Frozen II (2019)
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Frozen II Movie Review
Frozen II is a 2019 animated musical fantasy film directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell. It’s a very strong sequel.
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“Excuse me, I climbed the North Mountain,
survived a frozen heart,
and saved you from my ex-boyfriend,
so… you know, I’m coming“
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Let’s talk about the plot first. Elsa hears voices so she goes into the forest to finally learn about her history with her powers and what happened to their parents. She realizes that the northern tribe and Arendelle had a rocky past, that their grandfather was a murderer and she needs to set things right between these two people.
What I admired about this story is how impressively mature it is for not just Disney, but for this admittedly cutesy, family-friendly franchise in particular. The hints at potential war, the murder and the fear of magic and this tribe are powerful themes that hint on Native Americans and their struggles so well. The storytelling here is much more intricate than it ever was in the original.
But there also lies a problem unfortunately, and that is its convoluted nature. It’s not that easy to understand at first, especially some more messy plot progressions, and I personally found the plot structure weak, and the overall storytelling wasn’t as strong or as careful as this great premise demanded.
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The whole thing with the past, the spirits and the four elements was very intriguing, but ultimately a bit too stretched and unbelievable when it comes to the arising conflict. Once again, we got a newfound Disney cliché where we have no villains whatsoever for better and for worse. The movie needed more conflict on the one hand, but on the other hand, it led to a more mature, more elegant in feel offering.
Let’s talk about the characters now and through them I will touch upon the plot even more. Elsa here got a lot more screen time than she ever did in the first flick, and I am grateful for that as she’s a very interesting character. I loved the two’s relationship once again as it was so sweet, and I loved how powerful she continues to be. Her riding that ice horse across the sea was by far the standout moment of the movie as it was so epic and powerful.
So basically Elsa is a water bender of sorts as there are more elements here. Yes, the franchise thus rips off the Avatar franchise annoyingly enough while the whole twist that their mother was Northuldran so she got her powers from her while Anna is regular like their father really reminded me of Harry Potter. But even though these developments aren’t original at all, at least they explained everything neatly enough into a coherent whole.
Anna got less screen time this time around, but she still ended up being the biggest hero of this story which I loved as a great message that you don’t need magical powers to be a hero in your own way. She is the new queen of Arendelle whereas Elsa is the protector of the forest now, and I found that ending wonderful.
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Kristoff got a terrific song for himself this time around, but more on that later. He’s the same goofy guy from before, and his quest to propose to Anna definitely isn’t all that important to the story, but this subplot is sweet and charming that it actually worked. Sven is as endearing as he always is, and I loved the duo’s interactions.
Olaf is actually the MPV of the movie, at least when it comes to comedy. Josh Gad nailed his delivery. Everyone is great here, especially Menzel and Bell, but Gad is so naturally funny with his voice being perfect for this sidekick. I found many of Olaf’s jokes absolutely hilarious, making him funnier here than he was before. The Samantha part is so funny while that singing jab at Elsa was by far the funniest moment in the movie how stupid it is.
I loved all of the Northuldran people, though they could have gotten more to do ultimately. I really liked seeing the flashbacks on the history of Arendelle, those were so elegant, atmospheric and mysterious. But the movie definitely needed more new characters, not just villains, but maybe more sidekicks, though we did get that fire salamander who was so adorable and cuddly.
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Frozen II is a musical above all else, and it has a lot of songs, maybe even more so than the original so let’s discuss them. Some Things Never Change is okay, though disposable. It’s a typical beginning song that could have been cut for me personally. All Is Found is a fine lullaby with a great singing voice to it.
When I Am Older is a typical Olaf song meaning that it is amusing when you see the whole scene accompanying it, but otherwise it’s very bland and forgettable. Show Yourself is actually quite powerful. Well, the scene is particularly majestic and beautifully animated, but the song accompanying it is solid enough, leading to a very memorable part of the movie. As for Anna, she got a much better song for herself the last time around as The Next Right Thing is again accompanied by a very dark, strong scene, but the number itself is quite forgettable, though it has great, inspirational lyrics. The tune is just not as memorable.
Lost in the Woods is phenomenal! It is the second best song in the film. Kristoff finally got a number for himself, and it’s great. This is such an inspired 80s ballad and music video parody with the imagery being particularly amusing while the song is incredibly catchy, elegant and also solidly sung by Jonathan Groff.
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But naturally Into the Unknown is the standout of the picture. It’s not another Let It Go, but it’s great in its own right. The music is memorably eerie, that voice is important for the story and very mysterious whereas the number itself is also incredibly catchy with such a powerful refrain. The final part of the song is epic with Idina Menzel’s vocals being once again pitch-perfect and so impressive.
So Frozen II has a better soundtrack, and it’s overall maybe better than the original as it’s less messy. I found the animation so polished, gorgeous and in particular the ice effects are stunning and magical in quality. The light parts aren’t the greatest, but the darker scenes are truly amazing and the ice, water, symbols steal the show.
The movie is badly paced and problematically structured as I have said above while the direction also could have been better. The voice acting is great and the dialogue is strong, the emotional investment is solid and the humor is at times excellent. The entire first act dragged a lot and it was too happy and childish, but the ending is great and in particular the highlights are the cave sequence and the flashback part. The action-adventure elements are terrific here, it’s just that they came so few in-between.
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Thanks to great, frequently even stunning animation, terrific action-adventure elements to it and very intricate, rich storytelling, Frozen II is all around a successful sequel that may be better than the original. I found the pacing, structure and some convoluted plot points and progressions rather messy, but the mystery elements are great, and the film gives us a lot of needed answers about Elsa’s and Arendelle’s past. The musical highlights are Lost in the Woods which is a hugely entertaining 80s ballad parody and of course an instantly memorable, beautifully sung and epic Into the Unknown. The humor is also quite strong as Olaf made a couple of hilarious observations. The first act dragged, but the ending is nice, the cave and flashback scenes are the best parts, and Elsa riding a water spirit provided some epic imagery.
