In 2013, when the first Frozen movie came out, I went out and saw it in a theatre full of wide-eyed children and their unsuspecting parents. We were all blissfully unaware of the songs that would lurk around every corner for the next six years. What we were witnessing would become an iconic Disney success seemingly overnight.
I remember enjoying the experience, but the movie’s incredible success seemed overblown to me. Frozen dolls and paraphernalia suddenly popped up everywhere, “Let It Go” was all over the radio, and it seemed that no matter where you went, you couldn’t escape Frozen.
All these years later, I’m alright with Frozen getting some attention because this sequel deserves it!
So many sequels fall short of the original thing, but Frozen II is an exception. This gem continues the narrative that began back in 2013 in a new, original way.
We learn that protagonists Elsa and Anna, as children, were told by their parents that there was an enchanted forest near their home kingdom of Arendelle. There was a battle long ago between the Arendellians and the Indigenous Northuldra people of the forest. We also learn that it has been permanently closed off by a magical fog that protects Arendelle from the angry Northuldra spirits within it.
Unlike when Frozen came out in 2013, Frozen II has a lot to live up to. And does it ever!
The music, although certainly not as catchy as the songs in the first film, is just as beautiful and powerful. The soundtrack manages to showcase the full range of talent in the cast, from Idina Menzel’s unbelievable vocals in “Into the Unknown” to Josh Gad’s humorous solo where Olaf attempts to convince himself that things like Elsa’s magic and strange plot devices will make more sense when he is older.
The story itself is engaging and held my attention right through the end credits, despite its cheesiness.
The animation is absolutely gorgeous in this movie. The film is full of blue colours – Elsa’s new (and far more practical) outfit, Elsa’s snow magic, the ocean, and the ice. The sound was fantastic, especially the siren wail of Norwegian singer Aurora, which leads Elsa on her journey to the forest. The film’s narrative stayed with me long after the movie was over.
The scene where Elsa is led into an ice cave where she is given the option to learn what happened to her family or remain ignorant to their history struck me as odd. She chooses knowledge and is punished for it, frozen in place in the deepest part of the glacier. Her only hope is that the magic she shoots out towards Anna right before being frozen will reach her and alert her in time that something is wrong (which of course it does because this is a Disney movie).
The idea presented here could be interpreted as it being better to remain ignorant than to risk it all for the truth. For a film about a kingdom that screwed over Indigenous people and kept it a secret until Elsa and Anna discovered and challenged it, punishing one of these characters seemed misguided to me. I still must admit that the film’s effort to represent Indigenous people was very much appreciated and refreshing to see.
Kristoff’s character is completely changed in this movie, as is Anna’s. But unlike with Anna, where the change feels like a natural progression of her character arc, Kristoff’s sudden inability to ever make a curt comment or be anything but completely likeable didn’t mesh with his character in the first movie, who was somewhat sarcastic and, at times, even catty.
Some of the kid-oriented jokes fell flat with the adult members of the audience. However, each time I heard the giggles of the children in the theatre, my heart softened and accepted that, although the jokes were corny, they were meant to be. And there was plenty of adult humour to go around for the rest of us who didn’t particularly like the corny stuff.
Overall, the film was incredible. I went in with not too many expectations but left the experience liking it more than the first one. If you have kids or are still a kid at heart, I’d recommend you hit the theatres and see it on the big screen while you still can!
Featured graphic by Farhan Tasin.
