Frozen 2

The Frozen phenomenon that began in 2013 was something that Disney actually didn't intend on happening when they released that winter movie back in the modern resurgence of their animated works. The success created a merchandising frenzy between overindulgence of celebrating its hit song "Let it Go", new costumes/sections at their attractions, a couple of TV shorts, and even being included as a level in Kingdom Hearts 3 (not executed well there). The downside of this was the bad stigma associated with brand due to its unexpected popularity (it broke $1 billion) as a portion of the audiences would feel frustration by its mere mention. It would be inevitable for the studio to find itself in a position to create a sequel since a demand existed (both for audiences and monetary reasons) and their knack for sequels knows no limits. Six years later, this brings us to Frozen 2 with the cast and crew from the predecessor returning to hopefully bring the same magic to its audiences. The marketing seemed to imply that it would explore new aspects for its characters in this adventure but I was cautious considering the studios track record with modern sequels. I went into the auditorium to see if there was any creative juices flowing after 6 years and left it disappointed in how dull it ended up becoming. 

My Quick Thoughts on Frozen (2013): I consider it to be an enjoyable but standard Disney feature. I like most of the songs, the lighthearted humor, and some sweet moments. But other additions like weak comic relief characters and some fairytale elements hold it back for my liking. ⭑⭑⭑3/4

How are the songs? Let's knock this out of the way since that's more of a memorable priority for audiences rather than everything else. The work that has been done in this area is as top notch as the animation quality. While there isn't anything as catchy or incredibly memorable in this soundtrack (though time will tell if any of these stick in for the long run), most of them feel rather fitting for this type of somber adventure. There isn't anything as extravagant nor memorable as the predecessors hit number Let it Go but the two standout highlights among the songs both belong to Idina Menzel: Into the Unknown and Show Yourself, primarily for her power ballads and the visual sequences.

What's it about? Taking place 3 years after Elsa's coronation, the returning protagonist find themselves having to venture out to a magical area beyond the kingdom to save it from mysterious forces. On paper that has potential to make the mythos more interesting while developing its leads naturally. However, the execution of the screenplay is heavily mismanaged and ends up feeling dull for two big reasons. The first of those causes being the addition of subplots for the comedic relief characters as their inclusion was entirely unnecessary and filler. In this case, the talking snowman is given an existential crisis that goes nowhere while the boyfriend of Anna attempts to propose to her but fails multiple times (the latter heavily drags the pacing down hard).

That writing choices causes the second reason of faults: the main story arc needed more time and careful choices to feel captivating instead of stock and flat. While there are some visually amazing scenes in there, as a whole it didn't justify why it was needed for the narrative (considering how the first film ended on a closed set end). Even the ending makes a decision that's abrupt and doesn't make any sense (no conversation is even made between the characters involved on why they want to do that action).

How are the actors? In regards to the main cast, the actors to focus are Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel as the sisters Anna and Elsa, respectively. It's good to say that the chemistry between these two still works well for their scenes. Even though the type of material she's dealing with isn't as lighthearted as before, Kristin manages to do her best with the script she's given with both dramatic and quirky moments. Idina shines better here with having more screen time in this quest and is probably the MVP of the group. As for our returning actors, Josh Gad, while not as humorous as before with these jokes, does what he can but fares better than Jonathan Groff who suffers from the story (though his performance isn't terrible). There are new characters but they don't offer a whole lot that's really worth mentioning since they barely have enough screen time to be memorable.

Overall Consensus: Frozen 2 boasts beautiful animation, solid performances, and good songs, but suffers from reaching its potential as a worthy sequel due to the faults of its story. ⭑⭑⭑💻 Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes PG

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors. You love that first film and want to see how the followup is handled with a darker tone. You don't mind pointless subplots in movies. You are a fan of anything Disney related and want to check out the new songs. You want to see if your Frozen 2 fan theory came true or not.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors. You love that first film but want to see how the followup is handled (or just dislike Frozen in general). You are annoyed pointless subplots or copied elements from other Disney movies. You dislike Disney cash grab animated followups with the quality of a direct to video sequel.