Movie Review: Frozen II

Hello friends,

 Today I'm going to reviewing Frozen II, the second movie inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale, The Snow Queen. I'll be keeping this as spoiler free as possible because I understand that not everyone has had the opportunity to see the movie yet.

 The movie starts with a flashback to Anna and Elsa's childhood, which features their parents and gives more insight into some of the legends & lore of Arendelle culture. It shows more about how the two young princesses' tales began and where they came from and features a beautiful song, sung as a lullaby in the film.

 Once the flashback ends, we're taken to 3 years after Elsa's coronation take place in the first movie. From there the action picks up quickly and you're treated to beautiful song after beautiful song. From the get-go, the movie can quickly strike an emotional chord as you hear Olaf's whimsical, or depressing, thoughts and questions as now he's 'more mature'.

 As the movie takes you through the winding tale, you see how much character growth has happened not just within the confines of the film, but in the three year span you don't see between the two Frozen films. Elsa has experienced some character growth, Anna a lot, as well as Olaf. Kristoff starts off essentially the same but grows exponentially throughout the movie.

 In my personal opinion, the plot of Frozen II is superior to the first movie- it is heart-wrenching and sad, but also beautiful and endearing in the way only a Disney movie can be. I was crying through most of the movie for various reasons. The animation of their new outfits and hair styles, as well as new characters and all of the beautiful scenery and settings, were absolutely beautiful and completely astonishing. The whole movie is filled not just with whites and blues, but also beautiful oranges, greens, and browns, as well.

 However, also in my opinion, I found the music to be lacking. I still really enjoyed it and a few of the songs really touched my heart, but as far as levels of being iconic or catchy, the original Frozen soundtrack still holds the title. There are also only 7 new songs, and one reprise from the first movie. Frozen also ends the musical side of the story on a slightly light-hearted note with 'Fixer-Upper' whereas Frozen II ends with a slightly more sad note music-wise (which I will leave to your discretion to either look it up or see the movie as not to spoil it for those who don't wish to know.)

 I will say, while I expected the movie to be emotional, it is extremely emotionally heavy. A lot happens that is either sad, bittersweet, or heart-wrenching. It covers heavy topics not quite covered in the first movie. I'd even go as far as to say it's more depressing than Big Hero 6 or Coco (which are two of my favorite Disney movies, btw,).

 There is also one scene which is one of the songs- the song is beautiful and touching, however the actual sequence in the movie is... odd at best, and doesn't feel like it truly fits within the confines of the film. It's still fun to watch, however.

 It's really hard for me to pin-point my exact favorites about the film, but I'm going to try :-) This may contain **SOME SPOILERS** so please be cautious!

Favorite Song: It's a tie between Show Yourself, Some Things Never Change, and When I Am Older.
Favorite Character: Olaf, but I also really liked Kristoff in this one, too.
Favorite Scene: The scene when Olaf retells the story of the first film, or the Show Yourself sequence, or the end of the movie that's focused on Anna... :)
Favorite Design(s): Elsa's new costume with her hair down and the design of the Northuldran people.

Rating: 8.5/10
Reasoning: The movie was excellent, if musically slightly lacking, and I have some issues with codependency that I see in the sisters, otherwise it was an excellent movie.

 If you've seen the movie, what did you think of it? What was your favorite part or favorite song? Let me know in the comments below! :) And if you haven't and plan on seeing it- make sure to stay for the post-credits scene!

-Hannah