(Frozen 2 poster)
This is an editorial piece. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.
SALT LAKE CITY – One of the failures in sequel making is that many times we end up with the same film as the first or we move so far away from the original film that you can hardly consider it a sequel.
So, was “Frozen 2” a good sequel?
“Frozen 2” is the most predictable story that I have ever seen. Plot twists can hardly be called plot twists because you can see them coming from a mile away.
I was hoping that all these dead giveaways were going to mislead me to something interesting, but that was not the case.
There were some new and enjoyable things to the film that added a little more depth to the original story. We see more about Elsa and Anna’s parents just hours before the incident with building a snowman from the first film. We also learn about their father and mother in more depth throughout. The origin of Elsa’s power is revealed and is what advances the story throughout the film.
Some scenes made the audience laugh out loud especially with Olaf and his retelling of the original story. But these scenes would have done better as short films rather than forced together into a feature since they require no support from the surrounding story and stand on their own just fine.
When it comes to character development there isn’t really much that happened to the characters. For example (possible spoilers): Elsa finds herself, Anna finds love, there is a coronation, Olaf melts and comes back to life, and Kristoff wants to marry Anna.
With that explanation, which film am I talking about? The answer is both.
One key feature of any Disney animated film is the music. “Frozen 2” has some great messages within their musical numbers and it was refreshing to hear a departure in the chord progressions that are commonly used in film scores. With that being said, I found the melodies unmemorable and bland, especially when compared to, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” and “Let it Go.”
Though my critique may sound a little harsh, there are those who did enjoy it and are willing to look past its shortcomings.
On the Fan Effect podcast, while talking about the film bringing more grown-up themes to light, Andy Farnsworth said, “I thought it was a bold choice for a sequel with this much fan pressure on it.” Matthew Hansen said he liked the music in “Frozen 2” better than in the original and KellieAnn Halvorsen said, “I really liked this as a sequel.”
Listen to the whole podcast here (Spoilers):
I personally give the film 2 stars out of 4. But that doesn’t mean that you will not enjoy it and that your kids won’t love it.
The bottom line is: if you don’t have a good film, then you don’t have a good sequel.
Frozen 2 has some fun and heartwarming moments that enhance the first story a little, but its predictability and underwhelming character growth left a lot to be desired.