SYNOPSIS:
Three years after the events of the first film, life has gone on in Arendelle. But Elsa (Idina Menzel) begins to hear a haunting song that only calls to her. Setting out with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), and reindeer Sven, the group head off toward an enchanted forest to the north, surrounded by an impenetrable fog, to find the source of the song and uncover the mysterious history of Arendelle.
REVIEW:
This was an enjoyable sequel to the original. It found a way to continue the story without rehashing the previous film (much). I personally felt it dragged a bit in places, and I saw the climax coming a mile away, but that didn't detract from the overall film. It had a lot more grown-up elements to its story this time around.
Heck, Olaf was much more mature in this one! Despite continuing to be the comic relief, he's also grown as a person. Being 3 years old now, he's more than a bumbling moron. He's learned more about life and is a lot more introspective in this film. (He's even learned to read now!) He sees Elsa and Anna as "ancient" in age and even has a song about how he'll understand things better when he's older. He even discovers the emotion of anger at one point, and has a very mature discussion with Anna about this new emotion. He also has a few deeper moments where he explores his own mortality.
Kristoff was the perfect example of how a man should be. Not because he was the "big strong hero" or any such manly stereotype. In actuality, he spends most of the film frustrated at being left behind and practically ignored by Anna. He's in a relationship with her, but feels like she's emotionally disconnected and he worries that they're growing apart. He has a big musical number (an 80s power ballad, of all things) where he vents about feeling like he's losing the one he loves.
But one line of Kristoff's that stuck out to me was when he shows up for Anna and all he said was, "I'm here, what do you need?" He didn't ask what was going on (and a lot was going on at the time), he didn't ask what she did or attempt to take charge of the situation. He didn't take time out of the story to vent about how frustrated he was with her. He saw she was in trouble and offered his immediate unconditional assistance. It was refreshing to see a guy make a selfless act of service toward someone he loved. That's how it should be, but you rarely ever see that in media. Kristoff spends the film a romantic wreck, but still puts his problems aside to help in a crisis. And that's a very important lesson for men to understand. It's okay to be fragile and emotional at times, but you shouldn't take it out on those you care about. If you offer to be there for your significant other (and of course, keep open lines of communication), your relationship will be that much stronger.
Anna spends the film clinging to her sister, determined not to lose her again. She's so desperately attached to her sister that the thought of losing her sends her into a very dark, depressing spiral. But she, too, has a powerful song about pushing forward, taking that next step even when all seems lost. I feel it's an important lesson for those who feel like there's nothing left in their life. There's always something worth living for and it's important to always keep making the effort, even when it feels like there's no point left.
Elsa has become a lot more powerful by this film, but still struggles to keep up with magic she finds in the world. She's always felt out of place and spends the film on a journey of self-discovery, trying to understand her powers and where she best fits in the big picture of things. So overall, there was plenty of character growth across all of the characters. Even Sven seems a little less silly than the previous film, being a more direct support for Kristoff as he's struggling to understand his relationship with Anna.
RECOMMENDATION:
This was a lot more mature story than its predecessor, but a good step forward in that regard. It gives you good morals in life and love, while also guiding you toward ways to deal with emotion and frustration in a healthy manner. Frozen (2013) was absolutely fantastic and I got my hopes up expecting Frozen II (2019) to be the next major step forward in the world of Arendelle. I was a little let down that the plot was kind of obvious and didn't have as strong of an impact as the original. But where it lacked in storytelling, it made up in character development and social interactions. There were plenty of powerful can't-miss moments. I'd highly recommend seeing this film if you haven't yet!
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