Before we say goodbye to not just this year but also this decade, it's time I write an article that I wanted to write for a long time.
As a lot of you know, and for those who don't, Frozen is a movie/franchise that means a lot to me. Without it, I wouldn't even be on this site. It all started back in October of 2014,when I started to form a crush on the fictional character of Elsa. Originally, it was because I thought she was incredibly gorgeous, and I still think so, to this day. But, as the days went by and did more of my research, I realized how similar Elsa was to me and I began to relate to her. When I looked at Elsa, I saw myself. I suffered from depression and anxiety and still kind of do to this day. Fictional or not, Elsa and Frozen in general, changed my life. I began to write articles about them, with this year marking 5 glorious years on this amazing site. I was finally able to express my points-of-view with you guys, meeting with people who were also fans of the movie and finding a community where I belonged, etc.
When the sequel was announced all the way back in Spring of 2015, when I was in the second semester of my 8th grade, I was blown away and from that day on, I began speculating on and worrying about what the sequel might be about. I had my own ideas on what the sequel would be about and I began sharing it with people. I honestly just wanted a really good movie that could show people, especially the people who hated on the first, to show what this franchise is capable of

In February of 2019, when the first teaser trailer debuted on YouTube, I was blown away by it. It looked much darker and more dramatic than the first, giving me the feeling that as the fans grew up, so did the movie. It left a lot of people wondering what everything meant and what will happen, but that only made the months that came after it so much more interesting.


Before the premier of Frozen 2, I planned to go and see it in the theaters. Out of all the movies that came out this year, this is the one I went out of my way to see it in the cinema. I planned in advance. I looked when it will be available to watch on the Cinema City website. Specifically, when the Romanian Subbed version will be on because I didn't want to watch the Dubbed version. I lied to my family, saying that me and the others will go to an art exhibition. I did it because they don't think I'm old enough to go and see movies by myself, even though I'm 19 years old, at the moment.

The day came. It was a Friday. I left campus at around 13:00 P.M. and movie wouldn't start until 16:40. I decided the spend my time in the mall while I waiting for it to start. The Cinema City was in the mall, so I basically had entertainment ready to not stay bored. When the clock on my phone said it was 16:30, I went to the theater, gave in the ticket I bought, put on the 3D glasses, sat down on my seat and waited for it to begin. After sitting through an infinity of adds and trailer, it finally started. Once the movie was done, what did I think about it? Well, that's why this next section is actually the review for the film.

I've only seen the movie once, but from what I've seen, as well as from clips from YouTube, all I'll say is this: I LOVED IT!!! While it isn't the story I envisioned, I was very impressed with it and even considered it better than the first. Now, I'll talk about why I loved it.

I’ve looked at a number of reviews of the movie both from fans and general critics/moviegoers, and it made me realize exactly what kind of movie this is: pretty much all of the criticism I’ve seen has to do with the plot being unfocused and rushed at times, with points made about the convolution of the mythology elements. On the other hand, the praise I’ve seen has to do with the growth of the characters, how appealing Anna and Elsa’s development is, and the overall message of accepting change, righting past wrongs, and being who you’re meant to be. It’s almost like the critics who didn’t like the movie and the fans who did had completely different expectations for what they wanted to see, with the former expecting some intricate fantasy plot that all clicks together and is fully fleshed out, while the latter is expecting to see their favorite characters face new adventures while growing their relationships and personal identities. And this latter interpretation is the defining point of Frozen’s appeal, even more so in the sequel: the franchise is all about the story arcs of Anna and Elsa and how their bond as sisters helps them grow stronger together as well as individually. In Frozen 2, it’s the characters that are driving the plot instead of the plot driving the characters. And because of this, the movie would rather spend more time focusing on character songs and interactions (not just Anna and Elsa but Olaf and Kristoff too) than exposition and fleshing out of story elements. It would rather spend time showing Kristoff singing about his pining for Anna’s love, give Olaf scenes showing how his new-found knowledge has made him view the world, and give Elsa a follow-up to “Let It Go” in “Show Yourself,” than to spend time explaining, say, the Northuldra culture, how the spirits can make decisions like giving Elsa powers, or exactly how the magic of Ahtohallan works. Yes, this does make some story points lacking and hurried, but I feel that the filmmaking team relies on the fact that we’re so in love with these characters that not understanding every detail in the lore and plot won’t ruin our enjoyment. And, from the acclaim the movie’s getting, I’d say they’re right.

Frozen has always been about quality character story arcs as opposed to quality world-building, but the reason this is more prominent in Frozen 2 is because the first movie had a smaller scale story with minimal lore to focus on, so the character arcs stood out more. Because the sequel brings in more world-building elements, it’s easy for someone who’s not invested in the characters to focus on and judge the movie based on the fine details of the plot. Of course it would be nice if we could have both: intricate, solid world-building as well as character development, but that would probably make the movie too long – it could work for an ongoing series but not for a time-restricted Disney movie that only has a degree of creative liberties and still has to adhere to certain story flows and formulas. So then the questions are, did I feel enough was explained in Frozen 2 to make sense of the story even if a handful of things were lacking? Did the quality of the characters and their developments and relationships make up for a plot that was a bit messy and unfocused? I’d say the answer to these questions is yes.

With that in mind, as a fan judging the movie based more on how the characters are handled rather than the plot, and considering the hype the movie had to live up to and the insane number of directions they could have gone with the story, I think the final product turned out to be very good.

The few things I had issue with are as follows:
- as I discussed in most of this post, I admit that the movie is a bit rushed at times, with certain scenes and plot points that needed more focus being glossed over. An extra 5-10 minute runtime would have benefited it immensely: a few more scenes of Agnarr and Iduna in Ahtohallan, more discussion in the finale of Anna becoming queen and what Elsa’s role as the fifth spirit is…even just another 30 seconds for each of these would have made a big difference. But at the same time I feel enough is explained to satisfy a general audience and the main appeal of the movie – the character arcs and relationships – is very well done.

- Kristoff’s failed proposal in the wagon felt way too forced. Anna was just way too quick to misunderstand him, making it feel very unrealistic and it only made their relationship look regressing rather than progressing. The other attempt in the forest was a bit forced too but not as bad as this one. These scenes definitely could have benefited from another rewrite. But thankfully they’re short.

- the new characters like Matthias and Honeymaren contributed virtually nothing to the plot: they could have been replaced with just nameless Northuldra and Arendelle soldiers and nothing would have changed in the story. I think the only reason these characters were made is because there’s some rule that Disney sequels have to have new characters and can’t just rely on the strength of the old ones, so these guys were created even if the movie didn’t necessitate them. Even the four spirits were more plot devices than actual characters. As cute as Bruni is, as soon as I saw him I was like “yeah, he’s just there to sell toys, not gonna contribute anything to the narrative flow” and I was right. This again goes back to what I was saying before about how Frozen 2 chooses to focus more on its (star) characters than world-building through new characters. So in a way, having these new characters isn’t a flaw and it actually shows just how good the original Frozen characters are: they still have so much depth and personality that hasn’t been explored that they can carry this new story on their own without the help of new characters.

But other than a few missing and rushed plot pieces and a little poor writing in Kristoff’s scenes, I thought the movie delivered very well. The love Anna has for Elsa is so amazingly conveyed in this movie that you don’t even need to see the first movie to understand it. All of their interactions and conversations felt so genuine. Olaf was very funny even if all of his jokes didn’t hit their mark. Most of the songs were great and really felt like they were written to move the characters and story forward and not just to be earworms kids will always want to sing. “The Next Right Thing” is one of the darkest moments I’ve seen in any Disney movie, but also one of the most emotionally moving and I have to give kudos to the creative team for keeping it in. “Show Yourself” is the true successor to “Let It Go” (why do they keep pushing “Into the Unknown”?) and is such a beautifully sung and beautifully animated sequence. Speaking of the movie’s animation, it’s gorgeous and it’s so amazing how far the technology has come since the first Frozen. There’s so much detail and nuances in the characters’ expressions and actions that only multiple viewings can pick up on. I'll probably dedicate a new article in the future, wherein I'll analyze each song and what they mean. But needles to say, I prefer these ones over the ones in Frozen. I'm still debating whether or not "Show Yourself" is better than "Let It Go", but right now, I consider it a tie.

Of course, I can’t complete this review unless I discuss the elephant in the room – the ending. Anyone who’s been around the fandom the past couple months knows how bent out of shape everyone got once a vague description of the ending leaked online. Now that I’ve seen it for myself and know all the context, I’m okay with the message: Because Iduna did the right thing and saved Agnarr despite him being her enemy, the spirits gifted their child with powers that could be used to correct the past wrong, should she choose to. And because Anna did the right thing by choosing to destroy her kingdom to save the forest, the spirits freed Elsa who, in turn, was able to save Arendelle. Elsa fully embraced herself and is able to live as she wants, but still able to see her family when she wants. It’s not that she didn’t like being queen of Arendelle and living with Anna and the others, but now that she knows exactly what she is – the fifth spirit – she wants to explore that, but is still able to have a life with her family too. Likewise, Anna has found a purpose she never had before. Even though it’s a major change, she’s happy because she knows Elsa is happy and they can still see each other whenever they want. But as I said, exactly what Elsa does as the fifth spirit should have been explained more (hoping it does in future installments). For what we got though, it was a happy ending, but I won’t say it’s satisfying until we get some more information in future books, filmmaker interviews, and, hopefully, future animated shorts and sequels.

I’m still trying to get over the shock, not just of the fact that a movie I’ve been speculating and daydreaming about for six years is finally here and known, but also the fact that it ended up being very different from what I ever imagined in my theories and headcanons. But now that I’ve actually seen it, I understand the direction the filmmakers went and can appreciate the message they wanted to convey even if the execution was a bit messy. I’m hoping I’m high on Frozen 2 for a while because once it wears off and, assuming, there’s no announcement of new Frozen content by then, I’ll have to figure out what to do with my life! This movie is all about coming to grips with change and I’ll definitely be doing that in reality depending on what the future holds for the Frozen franchise. But as of now, I’m still willing to follow Anna and Elsa into the unknown.

There were a lot of anticipated things for this that came out in the Fall of this year: Pokemon Sword and Shield; Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal; the third season of Seven Deadly Sins, Joker, the Steven Universe movie, finally starting my first year of college, etc. But out of all these things, Frozen 2 of all things meant the most to me.

As always, take care, God bless you all, and I hope you have a fantastic new year/decade with your family and friends. Much in the same way Elsa and Anna have found their calling in this movie, I'm sure you guys will do the same and find yourselves within the brand new year that's only a couple of hours away.