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The gang are all back together in Frozen 2 |
Director: Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck
Cast: Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa), Josh Gad
(Olaf), Jonathan Groff (Kristoff), Sterling K Brown (Mattias), Evan Rachel Wood
(Iduna), Alfred Molina (Agnarr), Martha Plimpton (Yelena), Jason Ritter
(Ryder), Ciaran Hinds (Pabbie), Jeremy Sisto (King Runead), Rachel Matthews
(Honeymaren)

Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) are now living
together in the kingdom of Arendelle, and all is peace and contentment. Until
one day a siren call that Elsa keeps hearing from across the water occurs at
the same time as a series of elemental events in the kingdom, each harnessing
earth, fire, air and water. The sisters quickly work out that this must be
connected in some way with the stories their parents told them of the Enchanted
Forest, a magical land near to Arendelle that disappeared after a mysterious feud between
the two kingdoms. Accompanied by living snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), Anna’s
boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer Sven, the sisters head off
to find the cause of the disturbances, solve the mystery of the enchanted
forest and save Arendelle. Phew!
Frozen 2 is
engaging, fun and has some very good jokes. Its main problem is a plot that
feels both sprawling and epic and also muddled and confusing. As the film hits
its final act, you may well feel more than a little confused about why events
are unfolding like this, what the motivations of certain characters are, why
some things happen to characters etc. What the film seems to lack is a
compelling unfolding of the plot, and a clear structure of how these events
link together to form the overall arc.
As such, we seem to head to several locations and constantly
encounter a series of magical creatures, but never really get a firm grasp of
how they link together. The film has a series of flashbacks and expands the
backstory of the series, but then never really pulls together clearly how the
events of the past shaped the present. The moment where this is explained feels
rushed and murky, and seems to revolve around a sort of “anti-magic” attitude
from a key character in the past that has no context with the rest of the film
and never feels really clear.
The plot may not be the strongest, but where the film really
does work is in its sense of humour and its fun script, and the engaging riffs
Lee and Buck make on the previous film. Fan humour from the first film – not
least the close relationship between Kristoff and Sven – is doubled down on in
this film with a series of knowing sight gags. Olaf – far more engaging here
than in the first film – has a series of excellent fan gags, peaking in a
hilarious showpiece moment where he essentially acts out the entire plot of Frozen for the people of the Enchanted forest
(all of whom respond like the fans). It’s a hilarious show piece, and a real
sign of the film’s strengths, which are often when it is riffing on the first film.
The film also carries across the other things that worked
from the first film. The close relationship between the two sisters is central
to most of the film’s development (although it also means that Anna seems to
have to protest her devotion in virtually every scene). The sense of outsider
and isolation in Elsa is also explored further, with her confusion over being
happy where she is but still yearning for something more. The film also threads
in a charming B-plot of Kristoff’s attempts to propose to Anna, which provides
both charm and several moments of comic gold.
The film does struggle to find a replacement song for Let It Go, although Into the Unknown comes close, another inspiring, story-packed,
ballad for Idina Menzel to bring to inspired life again. The song also plays
well with the several fans who have seen Elsa become a gay icon, with most of
the lyrics leaning on the idea of heading out from the safety of knowing where
you are to finding your true self in the “unknown”, answering the siren call of
your own desires. Also of course, it’s a belting song which you can enjoy on
its own merits!
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