Frozen 2 Review

Frozen II
Directors: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
Cast Headliners: Idina Menzel, Kirsten Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, wacky elements
Original Release Date: November 22nd, 2019

If 2013's Frozen was a typical Walt Disney Animation Studios main film with some really nice flourishes then Frozen II is a typical Disney sequel with some flourishes of its own. However it's rare that these get released on something more than direct to video at a theatrical level. The effort of the film is felt giving a colorful, emotional, attempted epic story once again however for everything it does well again it falls short in areas the first did. But maybe one can “let its flaws go”.
Knowledge of the first film is key to the events of this one with it taking place after the changed situation of that. In the lush oranges of a fall autumn the kingdom of Arrendelle has it new ruling generation in the friendly reunion of sisters kind-hearted Anna(Kirsten Bell) and ice-gifted Elsa(Idina Menzel) along with Anna's simple goofy boyfriend Kristoff(Jonathan Groff) along with reindeer Sven and living snowman Olaf(Josh Gad).
Their sing-song-y idyllic lives are interrupted by a legacy from their past as seen in flashbacks from their parents Agnarr(Alfred Molina) and Iduna(Evan Rachel Wood). Legends speak of mysterious river of memories in the Enchanted Forest where things such as the wild out of alighnment elements, rock giants, the Northulda people led by Yelena(Martha Plimpton) and a group of knights led by Lietunanent Matthias(Sterling K Brown).
It's a movie that ends up with some mixed delivery but some things must be praised. The CGI animated visuals are incredible with Disney itself even surpassing the best of Pixar to levels of realism perhaps never seen before especially in the backgrounds. The natural scenery is breathtaking and people / critters are so smooth even if it trends towards the “cute”.  Some impressive use of scale makes things feel fresh or darker when needed. Solid kudos again to directors Christopher Buck and Jennifer Lee as they return.
Of course the music is a key part of the experience. The orchestral score by returners Robert and Kristan Anderson Lopez is lush with some new usage of things like guitars, drums, and even retro-70s keyboards to give it a nuanced experimental feeling.  On the songs well...it's some mixed bag. Great in effort and composition to perhaps new heights but their usage is not the best. They're more of them but they seem to pop up at times odd intervals without the emotional context or fall into the trope of “explain everything”.  They have more layers and emotional but lack the right punch at times or aren't as catchily iconic as “Let It Go”. Some exceptions apply however in both epic and even self-aware humor. The Olaf number seems oddly familiar however.
On Olaf, he's a stand-out character again in new if even more ridiculous ways that may trend towards a comedic overload.  The script is full of a lot of heart and laugh worthy moments mostly from him but at times the sisters, Kristoff, or Sven. Bell's Anna seems to have slightly regressed as a character but has her depth and charming moments although not as quite where the first one was. This actually leads to Groff's Kristoff having some more stuff with her in his established relationship and proposal goals. Menzel's Elsa has an amazing singing voice of course but so too again has some decent character growth with extra emotion this time although once again it seems she goes away from the main plot for long stretches. Newcomers like Brown's soldier or the Northuldrans offer little more than exposition in the tapestry with one wanting some more of their various new cultures explained.
What it succeeds in audio-visuals it unfortunately finds itself confused in narrative. There's very rare moments of excitement and drama but really the plot is so frustratingly simple in comparison to the past. There's not really a true antagonist or challenges to overcome. There's moments almost like these but they're glossed over quickly like many things. Questions are raised that are never really answered and somehow even with a bigger scope things feel smaller. One wishes some more time was spent on certain revelations or the meaning of the non-ice elements but nothing ever does.
However that's since it is a Disney movie and those at times are not so much about the “plot”. The best of their like however do have some substance and here everything just scratches at the surface. It's another slice of family weather-related fun but try to keep the bar of the first at home. 7.6 out of 10