Frozen II
Year: 2019
Director: Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
Starring: Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff & Idina Menzel
Runtime: 103 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 27/12/21
Director: Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
Starring: Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff & Idina Menzel
Runtime: 103 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 27/12/21
Following the monumental success of Frozen in 2013, Disney were repeatedly questioned as to if and when audiences would get a sequel to the worldwide phenomenon. CEO Bob Iger flat out refused that a sequel would see the light of day (a surprising statement considering how much Disney likes money), and I think the company at first was so focused on getting Frozen adapted to stage that a sequel did seem kind of mundane in comparison. But to think that Frozen would never see a sequel was a naïve sentiment to have, considering how quickly it became one of Disney’s most financially successful IP’s. So, does Frozen II continue in the same stead as its predecessor, or should the studio just have stuck to one film?
Three years after the events of the first film, Elsa (Idina Menzel), Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad), and Sven all live happily in Arendelle with Elsa serving confidently as Queen. But when Elsa is drawn to the nearby enchanted forest by a mysterious voice that only she can hear, the gang are trapped and at the mercy of the spirits of Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water. To escape Elsa and Anna must confront their dark family history and finally bring true peace to Arendelle.
Three years after the events of the first film, Elsa (Idina Menzel), Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad), and Sven all live happily in Arendelle with Elsa serving confidently as Queen. But when Elsa is drawn to the nearby enchanted forest by a mysterious voice that only she can hear, the gang are trapped and at the mercy of the spirits of Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water. To escape Elsa and Anna must confront their dark family history and finally bring true peace to Arendelle.
In my extensive breakdown of the first Frozen, I concluded that what really made the first film work so well was the great combination of excellent character writing (particularly with Anna & Elsa), great song writing, and excellent production values. Frozen II meanwhile only keeps one of those three elements as strong as they were in the first film, and that’s the production values.
The characters this time around seem to regress from what they learned in the first film. Elsa once again separates herself for fear of hurting Anna, and Anna once again goes looking for Elsa because she doesn’t want her to do it alone. The problem here is that, first of all, doing the same thing that the first film did leads to fatigue and predictability; and secondly, it’s not done as well as it was in the first film. In the original Frozen, Elsa’s motivation for running away and leaving Anna was driven by her own self-conditioned personal paranoia. Her motivation for doing so here is that she thinks it’ll be too dangerous for Anna to help…despite the fact that Anna proved last time that she was more than capable of looking after herself.
Kristoff is also side-lined a lot in this film. He spends most of it trying to propose to Anna (which by the way dude, read the room, you do not propose to someone who is in the midst of a family crisis), and isn’t much use beyond a few funny scenes. Olaf has been given a much more central role, and whilst that makes his existence more justifiable this time around, he still doesn’t contribute too much to what’s happening and just does his thing of making silly comments on things. In general though, I do prefer Frozen II Olaf over his role in the first film, so that’s something I suppose.
The ending does have a decent payoff as it wraps up the story very nicely and I feel leaves the Frozen franchise at a meaningful endpoint. Whilst I’m sure Disney won’t pass up the opportunity to return to Frozen again (considering Frozen II earned ten times its budget at the box office), it’s nice to see the studio cap the story off so definitively and still be satisfying.
What isn’t particularly satisfying though is the musical numbers. What made the original Frozen’s songs work so well was that they were extremely reminiscent of Renaissance Disney songs. Whimsical, lyrically simple to remain catchy, but deep in subtext to allow them to tell the story more effectively than with traditional conversation. Frozen II meanwhile seems more in line with Broadway musical numbers, with many being either overly dramatic or extremely silly to pad out the runtime. Whilst there are songs to enjoy such as ‘Into the Unknown’ (Panic! At the Disco’s cover on the credits is way better than Idina Menzels version and I will fight anyone who says otherwise) and my personal favourite ‘Lost in the Woods’ (which has a hilarious nineties boyband inspired visual sequence), none of them are as memorable as anything seen in the first film.
The characters this time around seem to regress from what they learned in the first film. Elsa once again separates herself for fear of hurting Anna, and Anna once again goes looking for Elsa because she doesn’t want her to do it alone. The problem here is that, first of all, doing the same thing that the first film did leads to fatigue and predictability; and secondly, it’s not done as well as it was in the first film. In the original Frozen, Elsa’s motivation for running away and leaving Anna was driven by her own self-conditioned personal paranoia. Her motivation for doing so here is that she thinks it’ll be too dangerous for Anna to help…despite the fact that Anna proved last time that she was more than capable of looking after herself.
Kristoff is also side-lined a lot in this film. He spends most of it trying to propose to Anna (which by the way dude, read the room, you do not propose to someone who is in the midst of a family crisis), and isn’t much use beyond a few funny scenes. Olaf has been given a much more central role, and whilst that makes his existence more justifiable this time around, he still doesn’t contribute too much to what’s happening and just does his thing of making silly comments on things. In general though, I do prefer Frozen II Olaf over his role in the first film, so that’s something I suppose.
The ending does have a decent payoff as it wraps up the story very nicely and I feel leaves the Frozen franchise at a meaningful endpoint. Whilst I’m sure Disney won’t pass up the opportunity to return to Frozen again (considering Frozen II earned ten times its budget at the box office), it’s nice to see the studio cap the story off so definitively and still be satisfying.
What isn’t particularly satisfying though is the musical numbers. What made the original Frozen’s songs work so well was that they were extremely reminiscent of Renaissance Disney songs. Whimsical, lyrically simple to remain catchy, but deep in subtext to allow them to tell the story more effectively than with traditional conversation. Frozen II meanwhile seems more in line with Broadway musical numbers, with many being either overly dramatic or extremely silly to pad out the runtime. Whilst there are songs to enjoy such as ‘Into the Unknown’ (Panic! At the Disco’s cover on the credits is way better than Idina Menzels version and I will fight anyone who says otherwise) and my personal favourite ‘Lost in the Woods’ (which has a hilarious nineties boyband inspired visual sequence), none of them are as memorable as anything seen in the first film.
But as I stated earlier, Frozen II does maintain the high production values set by the first film. Whilst the character models aren’t overly different, there are some subtle improvements to details in eyes and hair. The impressive particle effects are once again given their moment to shine whenever Elsa’s ice powers are on display. But what really caught my eye was the few moments where there are no characters in frame and the environment looks photorealistic. There was a particular moment where the scene is taking place in a wrecked ship and some water droplets begin to rise out of the woodwork, and this looked nothing short of amazing. The intricate detail on the wood, the impressive physics on the water droplets, and the astounding lighting casting deep shadows and blinding reflections on the droplets. It’s crazy to see how much Disney have improved their animation tech over the last few years and it’s really paying off.
Frozen II does not maintain the same high-quality standard as its predecessor but there’s still something to enjoy in there. I can’t see anyone preferring it over the original, but if you love the first one, you’re bound to at least like this sequel. However, if you weren’t sold on the original then Frozen II will not do anything to try and win you over. Now it’s just time to wait and see how long Disney want’s to hold out until Frozen III to get their next easy billion dollars at the box office.
Frozen II does not maintain the same high-quality standard as its predecessor but there’s still something to enjoy in there. I can’t see anyone preferring it over the original, but if you love the first one, you’re bound to at least like this sequel. However, if you weren’t sold on the original then Frozen II will not do anything to try and win you over. Now it’s just time to wait and see how long Disney want’s to hold out until Frozen III to get their next easy billion dollars at the box office.