Frozen 2
Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Cast: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff
In the recent times there has been a remarkable rise in the number of female hero characters in the American mainstream films. When boys are small they may want to grow up as Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, or Iron Man. What about the young girls? Finally they too have many options to choose from. The characters that come to mind are Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Valkyrie, Alita, and Rey, among others. A couple of other characters that come to mind are the fearless sisters Elsa and Anna in Disney’s computer-animated film Frozen (2013). The duo is back in the much-awaited sequel Frozen 2.
And this time around the odds are much bigger. The story picks up three years after the events of Frozen. Elsa, the Queen of Arendelle who possesses magical ice powers, starts to hear a strange sound from the north beckoning her. She must embark on a new journey beyond Arendelle in order to save her kingdom. On this journey she is joined by Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven. What ensues is a transformational journey that shakes the very foundations of Elsa’s and Anna’s existence.
Animation films have a certain style of aesthetics that give them their distinct appeal. Traditionally, most of the animation films were fairy tales but with time the narrative styles have greatly evolved. Frozen 2, for example, is more of an adventure film than a fairy tale. However, what separates it from other films of its kind is the fact that it is also a musical. Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez have returned to write some delectable songs for Frozen 2 such as “All Is Found”, “Some Things Never Change”, “When I am Older”, and “Into the Unknown”. The film’s evocative background score is composed by Christophe Beck.
In terms of the storyline, Frozen 2 doesn’t offer anything exceptionally refreshing. We have already seen most of it in many fantasy films. But, the film’s visual appeal more than makes up for it; Disney needs to be commended for constantly pushing the boundaries as far as computer animation is concerned. Also, credit goes to directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee for ensuring that Frozen 2 stays true to the fans of Frozen while also making sure that those who haven’t seen the first film don’t feel alienated by the sequel. Here is a film that despite its weaknesses manages to capture our imagination with its visual and aural brilliance.