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Idina MenzelJonathan Groff...
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Action & AdventureAnimation...
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Chris BuckJennifer Lee
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In 1 Cinema
Yasmeen Mamdouh
Featured images © 2019 Disney. All Rights Reserved
You have heard the song twenty million times, and that is if you don’t have a child. Yes, you guessed it; it’s the worldwide phenomenon that was Frozen, and parents should get prepared because Frozen II comes along with plenty of new songs. But will you be forced to listen to them million times, just like the previous instalment?
The sequel begins with Elsa (Idina Menzel) comfortably ruling as Queen of Arendalle, Anna (Kristen Bell) enjoying the peaceful times with her loving boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and her cheeky friend Olaf (Josh Gad). But matters take a turn when Elsa starts hearing a calling whisper leading her to an enchanted forest that her father warned her and her sister about. Eventually, the quest into the woods becomes necessary, and Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven embark on a journey of truth, magic, and transformation.
So, the plot is not the most logical when it comes to background, cognitive flow, and character motivation. The mythology of the world that the group ventures into is hazy and confusing, but still magical enough for audiences, especially younger ones, to not dwell too much on that. There are issues with the flow as the feature jumps from one idea to the next without properly taking viewers through how it got there. Characters also act seemingly randomly, without clear motivation as to why they did what they did, making the feature seem even messier.
The feature also has flashbacks to Elsa and Anna being told a story by their father about the enchanted forest, and the truth (or at least the gist of it) is predictable from the start.
On the other hand, once you strip away all the confusing messiness, Frozen II’s message about the inevitability of change, and how, while that may be hard, it is sometimes necessary, is a good one. The film presents maturely and tackles issues that are not as shallow as those addressed in most animated features.
The elements that the audiences loved in Frozen mostly continue in the sequel, with the characters just as charming, a funny screenplay, and great tunes. While the songs are varied, many do seem to be filling space and present no real (or at least not enough) progression of the feature.
Where the film does stand out is its animation, which is as stunning as can get with animated films, leaving audiences mesmerised and utterly enchanted.
The actors remained true to their characters and stuck to their strengths, with Idina Menzel sweeping away the audience once again with her powerful vocals, Josh Gad as funny as ever (if not more so), Kristen Bell keeping Anna feisty and lively, and Jonathan Groff as supportive as an animated man can ever be,
You will want to have a sister bond like Else and Anna have, you will want to see enchanted forests, spirits, and giants, and you will want to have a voice like Idina Menzel. But the shaky ground that Frozen II stands on leaves it firmly in second place to its predecessor.