FROZEN ROLLS AGAIN
Sequel sure to delight fans
FROZEN II
★ ★ ★ out of 5
Cast: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad
Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Duration: 1 h 43 m
When the animated tale Frozen blew into theatres exactly six years ago, its box office take of $400-million made it the third-highest-grossing film of 2013, behind The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Iron Man 3. But it was also one of only two films in the top 12 that wasn’t a sequel. The other was Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, at No. 6.
Now Frozen II joins the pack of 2019 hopefuls, whose box office leaders as of this writing feature just one original story among the top 12, Jordan Peele’s Us. Frozen II’S status as a sequel almost guarantees that it’ll earn a frozillion dollars from fans. But it feels as though it’s relying more on goodwill and name recognition than any inherent charm in its screenplay.
It brings together original writers and co-directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, though notably missing from the credits is Hans Christian Andersen, who didn’t do sequels. It opens with a bit of “retcon” (industry lingo for retroactive continuity) prologue, in which we learn the hitherto unheard tale of how Anna and Elsa’s grandfather encountered the vaguely Indigenous Northuldra people in the enchanted forest outside the kingdom of Arendelle.
Now it seems that Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) is hearing a mysterious siren call from the northern forest. Her musical reply, Into the Unknown, with backing vocals by pixyish Norwegian singer Aurora, is the most powerful of the film’s new songs, though it lacks both the emotional punch and the ear-worminess of Let It Go. (Not altogether a bad thing.)
She is compelled to head out and investigate, accompanied by her stalwart sister Anna (Kristen Bell), Anna’s always-about-topropose boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff ) and, for comic relief and malapropisms, sentient snowman Olaf (Josh Gad).
He meets a strong breeze that he names Gale, and I was disappointed when the cute fiery lizard they come across wasn’t similarly christened Bernie.
Along the way they will learn unpleasant truths about the history of their kingdom, and
experience incredible animated landscapes and creatures, including something I’m going to call a wave-horse, because if I say “seahorse” you’ll get completely the wrong idea. The animators have gone with an autumnal palette that makes for a lovely change from the original’s winter whites.
As for all the rest, well, rest assured it will provide more than enough fresh content for those who have seen the original 20 or more times — and if you don’t know who you are, that’s OK. Your parents do, and they can’t wait for a new chapter to watch with you.
There’s a romantic power ballad from Kristoff (Lost in the Woods), a cute number about growing up from Olaf (When I Am Older) and a gentle message, spoken and shown and even sung (Some Things Never Change), about the tension between permanence and novelty.
Which, come to think of it, pretty much encapsulates the issues with sequels, animated or otherwise.
None of this comes across nearly as fresh as the original, whose central bond of sisterly love made for a welcome change from Disney’s historically romantic happily-ever-afters. And it may be at once a bit too stiff, and a little too pushy about wanting you to like it, but what of it?
Cajoled never bothered me anyway.
Star Wars superfan Josh Gad thought it would be easy. As one of the vocal talents behind Disney’s Frozen II, he figured he could trade script secrets with one of the stars of next month’s anticipated The Rise of Skywalker.
“I gave Daisy Ridley everything she needed to know,” he quips over coffee in a Toronto hotel. “Daisy knows more about Frozen II than anyone who hasn’t seen this film. Yet, she still gives me nothing. It’s unforgivable at this point.”
Gad, 38, who reprises his role as Olaf the snowman in Frozen II, spoke more about the challenges of following up the Oscar-winning original and the evolution of the Frozen franchise.
Q When we spoke in 2014, you were coming off this huge success that was Frozen. Everyone was asking you about a sequel. How did you feel when you finally got the call?
A The second that I sat down with Chris and Jen (Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee), who were co-directors and writers on the first film, and they walked me through the story beats of not only Olaf but the other characters and the story arc of Frozen II, I was immediately sold. They not only confront stepping into the unknown, to borrow a phrase from one of our new songs, but there’s this theme of reconciling with your past ...
I didn’t want to play Olaf again unless there was something worthy of the character’s growth. Now he’s starting to question things that he’s always taken for granted. In this film he has a song called, This Will All Make Sense When I’m Older, where he realizes life is kind of scary and dangerous. That’s new.
When he asks himself why, he’s still got that old quality of Olaf, but it’s different than the first film because he’s starting to recognize the challenges of life.
Q You weren’t able to trade spoilers with Daisy Ridley. Did you have friends and family trying to get you to spill secrets?
A I wouldn’t want to spoil this for any family or friend. I want them to experience it. Seeing my kids watch the movie was the most thrilling part of the process for me. It did exactly what I hoped it would do. Getting their seal of approval was the most important thing for me. Getting to share what really is a love letter to sisters with my own daughters was such a gift.
Q Trailers for the film have teased that the journey Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven go on is a dark one.
A This movie is familiar enough that audiences who loved the first film will feel like they’re putting a warm blanket back on. But it’s also challenging enough that the audiences who were six when the first movie came out and are now 12, will be able to grow with our characters.
Some people have said it’s darker by virtue of the trailers. I wouldn’t say it’s darker, I would say it is an evolution. Like the Harry Potter books and films, each instalment grew with that audience.
It’s brilliant that the creative team approached it this way, because the easy thing would have been to just do the first one all over again.
Q What is the world outside Arendelle like?
A It is a vast and stunning place. I will say that the Disney animators, as they’ve done with every film that they’ve tackled, have once again topped themselves. The breathtaking beauty of this film cannot be overstated.
It kind of makes Frozen look like a hand-drawn film. There are some jaw-dropping sequences that I think are going to ... excite ... everyone who sees it from six to 96.
Q What’s Olaf ’s favourite season other than summer?
A I think it’s fall (laughs). Autumn is all about change. It’s about the environment going from a bucolic state to one that is a little more bare. That is represented in each of our characters. They’re going through their own shedding of the past and embrace of a future. That only comes with change.
Q You mentioned your great solo song in this — This Will All Make Sense When I’m Older. I guess your kids must ask you to sing around the house all the time.
A No, they ask me not to sing. They beg me not to sing.