With “Frozen II,” Disney has done the impossible: It’s made a terrific animated-musical sequel.
Over the past 25 years, the studio has released a heap of direct-to-video follow-ups to its biggest hits, such as “Return of Jafar” and “The Lion King 1½.” All of them have been forgettable at best, forever banished to the darkest corners of Disney+.
But the curse has been lifted. The second “Frozen” is even better than the first, with dazzling animation and a more mature and tuneful score. Call it “The Icicle Strikes Back.”
Elsa once sang, “I’m never going back! The past is in the past!” And “Frozen II” has wisely followed that path. Instead of rehashing the 2013 film, and piling on complications involving the queen’s magical ability to freeze with her fingertips, we start fresh with a new, out-of-the-icebox adventure.
Our heroine now sits on the throne of Arendelle, but despite the highs of being queen, Elsa (Idina Menzel) feels a nagging void. She begins hearing a siren song calling her into the distance when a supernatural force ravages the kingdom. She believes that the ethereal song, and the source of the damage, are both from an enchanted forest her mom told her about as a kid. Could it also hold the key to her magical powers? So, off she goes, along with sister Anna (Kristen Bell), snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), doofy Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and Sven the reindeer.
The most important question for parents: What song will I be forced to play in the car on an endless loop until what seems like the end of time? That would be “Into the Unknown,” which Elsa belts out before embarking on her journey. It’s a rousing number that nicely sums up the movie’s more adult blend of darkness and whimsy, with more world-weary lyrics like, “I’ve had my adventure. I don’t need something new. I am afraid of what I’m risking if I follow you.” It’s also got a bang-up cover by Panic! At the Disco.
Once we’re in the woods, a land magically barricaded from the outside world, Disney’s prettiest landscapes and characters since 2017’s “Coco” come to life. The first “Frozen” vastly exceeded box-office expectations, and its sequel looks much more big-budget as a result. The hot-pink fire demon pulses with color, and the rock ogres look as good as any creature in “The Lord of the Rings.”
Don’t worry — it’s not all monsters and deep meaning. The music, by Oscar winners Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, is actually much funnier this time around. Gad’s Olaf sings a delightful song — as he’s being chased by terrors in the forest — about how everything will make sense when he’s older. And Groff sounds great as Kristoff during a country-tinged ballad that looks like a Carly Simon video.
That tune is called “Lost In the Woods,” but the “Frozen” franchise is very much found in the forest. Elsa’s powers and insecurities are still the star, of course, but this film should confirm to Disney just how perfect this entire ensemble of characters is. Heck, I’d watch a sequel in which Elsa and friends go to Costco … “Frozen Foods Aisle”!