When she begins hearing mystical, angelic-sounding singing on the wind, Queen Elsa at first attempts to ignore it and focus on her duties as monarch of Arendelle. But when a series of elemental phenomena drive her people from their homes, she realises she must travel to the far north and discover the source of the voice. Naturally, her fiercely loyal sister Anna and their friends Kristoff (an ice harvester) Olaf (a literal snowman) accompany her on the journey, pursuing a quest that dates back to their parents' childhood and which hinges on forgotten family secrets.
The original Frozen was a monster hit, and deservedly so. Fine performances, good animation, great songs, and a sparkling script that delivered laughs and pathos and a sublime conclusion that neatly side-stepped traditional narrative beats.
This film duplicated the financial success of the first, but I think that is due more to the strength of the original than Frozen II's own quality. Which is not to say it is a bad film: it isn't. It is actually a pretty good movie, overall. The plot is serviceable, there are some decent stabs at humour, and it's never boring. It's just ... not as good as the original. The songs aren't up to the same standard, for one thing. Idina Menzel gives her all for 'Into the Unknown', which is the film's signature tune, but she can't compensate for the fact that it's no 'Let It Go'. A bigger problem though, to my mind, is that it relies too heavily on the existing cast and fails to introduce any notable new characters. Though I am sure Disney did good business on cute fire lizard plushies.
This is solid family film, it's just not quite worthy of its progenitor.
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