I’m “biast” (con): …but the story felt finished
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Once upon a time, sequels to animated Disney movies went straight to VHS, to be desultorily rented at Blockbuster when every copy of the latest Arnie actioner was out, or purchased from the checkout-line racks at Walmart to get stuffed into a kid’s Christmas stocking. (This was the 1990s, lovely children.) Then — this is my guess — 1999’s Toy Story 2 changed everything, and proved that people would pay multiplex prices to see more of the same cartoon.
But Disney didn’t buy Pixar till 2006, and then what with the years-long production schedules of animated movies, it took till last year’s Ralph Breaks the Internet — the sequel to 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph — for The Mouse to finally take on the theatrical-sequel ethos and start to get down with the big-screen cashing-in.
And then came 2013’s Frozen, one of the money-making-est movies ever. If Disney hadn’t already decided that there was no way in heck it was going to leave multiplex bucks on the table with sequels — and if Disney hadn’t already decided that it was hellbent on big-screen domination — this was the movie that would have done it anyway. There is no alt in the multiverse in which we weren’t going to get a big-screen Frozen 2. Preferably one with 3D and IMAX upsells.
So here it is, Frozen II (available for your viewing pleasure and your wallet’s misery in IMAX and 3D). The Roman numerals might be trying to make it feel more elegant, but this ain’t nothin’ but a straight-to-VHS kind of sequel. This is a movie smaller than its predecessor in every way. We are dragged along on a rote adventure that pokes at expanding the world of royal sisters Anna and Elsa and their kingdom of Arendelle, but all it does is expand its geographical map. They travel to an enchanted forest far to the north in search of an answer to the mystery of Elsa’s arctikinesis. Why does she have supernatural control over ice, and where did this talent come from? And might there be some other mysteries in their past? The answers are ordinary — depressingly so, given the fantastical scope of this story — and totally unsurprising.
There’s magic here, in the form of elemental spirits of air, earth, fire, and water who delight in expressing themselves weather-wise, but there’s no magic. Ironically, there’s nothing elemental, either, in the metaphoric sense. The emotional brawn of Elsa’s (the voice of Idina Menzel: Enchanted) struggle between her paranormal ability and her desire to be “normal” in Frozen was overwhelming, and it’s with very good reason that her showstopping song “Let It Go” — in which she throws away conformity and fully embraces her uniqueness, her capability, and her authority — resonates deeply with so many girls and women and has become a veritable feminist anthem. Nothing in Frozen II hits like that — not even close. The bland, forgettable songs are too literal, too on the nose to wield any symbolic power. And while the physical journey may be long and often arduous here, the psychological journey is almost nonexistent. That goes for Anna (the voice of Kristen Bell: The Good Place, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies), too. Background details are filled in, but those details don’t add much, and in delving into the past, the forward-looking spirit of the first film is undermined. (So much for Elsa’s sung declaration that “I’m never goin’ back / The past is in the past.”)
Trying to force a return of the enormous charm of Frozen means that Kristoff the ice merchant (the voice of Jonathan Groff: American Sniper, The Conspirator) and reindeer sidekick Sven are back, as is Olaf the sentient snowman (the voice of Josh Gad: The Angry Birds Movie 2, A Dog’s Journey). But the most notable thing about their return is Olaf’s bizarre recapping of the events of Frozen, including snippets of song, which only serves to remind us that what we’re watching is nowhere near as entertaining.
The biggest storytelling limb the movie goes out on revolves around the mending of a long-fractured relationship between Arendelle and the Northuldra people of the arctic realm Elsa and Anna visit. This sadly ends up smacking a little of white-savior-ism; telling these events through the eyes of one of the Northuldra tribe, rather than those of Elsa and Anna, would have been a way to bring something truly new here. Frozen II does at least acknowledge that righting a past injustice might require sacrifice on the part of those making amends… even if the movie ultimately pulls back on that, too.
The animation is lovely, of course, and it’s nice to see a strong, devoted, and loving relationship between sisters take center stage. That’s not enough, though. That’s just more of the same of what we’ve already seen, with not enough backing it up this time.
This is the third movie I’ve seen this year (after Terminator: Dark Fate and Knives Out) involving young people making amends for the injustices perpetrated by old white patriarchs. It doesn’t help the case of the films that the African American characters are relegated to relatively unimportant supporting roles and given very little to do or say. At least the previous two films had Latina characters at their centers. As you stated in the review, all of the important decisions in this film are still delivered, dictated, and driven by some of the whitest characters in animation (in fact, I’m pretty sure that Olaf is literally the whitest).
The script is trying to be socially and culturally sensitive to native peoples, admirable for a Thanksgiving film, but it’s so slipshod and half-hearted that none of the emotional beats hit as hard as they should. Because the story is so convoluted and the filmmakers don’t respect the audience, the constant infodumps and obligatory fanservice ruins any sense of rhythm.
One second Olaf is recounting the entire plot of the first movie as a joke, a couple minutes later, a fantasy novel’s worth of lore is being infodumped clumsily over our heads, a minute later a cute monster is shown that has no role in the story and exists solely to sell toys, then another infodump, a flashback, then we have what the movie considers to be a dramatic reveal about some characters we know almost nothing about, soon after a character is dying, then another infordump, then utter despair for about thirty seconds, immediately resolved by triumph before the official climax has even begun. There’s no narrative or emotional throughline – it’s just a bunch of ideas taped together with sporadic forced action that, while technically impressive and pretty, has little connection to the events of the story.
Songwise, I did enjoy Kacey Musgraves’ version of “All is Found,” however, listening to the lyrics summarizing the plot, it’s apparent even in lullaby form that the story is unfocused and ironically doesn’t flow like a river at all. The rest of the songs are weaksauce parodies of generic Broadway showtunes with a Chicago 80’s soft rock ballad tossed in. I’m 95% sure the filmmakers just googled “musical genres that get white people turnt,” and based the music on the top results. The first movie at least opened with Vuelie, but this one only has a little bit of native chanting in the background. I understand that Scandinavia is a very white place in every sense of the word, but there’s got to be more musical variety there than this.
I also found it amusing to see Elsa striding around the woods of a native village in her shimmering sequined ball gown while they remained in far more understated and practical garb. The vibe it gave off was, “Behold my splendor peasants! Your true Queen has returned! Rejoice in the power and presence of my blonde ambition, for I shall grace this village with my rule once again!” It kinda clashed with the whole message of respect and repentance. There are good ideas in the film, and I can see they wanted to make a fantasy epic for kids, but the overall execution and worldbuilding are quite poor. I don’t even like Frozen that much (more of a Tangled man myself), but compared to this entry, the first film is an unqualified masterpiece.
What Elsa lacks in skin tone, she makes up for in having all the wealth, privilege, and power in the world yet still feeling like a victim. Oooooooooh
(for the record, love Frozen and Elsa but… yeah…)
The poor little rich girl — especially one who is an aristocrat to boot — is one of the oldest cliches in the book. But I guess Disney wouldn’t be Disney if they didn’t use a few old cliches in their movies.
More of a Tangled man myself as well so I’ll resist the obligatory joke about wanting to do a Elsa in regard to this movie and just let it go…
I’ve watched far too many animated films for children multiple times each in the last 20 years, resulting in thinking about their meaning probbaly far too much. I remember, as a very conservative theist, begrudgingly accepting the liberal messaging in them because my children loved them.
Elsa was wrong in Let it Go, to dismiss the past, because the past is part of us. The film is frenetic though, but in a way that also mirrors modern life.
This movie is like a template for ordinary moral living. You could say that the need for fantastical world-building is also a privileged point of view. How about just peace with yourself, with your neighbors, and living a good rather ordinary life with hard work and laughter?
As a new agnostic atheist still trying to figure out my life’s direction, I found Anna’s “The Next Right Thing” to be extremely profound.
Yeah, but, Kristoff’s power ballad, man
SPOILERS
The movie is flawed for sure, with a less-than-tight plot, too much Silly Olaf, and a new and unnecessary Cute Critter being its worst sins. But I enjoyed the movie much more than you did, I think. I really appreciated how it tried to go wider and deeper with the story; it’s no longer (just) the story of Elsa’s individual struggle for self-realization, but the story of an entire community done wrong by a generational crime. And at the end, it links both: it says that finding our true purpose and our true selves is connected to working for liberation and justice for the community as a whole. I also appreciated how the story didn’t focus on a single villain for us to boo and hiss, at least in the present time; the villain is the past and our complicity with it, our reluctance to recognize and undo the ways we continue to benefit from past villainy (which I suppose is the definition of PRESENT villainy). That is DEEP for a Disney Princess Movie and utterly relevant to debates we’re having today, and I respect the filmmakers for exploring it.
I also disagree that the music was bland and forgettable. I think it was certainly less earwormy and instantly iconic, but I think that’s on purpose; it’s a fool’s errand to try to capture “Let It Go’s” lightning-in-a-bottle twice. But I found much of the music lovely and smartly written and arranged, and often exploring quieter or darker or more nuanced emotional terrain. Evan Rachel Wood’s “All Is Found” is a haunting, yearning folk song; and Kristen Bell’s “The Next Right Thing” GOES THERE, to the dark place of grief and depression and despair, and finds a way out that feels honest and true. It’s not flashy or buoyant like “Let It Go,” but I think that’s The Song from this movie that’s going to resonate and be a lifeline for a lot of people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6g1yQV0dIY
I can see that perspective, but here’s another one: we’re not meant to think of Anna and Elsa as different or better than the Northuldra, but as part of that community and directly connected to its heritage, through their mother. It’s the emotional journey some biracial kids make to reconnect with a cultural side of themselves that they feel had been suppressed, ignored, or denied; and in the process they feel newly awakened and invested in the community’s struggles. It’s a journey worth telling.
I hear what you’re saying, and I wish I *felt* that in the movie the way you do.
I wish you did too! :-)
The more I think about the film the more I find to appreciate:
* spoilers *
– Elsa’s arc could have been considered concluded at the end of Frozen — she’s learned to accept her powers and herself. Frozen 2 didn’t just regress her and have her relearn the same lessons; it challenged her with the next step: after you’ve accepted yourself and your abilities, what will you put them in service of? Clearly she was made for something other than royal meetings and receptions, and the story had her finally discover a role that fit her character. You can see it in the rapture on her face — the very last image of the film.
– Anna’s arc is, if anything, even more dramatic and moving. Sunny, bubbly Anna, who sang “For the First Time in Forever” and “Love is an Open Door,” is here brought to the depths of depression and has to sing about climbing out of it, step by step by step — every step its own hard choice. And her courage to do “the next right thing” is utterly inspiring: believing she’s lost her sister and her snowman, believing her boyfriend has abandoned her, and believing that the next action she must take will destroy her kingdom, she makes the choice to do it anyway — to sacrifice all she has, because it is the right thing to do. (And yeah, the film pulls back on actually destroying Arendelle, but maybe there are limits to what a film like this is willing to do. That doesn’t make Anna’s choices less impressive.)
– Also: the water-memory of the sisters’ grandfather preparing to strike down the defenseless Northuldra chief with his back turned is almost exactly the same tableau as Hans preparing to strike down Elsa in the first film. And it’s Anna, awesome brave Anna, who undoes both acts.
– Kristoff is a great model for how to be a non-toxic man. He’s not afraid to express his insecurities (and Jonathan Groff finally gets an awesomely hilarious boy-bandish ballad to express them). And he is unfailingly supportive of Anna; despite her leaving without him, despite the fact that they probably have to work out misunderstandings about who left whom, the FIRST THING he says when they meet again, under dire circumstances, is: “What do you need?” Bravo.
– After so many films about daddy issues — being overshadowed by fathers, searching for fathers, living up to fathers — it’s really cool to have a film that features the influence of, and quest for, a mother. We need more of those.
– Elsa is transformed yet again, and I think her makeover looks great. No tight-knit coils, no braids for me! I’m freeee! And her return to Anna, at the end, gave me strong Gandalf vibes. “Elsa? Oh yes. That was my name: Elsa the Blue… *I* am Elsa the White. And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide.” :-)
I’m gonna have to watch this film again.
Perhaps I will watch it again and see if I can feel any better about it.
I just found this interview with the songwriters and I love it. Learning the context and process behind the songs (and how they both inform and are informed by the story and animation) made me appreciate them even more. There’s a lot of thought and heart that went into them. As always, YMMV, but hopefully you can see it too. :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x75TphEixkc
I also thought this piece had some insightful observations about F2 and its improvements over F1 — including collaboration with indigenous communities (as Disney did with Moana) to ensure respectful representation. I’m sure Disney could always do better, but I’m heartened by steps in the right direction.
About on par with the first one.
Gorgeous animation
a surprisingly layered narrative
A few of the songs are decent, but most are just too damn repetitive.
The song “Do the Next Right Thing” is incredibly well written, and has a great message. Look it up. (
I like the sister dynamic, and how they continue to not pair up queen Elsa needlessly.
We get a bit to much Olaf, but I kind of like what they did with him. He’s thinking deep thoughts!
Its the rare movie that improves the more I think about it.