(As with all our movie reviews, we will attempt to entice you without having to issue any “spoiler alerts.”)
Frozen II opened in theaters nationwide on November 22. (©Disney)
Three years since Anna saved Arendelle with her dying act of true love, we are transported once again to that mythical (mystical?) kingdom ruled by a young queen and her little sister. In the gap of time, Elsa has learned to control her fear and is no longer a threat to the village, but now she is called upon to use her powers to find the truth to right a wrong between two people groups.
After an unexplained event dried up the water, put out the fires, blew everyone around and eventually ran them out of town, Pabbie Troll shows up to provide some clues about what is to come. Elsa, hearing a call in the wind, follows it and inadvertently awakens the spirits of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. She then decides that she must find from where this call is coming and follow it since it may provide information to save the kingdom.
However, our fearless five (Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven) have decided that they must protect each other so they set out together to the Enchanted Forest.
This sequel provides a lot of information about the young royals’ past and how their lives came about. But it also leaves more questions unanswered, especially where the girls’ parents are involved.
The sidekicks are not to be just add-ons to the story. The plucky Olaf provides comic relief giving a lot of useless trivial information (like “water has a memory” and “gorillas burp when they are happy”) and telling stories of the past. Not to be left out of the story, Kristoff can’t seem to find the right words or time to “pop the question,” even getting help from a kindred Northuldran named “Ryder,” who tries to show him their way that “involves a lot of reindeer.”
Some of the humor is meant for an older audience who will understand certain comic nuances and it is certainly necessary to have seen the original Frozen to tie the stories together – this is not a stand alone movie.
There is a lot of singing in this movie, almost annoyingly to the point of becoming a musical, but there aren’t any iconic songs that little girls will be belting out for years to come.
Frozen II has taken the theaters by storm, and it is certainly a worth-seeing movie. Disney will be cashing in for quite a while with merchandise. And like the original Frozen, this movie will once again shake up the Disney royalty.
P.S. The credits are long as they were about 800 people involved in this production, but sit all the way through to the very end for a special treat!