My Review of Frozen II (2019)

 

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

My Review of Frozen (2013)

 

Written by  Jennifer Lee And Chris Buck And Shane Morris

Directed by Chris Buck And Jennifer Lee

Elsa: "The cold never bothered me anyway."

With Disney having a rough time during their 100th anniversary, there was a time when they were at the height of success and one of those times involved this movie. A movie in the shortest time ever became something of a global event.

Loosely based on the story, The Snow Queen and set in the fictional world of Arendelle, the story focused on Elsa (Idina Menzel). Elsa's the oldest child and has a close friendship with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell). Or she did until her ice and snow powers emerged and she inadvertently hurt Anna, changing their relationship for quite a long time.

Elsa became cold and distant with Anna as she struggled to control her powers and on the day of her coronation, her powers revealed themselves to the kingdom in the worst way possible. With Arendelle trapped in an eternal winter and Elsa fleeing in shame of her powers, it was up to Anna to save the day and get her sister back.

Of course Anna had to tread an icy environment and for that she needed the help of an iceman named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and the latter's reindeer, Sven (Frank Welker). It's not long before there's an emerging love story between Anna and Kristoff as well as the introduction to comic relief character Olaf (Josh Gad). Needless to say, Olaf is a delight, albeit rather naive about the dangers of heat to a snowman like him.

As for Elsa, she built herself an ice palace, rejected Anna's attempts of a reunion and then got captured by the scheming Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk) and the more subtle in his scheming Prince Hans (Santino Fontana) of the Southern Isles. The former's more of a bigoted but bumbling oaf while the latter was more quietly callous compared to past Disney movie baddies.

Having Hans portrayed as a pseudo love interest for Anna was a smart move, especially when his real motives came to light and he took pleasure in Anna's need for true love to fix her heart. However unlike Disney villains of the past, he actually survived to face the consequences of his misdeeds. 

As for Elsa and Anna, they more than reconnected with each other with a sibling bond being the thing to save Anna's life. It was a nice twist to a usual fairytale predicament and with Elsa embracing her powers, things did work out well for the Queen of Arendelle.

- The Arendelle setting drew heavily from Norwegian and Scandinavian culture as well as the Sami culture.

- Fans of Tangled get a brief cameo from Rapunzel and Flynn during one scene.

- The Pebble folk  who have their own magic were mistaken for trolls by Anna.

- The end credit has a short scene with a snow creature wearing Elsa's crown. 

- Standout music: The obvious highlights being Let It Go, Do You Want To Build A Snowman?, For The First Time In Forever and Vuelie.

- Chronology: For the majority of the movie, Elsa and Kristoff are 21, Anna is 18 and Hans is 23.

Frozen was a triumph of a movie. A Disney classic through and through, following some of the traditional tropes but also subverting them too. A great cast, brilliant character dynamics, more subtle villains and some of the best musical numbers. A pure joy.

Rating: 10 out of 10