Frozen II: Disney Goes Dark

The first ‘Frozen’ movie was one of the fastest Disney films to become an immediate pop culture phenomenon. Even the Marvel movies didn’t catch on as fast and the Disney-helmed ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, as good as it’s been so far, hasn’t ingrained itself in the zeitgeist in the same near-flawless manner as the originals. But ‘Frozen’ was a literal overnight box office sensation. Over the course of one phenomenal opening weekend, shelves were lined and promptly emptied of Olaf merch, ‘Let it Go’ was playing on every single radio station in the country, and nature itself proved itself a fan by unleashing a polar vortex that crippled most of North America. A not insignificant part of its popularity was due to its not-so-subtle commentary on the Disney princess formula, its more kid-focused comedy bend, its Broadway-style music, and a much more subtle pro-LGBT message which remained muddied deep enough in subtext that only those looking for it would find it. So the only real question concerning the inevitable sequel was if Disney could replicate the same lucrative result with their typical sequel formula. And it’s a question that remains unanswered because Disney didn’t risk releasing a comparable follow up and instead decided to release what might be the darkest movie that parents will still bring their young children to.

The story picks up some indeterminate time after the original story. Things have settled down somewhat in the Nordic kingdom of Arendelle. The ice-manipulating Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) has more or less come into her own, the ice picker Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) is trying to find a good time to propose to her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), who herself is readying herself for a life of peaceful bliss, and their living snowman Olaf (Josh Gad) has discovered the concepts of object permanence, linear time, and mortal philosophy. Things seem to be going fine until Elsa starts hearing a mystical siren song calling her out of her satisfying but unfulfilled life. While being tempted by this voice, Elsa accidentally unleashes ancient, elemental spirits that threaten her kingdom. In order to placate these magical forces and learn the secrets of her own abilities, Elsa and her extended family must travel to the enchanted forests to the north, where she will confront her family history, uncover the truth of a generational conflict, and maybe, just maybe, come out of the damn closet. Along the way, they’ll all have to come to terms with their mortality, their past mistakes, and a not insignificant amount of self-sacrifice. Like I said, this one gets DARK.

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. This is Disney. Animation is their bread and butter and it’s not like they were going to drop the ball here. It looks amazing, plain and simple. The clothing looks stitched, the water flowed as in nature, and the vivid autumn-winter color palate popped off the screen. There were a few things in particular that stood out, noticeably the movement of the various spirits. They have a befitting ethereal screen presence and exist in a state of constant movement and chaos, and each element is reflected by a unique movement style. I saw the film in 3D but I’m sure it would look just as spectacular and well-rendered in regular dimensions.

The voice acting is also pretty much as good as it gets. Once again, the music was written to take full advantage of the casts’ notable musical history. Menzel gets two power ballads about finding herself this time and while neither of them are as immediately iconic as “Let it Go,” “Show Yourself” is pretty damn catchy and Menzel’s powerful vocals have not dulled in the last few years. Bell, Groff, and Gad are tasked with carrying heavier material, but all are able to inject an appropriate amount of levity into their performances to keep the darker elements from overshadowing the child-friendly nature of a Disney movie. At least, for the most part. Secondary performances from Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthew, and even the always amazing Alfred Molina help to smooth over any cracks the main cast might leave in their wake, but none really separate themselves from the pack apart from Sterling K. Brown as a noble, time-displaced guard.

Where the film begins to suffer is in the tone. As I mentioned, this is one of the darkest and most terrifying movies meant for families that I’ve ever seen and it’s hard for it to balance the heavy themes it’s trying to impart with Olaf’s childish comedy and Anna’s optimism and persistence. This results in occasional but violent tonal whiplash between exciting, friendly content and depressing, frightening symbolism. For example, the film climaxes with Elsa’s grand, uplifting revelation of truth just before the film takes a good twenty-minute break to focus on a tragedy that emotionally cripples a not insignificant portion of the main cast. At which point, Anna, the audience stand-in and paragon of naïve but heartfelt optimism, sings a song in a cave where she contemplates the pros and cons of giving up and just dying alone in the dark. No, really.

But at the end of the day, this is still Disney and all of the dark moments, no matter how horrific or terrifying, are meant to provide juxtaposition for the happier moments and provide the necessary atmosphere required for the characters to grow and develop. A major theme of the film is transformation and growth, reflected in Olaf’s newfound obsession with permanence, Elsa’s quest to find fulfillment, Kristoff’s desire to take his relationships to new levels, and Anna’s struggle to retain her happily-ever-after. And, for better or worse, it is the case that the kind of maturity that ‘Frozen 2’ strives for involves confronting the more difficult elements of life, including guilt, orientation, and, yes, mortality. This is to say that never do these disturbing factors feel exploitative or gratuitous, just out of place and abrupt.

Overall, ‘Frozen 2’ is a good movie. Disney’s animation department hasn’t made an outright bad movie since 2008 and with the cast, writer, and director from one of their biggest hits all returning for the sequel ripe and ready to go, there was never a chance that this was going to be the combo breaker. But that certainty seems to have led to a case of artistic overconfidence. The film is a bit heavier than it should be and carries more weight than it was prepared for. As a result, it tends to lag and feel awkward or jaunty at times. While this doesn’t doom the movie in any sense, it ensures that it isn’t the instant classic its predecessor became. Go see it for the music, animation and story, but make sure you’re not bringing your really young kids just because they have an Olaf plushie.

4/5.

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