On Nov. 23, sophomores Arjin Claire and Arikta Trivedi watched “Frozen II,” the highly anticipated sequel to the hit movie “Frozen.” Elsa the Ice Queen (Idina Menzel), her sister Anna (Kristen Bell) and their friends Olaf (Josh Gad), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and Sven (a nonspeaking reindeer) embark on an adventure far from the kingdom of Arendelle to save the world they know.
Arjin Claire: Wow! What a great movie!
Arikta Trivedi: I agree! It was a great follow-up to the first movie.
AC: Yeah, it’s really hard to have a good sequel to a movie that did so well originally, but “Frozen II” did just that.
AT: I think I liked the first one better, though. I think the overall plot of the first one was much better. This one missed the mark a bit. Some of the main questions were left unanswered, but it may be because my childhood self is deeply attached to the first movie.
AC: I think the first one was better, too, because it kick-started this whole series. I came into this movie not expecting it to be as good, but I’m happy it exceeded my expectations of a not-very-good sequel that the trailer was hyping up. This made the whole experience much better.
AT: The first movie gave us some really catchy songs such as “Let It Go,” but this one came through with the songs as well. I really like “Into the Unknown.” I was literally humming it for the rest of the day.
AC: Totally! They have such an amazing voice cast and great writers who never fail to deliver great, catchy songs.
AT: Also, Olaf added a great mix of comedy into the movie.
AC: Definitely! I loved his solo, “When I Am Older.” He added just the right amount of comedy so we were never bored. Even though he was a comedic character, Olaf contributed a lot to the story as a great side character.
Spoilers:
AT: Thanks to him, Anna realized Elsa was dying since Olaf was disappearing. Anna understood that she had to break the dam to set everything right.
AC: Yeah, Olaf was a great character and definitely developed throughout the movie, unlike Kristoff, who was kind of an afterthought for most of the movie, unfortunately. This was disappointing for me because he was such a great character in the first movie.
AT: Kristoff was very important in the first movie, especially in helping Anna save her sister, while in this movie he only appeared once during the action to help Anna. His only real role in the movie was to propose to Anna.
However, I understand why they didn’t have Kristoff and Anna together the whole period. The producers wanted to develop Anna’s character as strong and independent, shown through her solo performance of “The Next Right Thing.” That being said, they definitely could’ve used Kristoff somewhere else.
AC: Unlike Kristoff, Anna and Elsa both developed a lot as characters. As you were saying, Anna went from a bubbly, optimistic girl to an older, more serious and mature woman, which really helped set the stage and lead to her eventually becoming the Queen of Arendelle by the end of the movie.
AT: On the other hand, they showed Elsa letting go and finding her true identity and where she belongs. We watched her longing for freedom and adventure since the beginning of the movie when she leaves the palace while singing “Into the Unknown” to find the voice calling her, despite knowing the risks.
In the first movie, she began that process, which was symbolized by when she let her hair down into the braid. But in this movie, as she sings “Show Yourself,” she lets her hair down completely and realizes she needs to be in nature where she can utilize her powers to the fullest.
Speaking of her powers, during the movie we see her use powers we didn’t know she had. We don’t know if she got them in this movie or the last one, and that’s something they should’ve answered.
AC: That’s true, and it was the only problem that I had with the movie: It left some important questions unanswered.
The movie tried to explain the origin of Elsa’s powers by showing how they were gifted to her because of her mother’s actions to save her father, but it wasn’t very clear.
On top of this, answering that question generated another. How is Elsa the fifth spirit?
Since it’s supposedly a kids’ movie, if it is hard for teenagers to understand, I’m not sure how kids would interpret it.
AT: Although the plot left many questions unanswered, it answered questions I wasn’t thinking about, such as what actually happened to Anna and Elsa’s parents.
AC: That’s true. I didn’t even think of that.
Overall, I really liked the movie, and I think it served as a great follow-up to the first one. I’m not sure if they are going to make the third one, though.
—By Arjin Claire and Arikta Trivedi
