It was inevitable that Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck's 2013 phenomenon Frozen would eventually see a sequel; the original film became a marketing behemoth for Disney and no other studio loves its sequels like modern-day Disney, pumping out two to four Marvel movies a year and announcing a slate of Star Wars spinoffs to last another decade-plus (occasionally they take their time, as seen in the 14 years between Brad Bird's excellent 2004 superhero film The Incredibles and its less-than-stellar sequel). Sometimes it works out, with four strong Toy Story films across almost 25 years of Disney/Pixar collaboration.
Most Disney sequels, even the ones I think are great, feel like very straightforward continuations of their predecessors. We saw that with Frozen's two short film follow-ups (2015's Frozen Fever and 2017's Olaf's Frozen Adventure). I expected about as much from Frozen II: a pleasant film with familiar characters. I was surprised to instead see a film that focuses on theme over plot and explores a darker side of monarchy than I'd expect in a Disney film.
Most Disney sequels, even the ones I think are great, feel like very straightforward continuations of their predecessors. We saw that with Frozen's two short film follow-ups (2015's Frozen Fever and 2017's Olaf's Frozen Adventure). I expected about as much from Frozen II: a pleasant film with familiar characters. I was surprised to instead see a film that focuses on theme over plot and explores a darker side of monarchy than I'd expect in a Disney film.
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| Frozen II - Friday night with the Frozen crew |
Of course there are some things that do go as expected: There was always going to be a happy ending, a comic Olaf song, and an Elsa-driven showstopper. It doesn't discard what made the first film such a hit, nor does it wallow in self-nostalgia (the only song that gets a reprise from the first movie is a brief bit of Kristoff and Sven's Reindeer(s) are Better Than People). It feels like a directly opposite approach to, say, one of the new Star Wars films that simultaneously talk about letting go of the past while shoving a "Hey, remember THIS part?" moment in every few minutes. It would have been easy to go that route, and it probably still would have been a fun film!
All of that aside: Will kids like it? My daughter (almost 3) had a great time but clearly wasn't as into it as she was the first film. It skews a little older than the previous movie so that's not really surprising; I think she'll get a lot more out of it in a few years, though she was able to understand the plot well enough for it to not be a problem. Every kid in the theater loved Olaf and the soundtrack is a hit. There's a wonderfully campy, heartfelt moment where Kristoff sings a song (Lost in the Woods) in the vein of a Peter Cetera/Chicago's Glory of Love/You're the Inspiration.
Please note that there are spoilers ahead, including analysis of the film's ending. Spoiler-free version: I thought it was an excellent film with gorgeous animation and a more internalized conflict.
