Movie Review: "Frozen 2" (Spoiler Free)

A mere six years ago, Frozen wandered onto the scene with only marginally more fanfare then other recent Disney Animation films at the time, seeming for all the world like just the next "loose fairy tale adaptation" after Tangled, though one that almost completely reinvents its source material (and not without reason, for adapting the Snow Queen faithfully was the reason it remained in development limbo for decades). Of course, we all know what happened after that: the film struck a chord with audiences globally, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all-time (around here, we do not talk about that... thing... from July earlier this year). More importantly, it had a hit Broadway musical, innumerable toys and merchandise, and if music was still played on CDs, there'd be tons of worn-out Frozen soundtracks courtesy of most pre-teen girls. Oh, and plenty of covers of the film songs, and of the two lead princesses being real feminist role models for today's generation, and so on.

In 2019, we're all so used to the Frozen phenomenon that it's far too easy to forget that it was lightning in a bottle, a result of its ingredients and the way in which they were combined resonating with audiences in a profound way - not an accident, but nigh-impossible to replicate, and that matters far more then the film's actual quality. Don't misunderstand me, Frozen is a good film, but it's not a great one. That film has major tonal whiplash moving from exposition-heavy musical of the opening 35 minutes to a more standard action-adventure comedy thereafter, the surest sign of the film's rushed schedule. And as much as Let It Go and Do You Want To Build a Snowman are amazing songs, the rest range from passable to forgettable; I much prefer Tangled and Moana's slate of songs, which lack a Let It Go-level highlight but have a higher overall quality.

In the end, that's neither here nor there. Point being, though Frozen 2 has room to fail, it also had room to improve on the first film. And given it wasn't going to knock most audiences off their feet the way the first one did, that was all I realistically hoped for.

What do we get? Well... lord knows the film tries to be as iconic as the first film. That's part of the problem; the filmmakers and the film itself are very much aware that Frozen is as beloved as any Disney animated film this side of The Lion King, and are so intent on equalling or outdoing it that this film doesn't quite breathe. Nowhere is this more obvious then the songs, with half of them obviously slotting into similar places as ones from the first film that they serve a similar narrative purpose to. But we'll get back to that.

Like much of every sequel these days, Frozen 2 aims on being bigger, bolder and more epic then the first film, really ramping up the adventure aspects and going into darker and more emotionally raw directions. The adventure aspect is odd, given the parts of Frozen 1 everyone adores the most is the exposition musical elements of the first 35 minutes, less so the rest of the film. But I'll admit, I was curious to see how a full-on nordic adventure fantasy done by Disney might fare. Alas, it's not quite a How to Train Your Dragon; this film never seems to decide how detailed or vague it wants to remain with it's new mythology, with some aspects being drilled heavily and others left unexplored. The same applies to most of the new characters, who get promptly shelved not long after their first appearance and don't appear again until the climax. In caught trying to serve a plot that still focuses on Anna and Elsa, most of the new elements of the story feel decidedly undercooked - it's like the filmmakers do care about all the new elements, but also want to keep the sisters as the core focus. A fair choice, but there's some imbalance there; though the film could have been longer (discounting credits, this film is 2 minutes shorter then the first one, quite the surprise when you boil down what happens in both films), they don't feel inclined to go there. It's not just the new characters; poor Kristoff falls into the trap of having no plot-meaningful role and thus existing here mostly because he was a main character last time, saddled with a C-plot that, while not offensive, doesn't feed into the film even though it feels like it does.

In all honestly, though, the fact of the film's plot being constructed of fantasy clichés isn't a huge issue. When the film actually narrows its focus to a few characters, as it does between the midpoint and the climax, and when it actually allows itself to get more emotionally raw and dark, then it soars. Frozen 2 is at its best when it's a sensory experience, and I am loathe to spoil anything about that largely-phenomenal chunk of the film, except to say that it has both surprises and breath-catching moments of tension, the kind where you can feel your mind leave your body in the cinema. That quarter-to-a-third of the film is everything I wanted from this sequel given what the trailers promised, and if the whole film, or even just two-thirds of it, was at that level, we might legit have a film better then the first on our hands.

I teased on the songs, didn't I? Well, imagine the first film's slate of songs, only Let It Go and Do You Want To Build a Snowman aren't as amazing as they are. So it's consistent but without the highlights. The odd thing is, while the songs themselves range from enjoyable but disposable to forgettable, the sequences themselves generally fare much better with their visuals. A late-game Let It Go copycat may have lyrics and a melody that I couldn't recite or hum if you put a gun to my head, but the visual sequence itself sure manages to sell it. That's basically it - for the songs that do excel, it's the sequences they are a part of more then the songs themselves that wow. Still, the first film's songs continue to be played endlessly the world over six years on, so maybe I'm all wrong, and these will prove to be hits too. I just can't see them becoming hits that way, while it did make sense with Frozen 1's songs.

There are two areas where the film actually improves across-the-board on the first. The comedy is the first - for the most part it's okay, but every so often there's a sequence that just steals the show, most of them courtesy of Olaf. You'll know his big standout moment when you see it. And most of the callbacks to the first film hit the nail on the head, though the references to the Hans subplot go overboard with hammering home the 'point' of that subplot. The second point is the action - most of Frozen 1's action scenes were merely okay (hello Beauty and the Beast rip-off wolves!), but there are quite a few action sequences here that get more intense then you might think.

Not much to say about the animation, it's par the course for Disney Animation lately; brilliant and beautiful environments and effects coupled with characters whose skin textures never feel quite right. Though Frozen 2 adjusts to the software change at Disney Animation better then most of their Big Hero 6-onward films, so that's something.

This is getting a bit long here, so to wrap up, there's basically nothing about this film that's bad or wrong, and quite a lot about it that's really great. The more the film leans in the tonal direction of How to Train Your Dragon, in making a big, rich, emotionally resonant animated fantasy, the better it fares, but even when it doesn't go that far, it moves along being serviceably enjoyable. I left the film feeling rather more satisfied then this review would indicate. It's just that Frozen 2 is a sensory experience that, alas, doesn't make as much sense once you stop and think about it. Those are best watched no more then a few times, given diminishing returns set it fast on repeat viewings for a film like that. The characters are still the ones we know and love, and that puts this far above the weak Disney sequel from last year, Ralph Breaks the Internet, but this film still doesn't do much to change my mind that Disney Animation should stick away from sequels in the future. Frozen 2 is a good, enjoyable, watchable film, but it's an uneven one, though it's worth seeing if you like Frozen 1 enough, especially for that big screen experience.