Written by Jennifer Lee And Chris Buck And Marc Smith And Kristen Anderson-Lopez And Robert Lopez
Directed by Chris Buck And Jennifer Lee
Anna: "You're the bridge."
Elsa: "Bridges have two sides, and our mother had two daughters."
There was a time when a Disney movie did well and the sequel was a straight to video thing that wasn't as beloved as the original but had its own charm. Frozen changed the game and so does the sequel.
The goodwill from the first movie not only ensured that the sequel was a hit but it only went and surpassed it too. Now the question: is this sequel any good? Why yes it is. It's very good. Very good indeed.
Time has passed since the first movie and there's a childhood flashback where Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) learn of how their parents first met as well as the history of neighbouring tribe Northuldra, adding more context to Elsa's magic. In the present day, it's Elsa hearing voices that drove the main narrative of this movie.
Well, that and the fact that Elsa inadvertently awoke the elemental spirits, which caused a lot of chaos for the Kingdom. This meant that it was up to Elsa, Anna, Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad) and Sven to venture into the Enchanted Forest and solve the current Arendelle problem. Also along the way learn some more family history.
Notably that Elsa and Anna's grandfather wasn't as heroic as previously described and also that Elsa was the first element, bridging the gap between two worlds. Ultimately this movie has Elsa choosing to be the Enchanted Forest's new protector while Anna becomes Arendelle's new Queen as her and Kristoff got engaged.
Along with the journey of discovery, family history, new characters added into the mix, there was a good segment of the movie where Anna and Kristoff were badly communicating with one another while Olaf had his own character arc in between hilariously recapping the events of the first movie to the newcomers.
As for the newcomers, there was an Arendelle lieutenant named Mattias (Sterling K. Brown), while the Northuldra characters such as Ryder (Jason Ritter) and Honeymarron (Rachel Matthews) worked well in their interactions with Kristoff and Elsa.
- Elsa got herself a water horse she made solid with ice as well as a white dress halfway through the movie. I liked the salamander too.
- There's a fun post credit scene with Olaf recapping the events of this movie to Marshmallow.
- The Northuldra tribe's culture is inspired the Sàmi who are indigenous to Norway, Sweden, Finland and Northern Russia.
- I get why some saw something between Elsa and Honeymarron but I wouldn't be surprised if the character is never given a love interest in future movies.
- Standout music: Into The Unknown, When I Am Older, Show Yourself and Some Things Never Change?
- Chronology: Despite a six year gap between release, the events take place three years after the first movie and during Autumn.
Frozen II is a triumph of a sequel. No wonder it did better than the first movie. It builds on the characters and takes them all in very interesting directions without diluting what came before. I absolutely loved this one from start to finish.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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