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Six years ago the original Frozen came out, practically from nowhere, and it changed the world. It wasn't simply a massive box office hit that made over $1 billion, thought, to be sure it did all that, it was also a cultural phenomenon. Anna and Elsa instantly became idols to millions of children and "Let it Go" was on permanent repeat in every minivan in the world. Watch Frozen on Disney+, or sign up for a 7-day free trial using this link.
Now, six years later, the sequel is here, and based on the early reactions, we should probably all get ready for an encore performance. Based on the reactions to last night's premiere, Frozen II isn't simply good, many are saying it's better than the original. Skyler Schuler of The DisInsider says that everything about the new film exceeds the original.
The trailers have shown a movie that certainly looked darker than the original, and now based on the reactions it seems that was certainly the case. Drew Talylor's comments about Frozen II largely echo those of Schuler, though, he also adds that the new movie is visually impressive. He's also very glad that Jonathan Groff's Kristoff finally has a real song of his own, since he was criminally overlooked in the first movie.
Lets talk about the music. The Frozen soundtrack was impressive pretty much from top to bottom, but it was, of course, Idina Menzel's solo number, "Let it Go" that blew everything else out of the water. The biggest task potentially in front of Frozen II when it comes to exceeding the original, was going to be in the music. However, Business Insider's Jason Guerrasio is of the opinion that Idina Menzel's new song "Into the Unknown" is going to meet the challenge.
While a sequel to Frozen was an obvious decision after the original's success, even with Disney's pattern of not making theatrical sequels to animated films, there was, and still is, honestly still a big question about just how the new film is going to attract an audience. Six years is a longer amount of time to wait for a sequel than people are used to these days. The young audience that embraced the first can change a lot in six years. If you were a 12-year-old kid enamored with Elsa the first time around, you're probably getting ready to graduate high school about now. That's a big change.
But that's where Frozen II apparently excells. Clayton Davis says the movie understands its primary audience has grown up, and the movie is very much designed with that in mind.
If there's a reaction that basically sums up the majority of the responses from the fans and critics who got to see Frozen II it's probably Atom Tickets' Alisha Grauso. She simply says that the care and attention put into every aspect of the movie is clear. She's also letting everybody know that if you're one who tends to cry at movies, you'll probably want to bring tissues to this one.
Of course, you can't expect literally every human being on the planet to love any movie. While I wasn't able to find any responses from anybody who flat out didn't like Frozen II, Forbes' Scott Mendelson says that the movie is only "good" and that many of the elements others' have praised aren't quite as great as they appear.
Still, if "it's good" is the worst thing anybody can say about Frozen II then Disney clearly has another hit on their hands. Odds are if you liked the first one you may love the sequel. We'll all find out for sure when Frozen II hits theaters November 22.
