Frozen II 2019
I saw the first Frozen years after it came out, giving it a B+, but eventually I bought it on blu-ray and watched it again, and my opinion improved a little. So I was looking forward to the sequel, but still wary. The tone of this movie is different from the first, instead of a personal story about these two sisters, there is a lot of magic and they learn about their parents and grandfather while the entire city of Arendelle is in danger. This is a heavier plot than Olaf’s Frozen Adventure or Frozen Fever, shorts that took place after Frozen and cashed in and kept the first movie relevant. It is never completely dark as Elsa finds a way to see the good in things and resolve problems through empathy, which is a nice message. There are some surprises along the way with some serious stakes. There are also a lot of songs, maybe three big songs in the first 20 minutes or so and a few more spread out after that. Maybe none of them have quite the power of “Let It Go” but they still seemed pretty strong to me. Also Olaf continues to be a surprisingly entertaining character and is responsible from most of the comic relief, which is mostly goofy, but also well written. In one bit he does a great summary of the first movie. The plot moves along pretty well for the most part, but drags in places, with maybe a little too much magic and enchantment, but there is some character development and good messages, with nice songs and animation, so I think it all works, but maybe a little mechanical at times. I can see how people might not like it or might really like it and I guess I am somewhere in between, so I will give it a B+, maybe kind of at the higher end of that range.
Update: I watched this again when it came to Disney+. While it is a good story, it seems too crowded with magic and songs and it is kind of melodramatic with lore and what is going on with Elsa. It is a little too serious for its own good. It might still get a B+, but towards the lower end of that or maybe even into a B if I re-rated it.
Written: 01 Dec 2019
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital