Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at Frozen II

Well my friends, we’ve officially reached the final film in the Disney animated canon on our schedule. It’s actually kind of amazing when you think about how far we’ve come. I started this project just as a way to keep myself from going crazy during a long period of pandemic related unemployment, and now, here we are pushing one hundred articles, and this has become one of my most cherished pastimes. Don’t worry, we have plenty more content coming after this, I just wanted to take a moment to commemorate the occasion. Anywho, today, Deep Dive Disney is diving deep into the unknown as we look at the follow-up to one of Disney’s biggest smash hits. I speak of course of, Frozen II. I’m going to get this out of the way right from the jump. In my opinion, this movie, while not without its flaws, is a far better put together film than the original. I’m well aware that I’m in the minority here, but I stand by what I say. So, what is the story that Disney thought would be a worthy follow up to one of its most successful films in decades? Well, Elsa, Anna and the gang are back and in the time since the first movie, the kingdom of Arendelle is thriving like never before, the sisters are closer than they’ve ever been, Kristof and Anna are in a happy relationship with Kristof planning to pop the question very soon, Olaf has been given a permafrost that prevents him from melting, even in the non-winter months, and everyone just seems generally happy. Anyone who’s ever seen a movie ever know that this is movie code for “bad shit’s about to go down.” And indeed, while investigating a mysterious voice that seems to be calling to her, Elsa accidentally awakens the restless spirits of the enchanted forest causing Arendelle to be plagued by natural disasters. The only way to save Arendelle for Anna and Elsa to venture into the forest, find the source of the mysterious voice and uncover a long-hidden dark secret about their family’s history. So lets us all get lost in the woods as we look at, Frozen II.

Main Character:

Like last time, I feel that Anna and Elsa share the distinction of main character equally, but unlike last time where there was a much more heavy leaning towards Anna as the focal point, this is definitely more Elsa’s movie. Still Anna has a vital part to play here. Anna is pretty content with life after the events of the last movie and seems a bit wary of anything that could jeopardize her seemingly perfect life. Once Arendelle is put in danger, she’s not quite sure how to react. What Anna is forced to learn is that everything changes eventually and sometimes, sacrifice is necessary, evidenced when she willingly destroys the dam that her grandfather had built, even knowing it would destroy Arendelle in the process.

However, like I said, this is ultimately Elsa’s movie, and between the two of them, Elsa has always been the more interesting character anyway. In the last movie, Elsa finally was able to overcome the overwhelming that caused her life-long self-imposed isolation and has since been able to control her powers, grow closer to her sister than ever and take a more active role in her kingdom. Things are wonderful, but Elsa can’t help but feel that things are stagnating. It’s understandable, since Elsa spent most of her life cut off from the world and now that she finally has the opportunity to experience what the world has to offer and explore the extent of her powers that she’s no longer afraid of, she feels held back by her responsibilities in Arendelle. Of course, Elsa loves her family and her Kingdom, but she can’t help but want more out of life. And this doesn’t feel like the typical Disney Princess “I Want More” stuff, this is an understandable desire of someone who’s spent most of their life cut off from the world to finally see it. When Elsa starts hearing the voice, at first she tries to shut it out, claiming she’s had her adventure, but there’s a part of her that sees this as the opportunity she’s been waiting for, the chance to journey into the unknown, learn more about the world beyond Arendelle, herself and her powers. Yes, the journey to the enchanted woods is mostly about saving Arendelle, but for Elsa it’s about so much more than that. This voice calling to her could be someone like her, someone who understands her, a kindred spirit who understands what it’s like to live between the realm of mortals and the realm of magic. I’ll admit, the payoff to the whole voice thing turning out to be a memory of her mother preserved by the magical frozen river, Ahtohallan, is a little weak but the moment where Elsa realizes that she is the fifth elemental spirit, a bridge between two worlds born of a union between the royal family of Arendelle and the forest dwelling Northuldra people, it is a powerful moment. Finally, Elsa has found her place, living in the forest, protecting the Northuldra people and keeping the spirits in balance. It really does feel like a great place for a great character like Elsa to end up.

Side Characters:

Frozen II does not have a villain, or at least, there isn’t any one singular entity that’s the cause of the conflict within the film. The Elemental spirits are technically the cause of the natural disasters plaguing Arendelle, but they’re mostly acting in self-defense. You can an argument that King Runeard, the grandfather of Anna and Elsa and the one who built the dam, thus angering the spirits and trapping all within the forest with an impenetrable mist, but since he was long dead prior to the events of the first movie, I don’t think he really counts. As such, we’re skipping that section and moving right on to the side characters.

The Northuldra people are actually pretty cool, and I think the individual characters within the tribe such as Yelena and Honeymaren, are pretty cool, but I wish we could have spent more time with them to get a sense of what they’re all about.

Mattias, the leader of the contingent of Arendelle soldiers who were trapped in the forest after King Runeard screwed the pooch by betraying the Northuldra leader, is an instantly likable character. There’s just something about him. He’s loyal, kind, funny at times, serious when he needs to be and even at times a bit sentimental. There are these great moments later in the film where he asks about his wife who he hasn’t seen in thirty years or laments the loss of his father who died before he was trapped in the forest. I’d honestly love to see a movie that’s all about this guy.

But anyway, let’s discuss our returning characters, by which I mean, let’s discuss Olaf. Kristof is back too, but his character arc is better discussed in a later section so we’ll save him for when we get there. Olaf is still the same lovable, huggable snowball he’s always been and Josh Gad’s comedic timing is wonderful as always. This movie also has Olaf struggle with existential issues like the inevitability of change, the onset of maturity and the fact that turtles breath through their buttholes. Still, Olaf is every bit as lovable as he’s always been, remaining happy and upbeat even in the most dire situations.

Songs:

In my opinion, the songs in Frozne II are far more consistently enjoyable than Frozen I. In the original, sure we had Let It Go, but who else remembers the lyrics to any of the other songs? This one, each song is a blast and memorable in its own right.

The first song I’d like to discuss is the only one to return from the original movie. You remember how the first Frozen opened up with all that “Na Na Na Heyana” chanting? Well, here, it’s given a bit more context. It’s actually a Northuldra spiritual chant. The part where they sing it is brief, but absolutely beautiful as Anna and Elsa are officially welcomed into the tribe when their mother’s Northuldra heritage is revealed.

Our opening song is a lullaby called All is Found, a beautiful yet foreboding number that tells of Ahtohallan and the secrets contained therein.

The film opens properly with another one of my favorites, Some Things Never Change. This one is incredibly catchy and I like how it showcases how happy everyone is following the events of the last movie.

When I Am Older is Olaf’s number, and it’s a huge improvement over In Summer. This time around, I actually get a kick out of Olaf dancing around all happy, completely ignorant of the fact that the spirits are trying to kill him.

The next right thing is a powerful song that Anna sings at her lowest point. I really like it, both lyrically and in the message it puts forth, but it’s just not performed especially well. Maybe a cover could do it better justice.

Into the Unknown is supposed to be the spiritual follow up to Let It Go and while I do like it, I don’t think it hits nearly the same heights as it’s alleged predecessor.

Show Yourself is, in my opinion, the real successor to Let It Go. While Into the Unknown gets the ball rolling with Elsa’s literal call to adventure, Show Yourself shows Elsa having completed her journey and realizing who she truly is. The moment where Elsa realizes that she is the fifth spirit is beautiful. Finally, Elsa knows who she is and what she is for. That emptiness inside, now completely gone. It’s a beautiful moment that brings a tear to the eye.

However, now’s the part where we talk about the real best song in the film, Kristof’s big number, Lost in the Woods. This song is, in a word, incredible. It’s a love letter to cheesy 80’s soft rock ballads and I absolutely love it. Jonathan Groff is a hell of a singer and I’m glad he gets a bigger spotlight to show off in this movie. Not only is the song a blast, it also nicely sums up Kristof’s character arc in the film. See, throughout this film, Kristof is trying to propose to Anna but is never able to find the right moment. This song lays bare all that he’s feeling, and how he worries about what Anna’s answer might be. See, being in love is a truly wonderful feeling, but it can also be a source of great anxiety. No matter how close you get to the one you love, you can never know what’s really going on in their head. Do they still love you the way they used to? Will you say something that will ruin everything? Is that next phone call going to be the breakup you’ve always feared? It’s stressful being in love, and sometimes you can feel like you’re… lost in the woods. This song captures that feeling, a feeling I’m all too familiar with, brilliantly, and for that, it’s one of my favorite Disney songs of all time.

Memorable Scenes:

There’s quite a few memorable scenes in this movie worth discussing. Though, like the last movie, most of the best scenes are song sequences, but this section will still be a bit longer than it was last time around.

I really liked the scene at the opening where Elsa, Anna, Kristof and Olaf are playing charades. It’s a short scene, but I just love these characters chilling out and having some fun. Also, Elsa being so terrible at charades that she can’t even act out “Ice” is hilarious to me.

Pretty much any scene with the forest spirits is a fun and exciting treat. The wind spirit, who Olaf names Gale is a formless mass of wind that catches our heroes in a huge tornado. As always, Olaf being happily nonchalant during a perilous situation is hilarious.

The fire spirit is actually an adorable little lizard with that shoots fore out of its back. It is cute as all hell and I refuse to hear otherwise.

The earth giants are enormous and deadly creatures who destroy all in their path. I love the scene where Anna has to lead them to the dam at the end in order to destroy it, thus lifting the curse

Finally, the water spirit is this badass Water Horse creature that Elsa has to fight in one of the coolest scenes in the film. Elsa has to cross stormy waters, the same stormy waters that claimed the lives of her mother and father, in order to reach Ahtohallan and the answers she seeks. On top of that, she has to do it on foot, freezing the water under her feet as she attempts to sprint across. Standing in her way is the water spirit, knocking her back to shore at every turn until she is forced to tame the beast and ride it to Ahtohallan. Very cool.

Story:

The themes of this movie are pretty clear. Be true to yourself, always do the next right thing, embrace change and know that the past isn’t always what it seems. It also keeps the theme of the power of the bond between siblings from the first movie. All great themes and well presented in the film. Elsa embraces her true nature when she accepts her destiny as the fifth spirit and stays in the Northuldra forest. Anna learns that change is inevitable and when the future is unclear, all you can do is the next right thing. However, before we move on, I want to comment on a gripe people seem to have with the film, that being the ending in which Arendelle is spared from destruction. A lot of people think that it robs the movie of any consequences, and to an extent that’s true, but I don’t really mind. What happened with King Runeard was thirty years ago, and only the king and a select few others knew about it. The people of Arendelle are shown to be nothing but kind and innocent. What justice would it have been if they were forced out of their homes for one man’s mistake. I think the destruction of the dam was enough to appease the spirits and give us a nice happy ending.

The Dark Disney Factor:

OLAF FUCKING DIES! Yes, I know Elsa brings him back at the end, yes it’s another point for the “No Consequences” argument. No, I do not care. Watching Olaf die had me, a thirty-year-old man crying in the theatre in front of my girlfriend. I love Olaf, and I didn’t know he was coming back at the time and seeing the poor little guy slowly disintegrate in the arms of a teary-eyed Anna as they share one final warm hug was heartbreaking. Is it as bad as Ray the Lightning Bug getting squashed by Facilier? No, but it’s still sad, don’t judge me.

Final Thoughts: I love this movie. It takes much of what worked in the first movie and improves upon it and crafts a unique story that feels distinct from its predecessor that still feels in keeping with the original's themes. It is a movie I revisit often and a film that, in my opinion, has surpassed the original. Well, before we move onward, we have not only reached the end of the Disney animated canon (at least until Encanto comes out later this month) but we've also covered every Disney Princess movie to date. So, what say next time, we see which Princess is the best and which is the worst. Stay tuned.