Frozen 2 isn’t the emotional joyride its predecessor was. But Elsa and gang still deliver an exuberant, magical northern adventure.
Frozen 2 Synopsis
Three years after becoming queen, Elsa is at ease with her (awesome) powers while Arendelle is prosperous and peaceful. In the midst of this, Elsa begins to hear a strange voice, the humming of which reminds her of a lullaby her late mother once sang to her. After she accidentally releases four elemental spirits while pursuing the voice, Elsa journeys to the Enchanted Forest of the Northuldra people with Anna and the rest, a place that has been surrounded by impassable magical fog for decades. There, she not only uncovers an unknown story about her parents, she also learns the reason for her powers. Unfortunately, with these realizations also come the pressing need to correct a decades-old mistake.
Snappy Review
Am I right to say Disney seldom does well with sequels for animated hits?
I’m not talking about the sequels made by subsidiary companies like Pixar. I’m referring to the part 2s and 3s for cinematic hits like Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, or even Tangled. While few of those were downright bad, none truly matched up to their predecessors. Heck, practically all weren’t even meant for cinematic release. They were either direct-to-video or direct-to-cable.
Because of this, I wasn’t looking forward to Frozen 2. Yeah, the trailer was promising. There’s a lot of mystery left in Elsa’s story too. But overall, it still felt like one of those franchise-milking things. Silly as it sounds, I was also convinced the sequel would be about Elsa having another power-crisis. Maybe she would be tempted by something that could remove her icy magic once and for all. Maybe that comes with some sort of horrible cost. Etc, etc.
How wrong I was. And how pleasant it was to discover I was so wrong.
They are many things that are deeply enjoyable about this sequel, even if, as I highlighted above, it’s not the emotional roller-coaster part one was. For starters, there’s more music, including two songs that are quite different from the rest and presented in truly hilarious MTV style.
There’s also the long-awaited (canon) explanation for Elsa’s powers, and the revelation of what exactly happened to her parents. Speaking of powers, it was nothing short of exuberant to see Elsa at the peak of her dazzling might. Brief as the action scenes were, they fully capitalized on the inherent elegance of frost magic.
Lastly, it was so wonderfully fulfilling to see Elsa at ease with what tormented her previously. Might I add she obviously has been training too, this is no longer an awkward magic child.
The current Queen Elsa would more than be a match for any of Disney’s evil mistresses.
Read my other Snappy Movie Reviews.
