Overall grade: 3/5
Mona Lisa cannot be recreated and neither can the original Frozen! Not to say that this was a bad movie by any means – it was a good movie but any comparison to the original would be futile.
Seeing all the characters together again after six years in this much awaited and anticipated Frozen sequel was a blast – especially the perennial favorite snowman, Olaf (he should have his own spinoff movie!). Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and the ensemble cast were all there to grace the screens once again and remind us of how Frozen transported us to another world six years ago. That alone is worth the price of admission. Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel doing justice to the voices of the two leading ladies once gain.
Movie starts with a flashback of Anna and Elsa as kids playing with their parents. Their father, King Agnarr, then recounts a not so pleasant story about the indigenous history of the “Enchanted Forest” and how it might come calling again. The children grow up and right on cue – Elsa gets the “calling”. That is the basic premise of the movie. From then on, the journey begins. The story though takes a meandering and somewhat convoluted plot turn which could be a tad bit challenging for the younger lot to follow as it delves into a history of past sins (colonialism) that need to be rectified in order for things to return back to normal once again.
The movie did feel a little hurried at times and didn’t take the time to show us how, for example, life at Arendelle (Anna and Elsa’s hometown) evolved post “Frozen 1” and straightaway immersed us into a new narrative. Some of the scenes are visually stunning and breath-taking (Anna going down the river with Olaf, Elsa trying to vault herself over the crashing waves) – left us pining for more of the same.
Music is at the forefront of this film, as it was with the first one and the main score “Into the Unknown” could become a bonafide hit. However there is no melody in the sequel that matches anything from the original and some of the songs just popped up gratuitously with no connection to the scenes.
Side Note: New welcome additions to the Fab 5 of Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven were characters voiced by the likes of Sterling K. Brown (Lt. Mattias), Evan Rachel Wood (Queen Iduna) and Alfred Molina (King Agnarr). The ice horse and a cute lizard rounded up the main cast. And wait till the ending credits are over for a bonus scene with our favorite snowman….sorry Frosty 🙁
Film makers sometimes feel obligated to go off the beaten path and take the ”road less traveled by” when making a sequel but taking the more familiar road of the original might have garnered a more satisfying result in this case.
All in all, Frozen II is a solid movie worth a watch even if it’s just for the eye candy of seeing the Fab 5 on screen again. You won’t be disappointed but at the same time you won’t be nearly as mesmerized as you were after watching the captivating and spellbinding Frozen.
Overall grade: 3/5
