Movie review: Frozen 2 – Cute but not iconic

Frozen 2

Directors: Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck

Starring: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad

3/5

Frozen first found its way into our lives in 2013 with its earworm, Let It Go, terrorising the ears of parents and older siblings far and wide.

The classic musical animation introduced us to Arendelle’s Princess Elsa (Idina Menzel), who, like many of us, is trying to figure out who she is and why she’s so different. If that isn’t enough of a struggle, she has magical powers that are often the cause of her being misunderstood and feared.

The film takes us on a whimsical whirlwind of self-discovery, death, pain and the universal nature of true love. No, not the romantic kind, but the familial type between Elsa and her estranged sister Anna (Kristen Bell).

The sisters lose their parents but gain sisterhood and friends along the way in the form of the loveable snowman Olaf (Josh Gad) and the object of Anna’s affection, Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer Sven.

Frozen fans thought it was so lovely that Disney just had to do it twice in Frozen 2.

In this adaptation the royal sisters discover the source of Elsa’s power and the truth about their parents’ death, while looming magical mist and nature spirits haunt the forest and threaten the future of Arendelle.

In all honesty, the sequel is not as musically iconic as was expected, which may be great news for parents who can’t handle the little ones belting out the film’s soundtrack.

However, the lessons of self-discovery and the pursuit of the truth which are valuable lessons for both children and adults prevail in the sequel. Not to mention Olaf’s adorable humour and naivety, which alone is reason enough to watch the sequel.

The film also touches on discrimination, revealing harsh truths about Elsa’s grandfather and his brutalities against the Northuldra people, who are inspired by the Sámi people and their culture.

We also come across a black character for the first time in Mattias (Sterling K Brown).

This “transformation” comes as a result of the criticism that the film received for racism, whitewashing, cultural appropriation and lack of representation and diversity in the first installation.

Following that controversy, it is said that Disney entered into a contract with the indigenous communities in Scandinavian regions to respectfully portray their culture in the sequel.