Review: "Frozen 2"

It may not hold a candle to the original, but "Frozen 2" is a bright and energetic romp through familiar frozen tundras. It's also got some fairly dark and dramatic patches, so fair warning that wee ones may clamber into your lap halfway through the movie.

(Full feeling has almost returned to my thighs.)

Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and all the rest are back for another magical tale that's, well, just not quite as magical. I was trying think about what made "Frozen" so transcendentally good, and what element is missing here.

Let's start with the music. Robin Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez again provide the songs, and sadly not one of them is as catchy or memorable as from the first movie. Certainly nothing as instantly recognizable and iconic as "Let It Go."

The moment you heard that, you knew the contest for the Best Song Oscar was over.

Probably the tune that comes closest to matching those thrills is "Into the Unknown," another high-soaring Broadway-style showstopper ballad sung by Idina Menzell, who does the voice of Queen Elsa. It's about her daring to risk the relative peace and calm her kingdom, Arendelle, has found in the six years that have passed -- in real time and in the film's universe -- in order to seek out the answers to nagging questions that haven't even been asked.

But more so than just the quality of the songs, it's the way they're used in the movie that feels like a downgrade.

Some films are musicals, and some are just movies interrupted by songs. "Frozen" was definitely in the first category, as each tune propelled the story forward and revealed the characters' traits and emotions. Think of Princess Anna (Kristen Bell) and Hans falling for each over the course of "Love Is An Open Door."

In the sequel, the songs feel like interruptions carefully timed every 10 minutes or so. They don't really add anything that we didn't already know. As soon as the dialogue starts to taper off, you know a musical cue is coming.

Perhaps the most egregious is the solo by Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), the unsophisticated woodsman who is Anna's gentleman love, in which he essentially announces that he's going to disappear from the movie for awhile. It's appropriately titled, "Lost in the Woods."

Conjured snowman/comic relief Olaf (Josh Gad) gets another bouncy upbeat tune, "When I Am Older," in which he shows some emerging maturity but also the enduring naivete that makes him so lovable.

He also continues to rearrange his parts humorously, which makes him wicked sharp at charades. The omnipresent snow flurry given to Olaf by Elsa is replaced by some vague "permafrost" spell, mostly I'm guessing to release the animators from having to keep a distracting cloud over his head for the whole movie.

The story is a fairly typical "a new threat emerges" plot. Elsa finds herself called by a mysterious voice from the far north, hinting at secrets about the death and first meeting of her parents -- not to mention the source of her magical abilities with ice.

Family legends say their grandfather, King Runeard (Jeremy Sisto), built a huge dam as a gift to the Northuldra, the native people who live there, but were betrayed and attacked. Since then the forest has been enshrouded in an impenetrable mist. The four elements -- earth, wind, fire and water -- seem to be punishing the humans for their transgressions.

I really liked the massive stone giants who tromp around the northland like mountains on the move, without even visible eyes or discernible facial features. Made me think of the Iron Giant, and anything that does is a good thing.

Sterling K. Brown provides the voice of Mattias, a loyal guard of Arrendelle, while Martha Plimpton is the Northuldra chief, Yelana. Alfred Molina takes over the voice of Elsa and Anna's father, and Evan Rachel Wood does the same for their mother.

Jennifer Lee wrote the screenplay and co-directed with Chris Buck, so the creative team is largely intact. Lack of continuity is often the biggest challenge in making a successful sequel, not to mention trying to rush it out too soon.

Neither mistake was made here. It's just really hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice.

Kids will probably treasure "Frozen 2" as much as they did the first one. Their parents will love that their children love it, while understanding that we should appreciate greatness for the very reason that it happens so rarely.

Video review: "Frozen"

File the recent Academy Award Race for best animated film under “Most Predictable Event Ever.”
“Frozen” was easily the finest animated flick of 2013, not that the competition was all that keen. It’s a musical with probably the catchiest set of tunes to emerge from the House of Disney since “Beauty in the Beast.” (It also won the Oscar for Best Song, “Let It Go,” and easily could have earned one or two more nods in that category.)

Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel) is the orphaned queen of Arendelle who harbors a terrible secret: she possesses magic powers that freeze anything she touches. After a terrible childhood accident, this knowledge has been stripped from the mind of her kid sister, Anna (Kristen Bell).

Elsa has dealt with her burden by shutting herself off from the world, while Anna is raring to get outside of their closed-off castle and have some fun. Following a tragic turn of events, Elsa flees into the frozen mountains. Anna follows to help, aided by a comely prince (Santino Fontana) and an unkempt woodsman (Jonathan Groff), both of whom have romantic aspirations.

Supplying the sprightly comic relief is Olaf, a tiny snowman created by Elsa’s magic who is ensorcelled by the notion of summer, apparently unaware that frozen water turns to puddles when it’s warm. He’s voiced by Josh Gad, who supplies a happy tune of his own.

A bewitching mix of light and darkness, “Frozen” is a fun movie with deeper themes roiling underneath the perky songs and fun action. This is the rare kiddie flick that parents not only will enjoy, but might actually turn on even after the children have gone to bed.

“Frozen” comes amply supplied with quality video extras, though you’ll have to pay more for the Blu-ray edition to get the best stuff. The DVD version comes only with “Get a Horse!”, the animated short that preceded the movie in theaters, and the music video of “Let It Go” in various languages.

Upgrade to the Blu-ray/DVD combo, and you add a comprehensive making-of documentary, a feature on translating Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Snow Queen” and four deleted scenes.

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Review: "Frozen"

It’s been a rough year for animation fans, but “Frozen” splendidly warms the cockles of our cold, cold hearts.

Easily the best animated film of 2013, it’s a sprightly adventure from Disney featuring stunning eye candy, colorful characters and some of the best musical set-pieces since “Beauty and the Beast.”

It’s not quite up there with the very best of the Disney-Pixar universe: B&B, “Finding Nemo,” etc. This is owing to the main characters not having quite as much depth as other protagonists we’ve cherished. But much like the surprisingly good “Tangled,” in whose vein it very much follows, “Frozen” wears the flouncy clothes of a fun romp while harboring darker and deeper ambitions underneath.

A very loose retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, “The Snow Queen,” the film puts two sisters in conflict. Anna (voice by Kristen Bell) is the gleeful younger princess of the kingdom of Arendelle. Since childhood she’s been purposefully shut away from her older sister, Elsa (Idina Menzel), because of a tragic accident. The Troll King (Ciarán Hinds) banished the memory from her mind, and their parents took the secret with them when they disappeared beneath the ocean waves.

In her turn, Elsa is trapped by the knowledge of her uncontrollable magic powers to freeze things with a touch. It’s set off by negative emotions, so she learns to yoke in her feelings -- cutting off everyone else in the process. “Conceal, don’t feel” is her motto.

With Elsa’s coronation as queen about to take place, Anna is thrilled at finally getting to interact with the world outside the castle’s closed doors. In short order she meets a handsome prince named Hans (Santino Fontana) who’s just as goofy and giddy as she. But things take a tragic turn when Elsa unwittingly causes the entire kingdom to freeze over, then flees into hiding in the mountains.

Directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, who wrote the story along with Shane Morris, with Lee penning the screenplay, occasionally wander too far astray from the central opposition between the siblings. This is best encapsulated in the character of Kristoff, a gruff woodsman Anna encounters while trying to save Elsa.

Though ably voiced by Jonathan Groff, Kristoff mostly is just around to provide any needed derring-do, and a secondary romantic interest for Anna. (I also wasn’t too pleased with this lyric about the towheaded character: “Are you holding back your fondness due to his unmanly blondness?" Blond guy bias lives.)

One character I couldn’t get enough of is Olaf, the resident supplier of comic relief. A pint-sized snowman lovingly voiced by Josh Gad, Olaf is one of Elsa’s creations who wandered off the ice-bound plantation. Innocent, somewhat dim -- he yearns for summer, unaware that it will spell his demise -- and with a tendency to fall into pieces, he’s a classic Disney sidekick who’s so joyous to have around, he deserves his own flick.

Broadway fans may recognize Gad and Menzel as names associated with stage musical hits, and both get to show off their impressive pipes in the lineup of terrific songs composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Gad’s “In Summer” is a comedic ditty, while Menzel’s “Let It Go” is a full-on power ballad about being true to yourself. Bell, not hitherto known for her singing, proves quite adept in a solo tune and “For the First Time in Forever,” a duet with Menzel.

Though not an absolute necessity, I would recommend seeing this movie in 3-D so you can get the full effect of Elsa’s enormous icicle creations, the abominable snow giant and other visual treats.

While some cold-hearted critics might dismiss this film as the ‘Disney-fication’ of a very dark classic fairy tale, taken on its own “Frozen” is a ravishingly good movie that’s richer than its frolicking first impression might suggest.

Note: “Frozen” is preceded by a 7-minute short film, “Get a Horse!”, that is a wondrous mash-up of old and new Disney animation traditions. At first it seems we’re watching a venerable 1920s black-and-white cartoon with Mickey Mouse and his cartoon pals enjoying a hayride. But then they get into a road-rage scuffle with Peg-Leg Pete, the whole gang crashes through the screen and into our laps, bursting with color and originality. What a delight from director Lauren MacMullan and her crew.