Review | Frozen II film review: Elsa, Anna return in inevitable sequel to Disney’s animated blockbuster

3/5 stars

Disney’s Frozen was a phenomenon rarely matched in recent Hollywood history. Powered by its Oscar-winning theme song Let It Go, this story of two sisters from the kingdom of Arendelle – one with icy powers at her fingertips – became the animated movie of choice for a generation. Six years on, the inevitable sequel was always going to struggle to match the power of the original.

Frozen II reunites us with Elsa and Anna, initially as children listening to a story from their father about an enchanted forest that’s governed by four spirits, Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Back in the present, Elsa (Idina Menzel) hears a voice that leads her, Anna (Kristen Bell), Olaf the Snowman (Josh Gad), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and Sven the Reindeer through a mist and into that very same forest.

While all Kristoff wants to do is propose to Anna, something that keeps getting interrupted, there are bigger themes at play, with the sisters destined to learn about their heritage as they venture further into the forest. There they also meet the Northuldra, an indigenous tribe led by the white-haired Yelena (Martha Plimpton); like its predecessor, Frozen II rings the female empowerment bell loud and clear.

Written and directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, who also wrote and directed Frozen, the film is accompanied by songs from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, though none quite as memorable as Let It Go. Where Frozen II triumphs is in its animation: the rich red and gold leaves of the forest look beautiful next to the steely blue ice, as if autumn and winter have fused together. Elsa, riding a horse “spirit” across the water, looks particularly majestic.