on Frozen II
The full review will be up soon on Cult of Whatever, but for now here’s a snippet of the piece followed by the final score…
There are a trio of reasons that Frozen became the massive hit it was (it remains Disney’s new biggest animated movie)…
First, the movie eschewed traditional fairy tale tropes to the point of mocking the clichéd “knight in shining armor” and hapless “damsel(s) in distress” ideas.
Second, the movie doubles-down on its female characters, centering the story on the relationship between sisters, a rarity for a children’s movie.
Third, the soundtrack featured a ton of instantly-catchy songs, not the least of which is the ubiquitous “Let it Go.”
While personally I think Tangled is the superior movie, I can’t deny the cultural impact of Frozen. It struck a nerve as a kid’s movie in a way not seen since the heyday of Disney’s renaissance. Its fresh take on an old fable, memorable characters, clever twists, and satisfying climax would have earned the movie a perfect 10/10 had I reviewed it back in 2013.
Frozen II does not replicate that formula. In fact, it only seems to try and check one of those boxes.
The one area where the movie reached the standards of the first is in the relationship between Elsa and Anna. While the first movie built on their sisterhood around the idea that “you don’t need a knight in shining armor when you have family,” the sequel builds its sisterhood-plot around the idea that “you don’t need to do magic to make a difference.” Probably the most powerful moment in the movie saw the powerless Anna leaping over chasms with great effort (something her sister could do with ease) as she struggled to solve the movie’s central problem. In the end, she succeeds and her sister is only there to offer additional help on the back-end. Putting the climax in the hands of Anna was a smart creative choice; it was a bold move close to the same level as building a movie around the two sisters was originally.
I just wish the rest of the production had been so bold.
8/10 – Frozen II is not a bad movie by any means, but it does disappoint. A few flashes of greatness here and there kept me engaged, and the songs were good in the moment, but the whole experience lacked the instant-magic feel of the first.