Hey guys. As you know, Frozen 2 has hit theaters this Thanksgiving. I have been anticipating it like most of you, but not too much otherwise I would have gotten too disappointed like what happened with films like The Good Dinosaur, Incredibles 2, and last year's Ralph Breaks The Internet. So only 2 questions popped up in my head as I was anticipating this film. Would this be one of those sequels that are just as good or even better than the first? Would it take a disappointing step backwards like Ralph Breaks The Internet? I saw this film yesterday with prepaid tickets with my friends. And for now at least my answer is...um, somewhere in the middle. I'll explain more during the review itself. (WARNING: This review contains a few spoilers! I advise you not to read this until or unless you have already seen it!)
Frozen 2[]
I'm into the unknown all right...on whether or not I want to buy its soundtrack or on blu ray.
All right, let's start with some of the good stuff. For starters, I definitely enjoyed seeing the Frozen characters again. And the setup was somewhat epic, and certainly trying. And the relationships were certainly sufficient. There wasn't any unneccesary whining and complaining. And like a lot of sequels, there's the "origin of the past" mystery that's kind of fun. It does explain how Elsa got her powers, and how the ways of the enchanted forest got stirred up. There are also some very emotional moments, like something that happens to Elsa and Olaf (again I won't give much away). But on that subject, I heard a little girl a few seats away from me crying, and I thought that moment might have been it. Yep, you read that right; Frozen 2 made someone cry! But to lighten the mood, there were two particular funny moments. One is how Olaf retold pretty much everything from the first film. The other is when Elsa comes into that cavern of icy flashbacks and shatters the one of Prince Hans as if she says "Get lost!" Now what about the music? Well, I'm still kinda "processing" the songs but so far "Into The Unknown" and "Show Yourself" seem to be the ones that really stand out. Another honorable mention was "When I'm Older" in a comedic sense. While I admit I'm not into it as much as "In Summer", it is pretty silly. 'Lost In The Woods" is er, kinda weak. I don't know if it's Kristoff or the song itself, but...eh, just not into it. Some of the visuals are appealing, at least the icy ones like in the first film-particularly during the "Show Yourself" sequence. So are there any issues I have? Well...I guess some of the new characters I don't find very memorable. They just seem like a typical tribe, or typical fighting soldiers. They just don't spark like the characters from the previous film. The only new one I kind of got into was that fire spirit chameleon. He was cute, he reminded me of Pascal and Dante (but mostly Pascal). Anything else? Yes. The plot. It's not that it's bad or weak, it's just...a little complicated. There's that war that angered the spirits that endangered the forest, its water remembering everything mixed in with the parents trying to find answers about Elsa's powers, and the dam-yeah I can't really explain it very easily. Also, even though there's that awful grandpa who started this whole thing, I still feel like an actual villain is missing. And I don't mean a hidden villain or a misunderstood main antagonist, I mean a real villain. One that hoped to use all this to his or her own advantage to gain the magic power of the forest. I just felt like it was a missing puzzle piece that made the film seem a little incomplete. Probably a nitpick of my own, but I'd like a traditional villain again sometime. Anything else? Well, there's the ending. (Bit of a spoiler alert) You know, Elsa staying behind to protect the Enchanted Forest while Anna becomes the new queen of Arendelle. Surprisingly, I didn't really mind this big separation. I know that's weird since it was one my bottom favorite aspects of Ralph Breaks The Internet, but there are particular reasons why. One, Elsa's powers are needed in the Enchanted Forest more than Arendelle. Two, there wasn't a major harsh conflict between the two sisters that bothered me. Don't get me wrong, there was conflict, but it was more of a "life or death" themed one. And 3, I guess it was because the other characters were more developed and expanded and the movie didn't focus ONLY on the main two characters. And I did manage to get the hint that Anna and Elsa still stay in touch and she regularly visits Arendelle.
Closing Thoughts[]
So in terms of whether or not I like this more or less than the first film, I'm still having trouble deciding. But for now at least, I'd say somewhat along the same veins as sequels like The Rescuers Down Under or Finding Dory, the original's story is more developed, this sequel is pretty entertaining as its own film. I'm not sure if I want to watch it over and over again yet, but I did enjoy it to a certain degree. If it looks good to you, go check it out and decide for yourself.