Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient, autumn-bound forest of an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa’s powers in order to save their kingdom.
I’m surprised it got here so late, to be honest. Six years after the mega-hit blockbuster “Frozen,” co-directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee finally deliver a follow-up — much to the delight of children everywhere, and much to the horror of parents who had to endure “Let It Go” belted out over and over again. Six years is an interesting gap for this saga: young fans of the original have grown up and most likely could care less about Anna and Elsa’s plight — yet they are obviously replaced by a fresh new batch of lil’ ones, who now have to get reacquainted with the original to get up to speed. Will “Let It Go” have the same effect on them without the media’s assault, played on TV sets as opposed to gargantuan screens — and if so, are the new songs effective (read annoying) enough to replace the original’s “masterpieces”?
All questions that riddled my mind as I walked into the press screening of “Frozen II”. See, I’m clearly not the intended audience of this eye-candy spectacle. Though I am a father, my 19-month-old daughter is still too young for those type of epilepsy-inducing shenanigans. I love animation, but a) I am not a fan of musicals (I’d rather gouge my eyes out with Disney princess figurines than endure, say, the new “Little Mermaid” spectacle (debacle?)), and b) I’m a 36-year-old man. So I did my best to focus, set my cynicism aside and see the world Buck and Lee, along with four (!) additional writers, conjured, through the eyes of an eight-year-old girl (okay, that sounds weird).
Even having assumed the aforementioned perspective, I still couldn’t help but feel the forced plot machinations that override the narrative. Everything is where it should be: established conflict, musical numbers, Olaf’s (Josh Gad) comic-relief shenanigans, the mandatory overblown ending… Yet was this feature really necessary? The original “Frozen” (I begrudgingly admit) harked back to the Disney classics of yore with its heart-on-the-sleeve sentiments and functioned perfectly as a stand-alone title. Its sequel reeks of corporate cash-in, and who can blame Disney, with all the “Frozen” pencils and backpacks and video-games and…
Anyway, I digress. Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) live out their lives in the kingdom, with the Insta-Frost, evergreen Olaf (Josh Gad) in tow. Yet Elsa yearns for adventure. She follows a (literal) calling, in the process waking the magical spirits of a distant enchanted forest, which is immersed in an “Annihilation”-like fog. She promises to free said forest and restore its magical land. Together with Anna, Olaf, Prince Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer Sven, she embarks on a journey to a magical river that says to hold answers to the past. On their adventure, they encounter numerous obstacles, both foes and friends, like the inhabitants of said land, ravenous seas and enormous rock giants. Despite their solemn promise to stick together, their paths eventually part – and the young women may have to discover themselves separately.
As is apparent, the theme of change, of getting older, is prevalent throughout this narrative, giving the young ‘uns plenty to chew on. “Do you ever worry that nothing is permanent?” Olaf, the existential twerp/idiot savant that he is, wonders, in addition to singing about growing up: “That will all make sense when I am older.” (He also waxes poetic about how “water has memory” and shares theories about the perils of advancing technology.) Both sisters are going through rather adult existential crises, too. Throw in the brutal death of the siblings’ parents and it’s safe to say that in their attempts to be bold, Disney may have crossed the line a bit on this one. “Inside Out” dealt with similar issues much more eloquently (it did many things much more eloquently).
Good thing there’s humor to counterbalance the solemnity. Bad news: not much of it lands. A game of charades is quite funny, as is Olaf’s attempt to recount the first “Frozen”’s plot in 30 seconds or less. The prince’s continuous, awkward attempts to propose to Anna yield mixed results, but some, like his “Why, Is Love So Hard” song/tribute to cheesy 1980s videos, do evoke a giggle or two. The rest of the songs — with one exception — leave much to be desired. “Some Things Never Change” is run-of-the-mill, as is “Show Yourself,” all thundering empowerment and not much soul. “Into the Unknown,” with its mournful motifs, fares much better, and could be the centerpiece that — oh God, help us! — replaces “Let It Go.”
There’s no denying that the animation is absolutely spectacular. Disney, with Pixar in tow, is taking over the world one pixel at a time, and the virtual reality they conjure is riveting to behold. The snow is crisper than ever, the characters’ expressions as lifelike and heart-tugging as complex algorithms could muster, the action jaw-dropping and stunningly colorful… Step aside, folks! Watch Elsa wrestle with a spectacular water horse! I feel the cynicism creeping back in — forcing it aside, obviously, a great amount of soul and artistry went into making this feature as seamless as the dresses its empowered heroines wear.
“Frozen II” suffers from a clear case of “sequelitis” — unlike, say, “Toy Story 4”, which felt like a natural continuation of a saga. Its throwback vibe saves it (barely) from being yet another glossy, computer-animated, non-Pixar by-product (see the recent lackluster “Ralph Breaks the Internet”). If you’re over 12 and have no interest in musicals or princesses, there’s little here to enchant you.
In Theaters Friday, November 22nd
