FROZEN II (2019) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

frOZEN II (2019) movie

Genre           |   Animated

Classification   |   PG

Running time   |   103 minutes

Released         |   28 November 2019

cast

Kristen Bell ... Anna (voice)
Idina Menzel ... Elsa (voice)
Josh Gad ... Olaf (voice)
Jonathan Groff ... Kristoff (voice)
Sterling K. Brown ... Mattias (voice)
Evan Rachel Wood ... Iduna (voice)
Alfred Molina ... Agnarr (voice)
Martha Plimpton ... Yelena (voice)
​Jason Ritter ... Ryder (voice)

director

Chris Buck
Jennifer Lee

writer

​Jennifer Lee ... (screenplay by)
 
Jennifer Lee ... (story by) &
Chris Buck ... (story by) &
Marc Smith ... (story by) (as Marc E. Smith) &
Kristen Anderson-Lopez ... (story by) &
Robert Lopez ... (story by)

cinematographer

​Mark Henley ... stereoscopic artist
Mohit Kallianpur ... director of cinematography: lighting​

music

​Christophe Beck

film editor

​Jeff Draheim

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box office result

Worldwide             $​1,450,026,933

Australia                 $​​26,608,669

North America       $​477,373,578

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movie minutiae

​In a flashback, Prince Agnar says he's reading a book by "some new Danish author." This is probably an allusion to Hans Christian Andersen, whose fairy tale, "The Snow Queen," inspired the plot of the original film.

John Lasseter's final involvement with Walt Disney Animation Studios, before his departure from all Disney animation areas.

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related movies

FROZEN (2013)

FROZEN II (2019) MOVIE IMAGES

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Posters

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FROZEN II (2019) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Why was Elsa born with magical powers? What truths about the past await Elsa as she ventures into the unknown to the enchanted forests and dark seas beyond Arendelle? The answers are calling her but also threatening her kingdom. Together with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven, she'll face a dangerous but remarkable journey.

FROZEN II (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 27 November 2019

​​Pop Movee Rating

FROZEN II is almost exactly what audiences might have expected to get from a sequel to the most successful animated movie of all time…

Almost…

The first FROZEN, released back in 2013, was, at first, an unexpected hit, but, fuelled by the spectacular cut-through of “Let It Go”, a bona fide Disney Princess power anthem, the film displayed extraordinary staying power and went on to make almost $1.3 billion globally across that year’s Christmas New Year stretch; its theatrical release running deep into 2014.

Using a similar release strategy for the sequel, Disney will hope to replicate the Box Office success of six years ago for this new film.

FROZEN II has had a long development period and makers Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee received unprecedented support from Disney Company Chief Bob Iger and Studio boss Alan Horn in not pressing the pair to deliver a follow-up for the sake of hitting a release date. It seemed, for once, commerce did not trump art.

At one point, now-departed Disney Animation Studio head John Lasseter explained the lengthy development process by invoking the “Pixar Defence”, citing the need to find a story worth telling to justify the return of the characters for a second outing.

The sequel was officially announced in March 2015, so there’s been a considerable amount of time just between that confirmation and the film’s release date.

The biggest challenge for FROZEN II is that it has lost the element of surprise…

The 2013 film was not unique, but it was different enough from other Disney fare to keep young audiences engaged across multiple viewings built around the expectation that, with each and every viewing, there existed an opportunity to belt out THAT song.

FROZEN II has the songs, but this time around, the audience have expectations that they will be treated to something that matches “Let It Go”.

It’s a very tall order...

As it happens, THAT song is “Into The Unknown”, and - as might be expected - it never quite measures up. It’s wonderful, rousing tune, but it never replicates the dawning awareness that is at the centre of “Let It Go”.

“Into The Unknown” is far less certain about what the future holds for Elsa...

Thematically, “Into The Unknown” is the perfect follow-up around which to build FROZEN II as Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) learn more about their past. The sisters are joined by Anna’s boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), snowman-come-to-life Olaf (Josh Gad) and loyal reindeer Sven on their journey to uncover the secret of Elsa and Anna’s family history.

The film opens with a prologue that explains how the kingdom of Arendelle and the tribe of Northuldra, the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest, came into conflict with one another. Elsa and Anna’s father, King Agnarr (Alfred Molina), explains the two people came into conflict with one another right at the moment a union between them seemed a mere formality. The girls’ grandfather, King Runeard, dies in the ensuing battle between the two groups and the Enchanted Forest is engulfed by a never-lifting mist.

As might be expected, hiding among the half-truths and misconceptions of the “how” and “why” events went horribly wrong lies a dark secret that only Elsa, with her magical powers, has the ability to solve.

Familiarity with the first film is beneficial, as FROZEN II helps to give answers to some of the biggest questions to be asked about the first film…

“Why does Elsa have magical powers and Anna doesn’t?”

This new film does plenty to round out the character’s backstory, but, that’s the biggest drawback about it.

FROZEN II is no longer a story about two young girls finding their place in the world. It’s more mature; exploring the girl’s family heritage in much greater detail, but, neither Elsa nor Anna are the primary reason why the film exists. They are now detectives in search of answers to questions about past mysteries.

FROZEN II is not as personal as the first film and, because of this, the story lacks the power of individual release and realisation that was so critical to the success of FROZEN.

FROZEN II MOVIE (2019) USEFUL LINKS

​Frozen II - Wikipedia
​Frozen II (2019) - IMDb
​Frozen II (2019) - Rotten Tomatoes

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