More music. More laughs. More……ice.
‘Frozen 2’ is as decent an effort from the Mouse House that you’d expect. And the fact is, it didn’t HAVE to be; this sequel, a follow up to one of the most successful movies of all time, was going to be a financial monster no matter HOW icy the critical reception. Thankfully….again…..it’s good.
Not near as good as the original, mind you…..but good.
Elsa (voiced again by Idina Menzel) is back, as is her younger sister Anna (Kristen Bell). So is snow-pal Olaf (Josh Gad), Anna’s boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer bud, Sven. They’re all as magical, sweet and funny as we remember them. It’s the tale they’re trudging through that has lost a bit of its magic.
In a flashback, we get a bedtime story told to the young princesses about a long-lost enchanted forest with a connection to fire, air, earth and water, now encased in an impenetrable fog. Elsa, consumed by a faraway voice singing to her, decides to must journey to the forest which is somehow connected to her chilling powers. There’s something else in there about a river and drowning if you go too far, but…..the whole thing kinda confounds me, hoping the toddlers in the audience don’t suffer the same brain cramps that I did.
And really, that’s the problem with ‘Frozen 2’ – it’s too MUCH. There are too many layers to the story, which seem to keep piling on. While ‘Frozen’ was impressive for its grand scale of song and comedy, part of its massive appeal was its simplicity. And that aspect, obviously, has gone bye bye.
But here’s the great news. It’s visually stunning, much as before. The songs are awesome, much as before (especially an 80’s-style power ballad by Kristoff and some accompanying reindeer). And the characters, with Olaf leading the charge in THIS category, just make you feel so darn happy. Essentially, ‘Frozen 2’ is a little cluttered – but still awfully cool.
