Why FROZEN II is the Best Bad Movie of the Year (Spoilers)
- Courtney Hayes
- Dec 10, 2019
- 6 min read
Disney has a reputation when it comes to sequels, and it’s not always a good one. Sure, they have some amazing ones, like Finding Dory and pretty much all of the Toy Story sequels, but when it comes down to it a lot of the sequels to their biggest Disney blockbusters have been lackluster. And straight-to-DVD. Think The Little Mermaid 2, Mulan 2, The Lion King 2, and many others. The straight-to-DVD sequel is no more, replaced by the straight-to-streaming sequel. However, with Frozen II, Disney chose to of course go for a big-screen follow up to one of their most successful franchises. And this is how Frozen II ended up being one of the most beautiful, funny, and musically divine movies of the year while also having a really, really terrible plot. And terrible pacing. And very, very low stakes. So, let’s discuss this gorgeous movie while I shed a tear for what could have been if the quality of the writing was as spectacular as the quality of the animation.
Let’s start with the good: the animation. Hair and fashion are no minor points when it comes to discussing a movie, and for Frozen II the animation team was on another level when it came to these aspects. The animation of hair texture, colour, and different styles was enthralling in cinemas. The wardrobe was also so well thought out. It flowed beautifully, there were a lot of magnificent (though sometimes unnecessary) costume changes, and the colours and fabrics just seemed to really shine on the big screen. It was magical animation. And that brings us to the actual magic, which was stunning to behold. Colours and shapes and general whimsy captures the audience’s attention. I saw the film in 3D (though I don’t normally like to) but with this one I was happy I did. I felt like I was in the perfect fantasy world of my childhood dreams. I’m sure little girls and boys have been running home after the film asking where they can find their own pink and purple fire to play with (sorry parents). And then there are the locations. The sky is always wonderful, with so much depth to its design. The animators captured a perfect Icelandic environment. The colours are vibrant, fantastical yet realistic, and the land, trees, and animals all seem like pieces of art.
Now, let’s get to Olaf. I believe he deserves his own paragraph. His comedic lines and timing really improve the movie. Even when it may run a little dull, Olaf pops in with some wonderfully out-of-place trivia, a song about growing up, or a both hilarious and dark recounting of the last Frozen movie (for all those parents who didn’t see the first one, or all those kids who want to hear about it for the 100th time). He’s also a very wise character, believe it or not. One of his best lines is about focusing on things you can control to find peace in a world that you can’t. Pretty deep for a snowman. I think he can be a real inspiration for children, because in many ways he is a child too and he is learning how to deal with floods of emotions and situations he does not yet understand. And he does this by keeping children laughing, being an understanding friend, and admitting that he doesn’t know everything yet—but he’s working on it. Besides the comedy and wisdom he provides, Olaf also has an Inside Out moment in this film where he fades away into nothing in Anna’s arms— after leaving her with a message of hope, of course. Disney pulled the tearjerker card hard on that one. But it worked. So, I guess you win this one, Disney.
Of course we can’t talk about Frozen II without mentioning the music. The haunting opening lullaby, “All is Found,” serves to tie the whole story together and is both hopeful and depressing, which represents the story pretty well. Elsa’s belted power ballads, “Into the Unknown” and “Show Yourself,” were both absolutely magical, though I doubt the movie has another “Let It Go” on its hands. Kristoff’s 80’s rock ballad about love, “Lost in the Woods,” was a highlight of the film, especially with the Queen-inspired Reindeer chorus supporting him. I love that Frozen II took risks to try different genres and play with their music. It felt like a very varied soundtrack. But my favourite song, which may not be a crowd favourite but spoke volumes to me, was “The Next Right Thing.” You can hear the pain Anna is feeling in Kristen Bell’s voice. Her tone and delivery are heartbreaking and gorgeous. The song, however, goes from hopeless to hopeful. It has a powerful message about dealing with grief and finding the strength to keep going…because the only path is forward. This song is a great representation of the movie: the sisters must face the grief of their parents passing and the possibility of losing each other by choosing to move forward and find strength within themselves, instead of just through each other. Someone pass the tissues—I’m crying again.
I think I’ve pretty much summed up the good. Now, let’s talk about the actual story. The sisters must follow the voice Elsa has been hearing, which brings them to an enchanted forest inhabited by a people called the Northuldra. Up to this point the story seems like it will be a cool journey to either save someone with powers similar to Elsa or for her to find out the truth about her powers. We do get a lots of reveals in this movie, like the sisters finding out their parents died trying to travel to the river discover the secrets of Elsa’s gift. But the movie really goes downhill after this point. Anna is sent away and Elsa goes off on her own. The use of the snow sculptures to tell stories is simplistic, which would be nice except it requires a lot of accurate guessing on the part of the sisters, which luckily they seem to be pretty good at. Then Elsa gets to her destination and finds out the truth, but ignores the lullaby’s warning (which we’ve been hearing for the film) and jumps into the deep. It seemed that she could have extrapolated the truth quite easily from what she had already found out without jumping even deeper into the river. It feels like the movie was just offering fan service by literally making her freeze in this film. And the twist, of her mother being Northuldran and being somehow responsible for her powers, was very predictable from the first moments of the movie. I know it’s a film for children, but a little veiling to keep adults interested could have went a long way.
The pacing seems to get worse from here. Once Anna finds out about her sister, she immediately knows that the dam her people built for the Northuldra must be destroyed. She runs into Kristoff and Sven on her journey to do just that, with the giants trailing behind her. It doesn’t take her long to get the giants to destroy the dam, and the mist begins to be lifted. It’s with a heavy heart because we know Arendelle must make the sacrifice and they will have to rebuild—except they won’t. The water spirit must be fast, because Elsa has the time to thaw and then jump on its back to rush to Arendelle and save her city. I found this to be the biggest cop-out of the entire film. If the mist surrounding the enchanted forest been a punishment for the dam, then it makes sense that someone would have had to lose something in this story for the true message to come across. A message about power and sacrifice. Instead, the movie ends like any old journey through a forest. The spirits are kind again, the people are separate yet visit each other whenever they want, and Anna and Elsa both have their own domain to rule.
The neat little wrap-up might seem typical of a Disney movie, but more turmoil on the way to that wrap-up would have felt nice. That, or seeing the Arendellians band together to rebuild their home, likely with the Northuldra helping. The inconsistent nature spirits didn’t help either, as it felt like there was no protagonist or problem to aim your sights at while watching the film. The spirits were troublesome, but really only the giants were dangerous. After Elsa arrived the fire spirit was soothed and the water spirit tamed, and Olaf seemed to make friends with the wind pretty easily. There were no high stakes except for Elsa throwing herself into a place where she was warned she should not go. Overall, I feel like the plot was messy and there could have been a stronger sense of community between the Northuldra and Arendellians by the end of the film. However, I don’t regret watching it, especially in the cinema where I got to see that crisp animation and hear those amazing vocals. So, honestly, I think you should check out Frozen II, but I also hope it’s either the last of the Frozen movies, or the last bad one.
Rating: 3/5
If you’ve seen Frozen II, do you agree with me that it was kind of a bad movie? Do you think animation and music made up for those things? Or, if you thought it was great, let me know why!
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