characters of Frozen 2
Cast of Frozen Returns

After six years we finally receive the sequel to the smash hit Frozen. The whole crew returns for this sequel, but does Frozen 2 live up to the hype?  Does it match the quality and charm of the original? Second films usually have a problem matching the first movie, especially when it is something new. If anyone has left an ice tray in the fridge too long, you know even ice grows stale. Here is my Frozen 2 review.

Frozen 2 Review: An Explosion of Color

Elsa in the Fall
Fall Beauty for the Winter Princess

When Frozen came out it created a unique and stunning look with the way it used the animation to create ice and snow.  When Elsa unleashes her powers during the song ‘Let It Go’ it out did classics such as Fantasia.

While there are no single scenes that pop like that in the sequel, the whole movie uses a rich palate of autumn colors mixed in with green fields and snows.  Where the original worked miracles with ice, this one does the magic with water.  The water horse is downright gorgeous in design and coloring.

Forgot to Refill the Creative Ice Tray

Other than colors, Frozen 2 comes up a bit empty.  It is by no means a bad film, but it fails to match the humor, heart and magic of the original.  The story seems lax, the characters are simply there to fill holes and the music offers nothing.

All the original characters return for the sequel, but the writing begs why?  Christoff and Sven return but offer nothing to the story.  Sven serves as transport and we can call that good. Whereas Christoff spends the entire movie trying to ask Anna to marry him and failing miserably. Even Olaf serves no purpose. His sole purpose seems to be to drive home the points of loss and separation the movie uses as an antagonist. 

Overall, he was not as funny as he was the first go around. He came across as cute several times, but he did not cause the laughter he did in the first.  Although, there is one scene I laughed hard but more because of the way the kids in the theater were reacting than Olaf himself.

Frozen 2 Review: Music and Story Ring Hollow

I am not a fan of musicals and felt this movie had way too many pointless songs.  They chain song after song together instead of jest getting on with the movie.  To me none of the songs stood out the way they did in the first one.  Olaf’s first song was cute while ‘Let It Go’ became an anthem.  None of these songs seemed very special.

The story also came across as flat.  There is no protagonist in this movie.  It is all about the sisters discovering their past and its implications on them today.  Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t give any type of climax to the movie.  While this movie is much darker than the first, there is never any real sense that anyone or anything is truly in danger.  The stakes are empty and the effort minimal.  Once the third act kicks in it picks up the pace of the movie and it became more tolerable, but the first half of the movie at least seemed very dry and boring.

Frozen 2 Review Overall

I really did not care for this movie even though I really like the first one.  It brought nothing to the table in the end.  I am sure I am probably in the minority on this one because out of the movies I have not liked this year, this will by far be the highest rated.  At no point is Frozen 2 a bad movie, I just don’t think it lived up to the hype and trailers.  If you have some little girls who are dying to see it, take them.  Otherwise wait for Disney+.

Frozen 2 Score: 86