I wish life were more like the movies that end with a swift fade to black,
Where characters make their departures while still in their glory and prime,
Where stories have definite endings and rarely, if ever, come back.
(Unless they accumulate money; then it’s only a matter of time.)
I wonder sometimes where my own life would warrant a “Cut!” and a “Print!”
I’m working my way to a climax, that’s hopefully not when I die.
I wonder if I’m stuck in filler and wish God would give me a hint.
I trust that I’ll know when I see it and hope that it will satisfy.
_______________________
MPA rating: PG
I liked Frozen when it came out in 2013. It’s on my Top 365 movie list. I watched it in the theater and still think “Let It Go” is one of the best movie songs from the last decade. Yet I did put it on my Top Twelve List of Overrated Movies, not because it was bad but because it was overexposed. Disney milked the merchandise so much that it was hard to tell whether the Frozen products ever really went away before the Frozen 2 merch took their place. So it’s easy to believe that Frozen 2 was made solely with profit in mind, but even if that’s the case, it deserves a fair shake and appraisal on its own merits. And I must say I enjoyed this sequel about as much as the first. Like its predecessor, it’s not above criticism, but it’s an enjoyable return to the franchise.
Peace has returned to Arendelle with Elsa (Idina Menzel) as queen, but a strange voice reaches out to her, drawing her to the enchanted forest to the north. And, of course, sister Anna (Kristen Bell), her boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Sven the reindeer, and Olaf the snowman (Josh Gad) are right at her side. The plot of Frozen 2 seems to be the aspect most criticized, and indeed it is rather convoluted with flashbacks, mysteries, and vague explanations that can boil down to a single line of dialogue and thus aren’t answered as clearly as they could have been. Even so, cheap cash-ins don’t usually have this kind of laudable ambition, so I still appreciated how the world and lore of Frozen were expanded, even if its parallels to real-world issues are a bit half-baked. Oh, and did anyone else think the ending is suspiciously similar to Ralph Breaks the Internet? Just sayin’.
But come now, who watched Frozen for the plot? “Let It Go” was clearly the biggest draw, so how does the soundtrack compare? The songs of Frozen 2 may not seem as good at first, but I’ve found they get better with repetition. (Yes, I’ve listened to the soundtrack at work.) “Into the Unknown” is the most “Let It Go”-ish belter for Menzel and the only one nominated for the Best Song Academy Award, and I think it was robbed at the Oscars. But “Show Yourself” has even greater power, especially in the context of the film, while “Some Things Never Change” and “The Next Right Thing” are underappreciated gems, especially the latter for its surprisingly deep and relatable lyrics. The animation at least is one aspect that is clearly on par or better than the original; from the horse spirit made of water to the gorgeous fall foliage, the animation is as lovely as any Disney movie yet. I mean, look at this art!
Frozen 2 may not have been able to replicate the original’s awards, not even being nominated for Best Animated Feature (but neither was Weathering with You, so it’s in good company), but it did become the highest-grossing animated film ever, assuming you don’t count that Lion King remake. I still consider Elsa a bit too lacking in personality, but both films are a welcome return to the classic princess genre that so defined the Disney Renaissance of the ‘90s, with their strong female leads and lovable sidekicks. (Olaf once again gets the funniest scenes.) Plus, as a big fan of Norwegian singer Aurora, I was thrilled that she got such high-profile exposure being featured as “The Voice” in the film and “Into the Unknown,” even if her role is just four notes. Time will tell if Frozen 2 has the same kind of staying power that its predecessor had, but it’s a good way to end Disney Animation’s resurgence in the 2010s. Let’s hope it will continue into the next decade.
Best line: (Olaf; the irony is strong with this one) “Tell me, you’re older, and thus all-knowing; do you ever worry about the notion that nothing is permanent?” (Anna) “Uh, no.” (Olaf) “Really? Wow, I can’t wait until I’ve aged just like you, so I don’t have to worry about important things.”
Rank: List-Worthy (joining the first Frozen)
© 2020 S.G. Liput
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Most of the goings-on are fairly silly, with the husbands’ unusual (non-graphic) deaths earning more laughs than grief, including a gag that’s crept up elsewhere about trying to milk a male cow. I especially liked how each marriage is compared with a different film genre, launching into a series of vignettes recalling silent comedies, foreign art films, musicals, or posh dramas with ridiculously extravagant costumes from the great Edith Head. All in all, What a Way to Go! was a delightful bit of lightweight absurdity, finding hilarity in repeated tragedy and managing to land a happy ending. It certainly looked like everyone involved had fun making it, as I did watching it.
Putting aside the feeling that I’ve seen versions of all of these characters in other movies many times before, the entire cast of mostly unknowns give their all, instilling a fresh and likable energy to their roles. Ella Hunt is especially good as the wistful Anna, whose zombie-killing weapon of choice is a giant candy cane, and Paul Kaye is a downright ham as the school’s power-mad vice principal. Despite the initial poking fun at how juvenile high-schoolers might actually react to zombies, the whole cast later prove their acting chops as things get more dire. And while dire is to be expected from a movie with Apocalypse in the title, it also sadly saps some of the earlier fun away. Not everyone I wanted to live does, and the half-hopeful ending can’t disguise the inescapable bleakness that almost always accompanies a zombie outbreak. One of the songs even says, “There’s no such thing as a Hollywood ending.”
Best line: (Mr. Savage, after Lisa asks about her boyfriend’s sick grandmother) “Look around you, Miss Snow. What do you see?”
Rhyme and Reason 