lopez arguably stand toe to toe with the first film’s truly unforgettable
soundtrack. Highlights of the sequel’s soundtrack include but are not limited
to Elsa’s big solo ‘Into the Unknown’, Anna’s downright devastating solo ‘The
Next Right Thing’, which stems from what is quite possibly the most emotional
moment in the whole film, and Kristoff’s 80’s power ballad (yes, I know what I
just said…) ‘Lost in the Woods’. Now, if there was any sort of shortcoming with
this film, it’s that, because of how its story is structured to focus primarily
on Anna and Elsa above everything else, Frozen II doesn’t really spend a
lot of time with the new characters that it introduces. As such, certain
subplots like the feud between the Northuldra tribe and the Arendelle soldiers who
got trapped in the Enchanted Forest sometimes tend to get overlooked. And yet,
I don’t even remotely consider that to be a bad thing in this instance since
this series has always done a wonderful job of exploring the theme of how love truly
does conquer all through the phenomenal heroines who headline it.
On that note, one of the coolest things about Frozen II is
how it manages to shake things up a bit when it comes to the overall roles that
Anna and Elsa play in this story. While the original Frozen was sure to give
them equal amounts of quality character development, it was fundamentally told
from Anna’s perspective since it was all about her taking the initiative to set
things right and rekindle her relationship with Elsa. By comparison, Frozen
II focuses more on Elsa as she works to appease the four elemental spirits while
also learning the truth about why she’s the one who possesses magical ice
powers. Nevertheless, the unbreakable bond between these two sisters continues
to be the most important aspect of this franchise, and as always, it’s
primarily thanks to the phenomenal work by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel in
their respective roles. Bell continues to be effortlessly charming and spunky
as Anna while Menzel once again imbues Elsa with all her grace and power.
Fellow returnees Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad are also excellent once again as
Kristoff and Olaf, respectively, with Groff getting to explore a wonderful new side
to the loyal Ice Harvester via the numerous attempts he makes at trying to
propose to Anna and Gad, as to be expected, continuing to get many of the film’s
best humorous moments. After that is when the previously mentioned dilemma of the
film not giving its new characters a lot to do comes into play, but for what
it's worth, everyone else in the cast does a solid job with what they have. This
includes Sterling K. Brown as Lt. Mattias, a friendly Arendelle soldier who was
amongst those trapped in the Enchanted Forest, and Evan Rachel Wood as Anna and
Elsa’s mother Iduna who, despite only appearing mostly in flashbacks, does get
her backstory explored in some very fascinating ways that help add to the film’s
strong emotional poignancy.
While I may not have as much of a history with it compared
to the likes of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin,
the first Frozen truly is one of my favorite Disney animated films of
all-time; in fact, it’s amongst my Top 5, even, when it comes to Disney’s long
line of animated classics. Granted, you might think otherwise if you look back
at my original review of it from 2013 where I only gave it a 4/5,
but it goes without saying that that old review is the very definition of ‘dated’.
Simply put, Frozen became one of those films that I became more and more
attached to as time went by, and as I noted in the intro, I’m personally glad
that it became the worldwide phenomenon that it did no matter how much some
people got utterly sick of it after a while. And as for Frozen II, I’m
happy to report that it’s another fine addition to this beloved franchise. Just
like its predecessor, Frozen II is a perfect mix of gorgeous animation, unforgettable
songs, and a powerful emotional core. It expands upon the world of Frozen in
ways that feel appropriate for the story that directors Chris Buck and Jennifer
Lee (the latter of whom was just recently named Disney Animation’s new Chief Creative
Officer) are telling. And while it does follow the route that most sequels go by
being a far bigger adventure than its predecessor, the strength and beauty that
stems from the bond of the perpetually endearing sisterly duo of Anna and Elsa is
still very much the driving force of this franchise. Because of all this, it
goes without saying that Frozen II is yet another rousing success for
Walt Disney Animation that is sure to delight the fans who made this franchise
a pop-cultural landmark.
Rating: 5/5!
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