As someone who wasn't a massive fan of the first Frozen (2013), I enjoyed Frozen II (2019) very much—maybe loved. The animation is much richer and more detailed than its predecessor, the songs and musical numbers both emotionally hooked and dazzled me, the laughs are delivered in spades, and the story ventures more in-depth into the main characters, whom I didn't wholly latch onto in the first film.
This film's animation has a more diverse color palette than its predecessor, which I not only welcome with open arms but see as a massive improvement over the first film's 'animation software file' look to some of the characters. While Frozen II's animation cannot match Tangled (2010)'s sheer brilliance in its visual vibrancy and its seamless blending of the 2D and 3D styles, I will place this film's animation in the top five of my favorite 3D animation work from Disney. Christophe Beck's musical score for this movie has a more expansive and grander sound reminiscent of Fantasia (1940). Also, several of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez's songs had me on the verge of tears of joy, specifically "Into the Unknown" and "Show Yourself", which are genuine showstoppers ("Let it Go", take notes).
This film's use of humor and jokes are more extensive in quantity than the first movie's, which for the most part, does not disrupt the overall tone. On a personal anecdote, Olaf and Kristoff are the two characters I relate to the most regarding personality. This film's creative choices left me shocked as a Disney buff, but as an aspiring filmmaker, I understood their purpose and was delighted. On a side note, this movie's dramatic moments were, at times, so emotionally resonant that I began to wonder if the kids in the theater were too overwhelmed by them (my theater experience was not a peaceful one, to put it mildly). Then again, Bambi (1942) and The Lion King (1994) did not play it safe with their characters and their respective arcs, so this should not be a surprise for concerned parents.
One of my biggest gripes with the first Frozen was that the sudden twist of Hans revealing himself to be the villain in the third act was so poorly executed, underdeveloped, and nonsensical that all his prior scenes made no sense to me. Frozen II's villain (whom I will not spoil) is better realized this time around, with a personal connection to the protagonists. This film's voice acting is excellent (Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, and Evan Rachel Wood's performances are impressive). Without giving away spoilers, the acting in one scene was so well-acted that it reminded me of something out of the last two Avengers movies.
As for negatives, while Kristoff's song is hilarious, I wish that he was in the movie more often once the plot kicked into high gear. The tune is a missed opportunity as it and his respective character arc was hyped up as a first for male characters to have their ballad. Yet, it was played out as a joke instead of a heartfelt tune that provided insight into Kristoff's vulnerability and hidden insecurities about Anna's relationship. While I loved the story's bold creative choices, I would have loved to have seen them played out to their fullest potential (like how the Disney Channel TV series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure did). Again, no spoilers here. Overall, the screenplay sometimes feels a little uneven, but I nevertheless left the theater with a smile on my face, and my heart warmed.
Final Score: 8 out of 10
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