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| A scene from Frozen 2 / Courtesy of Walt Disney Korea |
By Jung Hae-myoung
Sequels that come after hugely successful first movies can easily fall victim to high expectations. Fans' anticipation of the follow-up film serve as pressure, rather than encouragement, for the filmmaker as well as the cast.
It is no wonder pressure runs high for those who are involved in Walt Disney's "Frozen" sequel.
Frozen's immense popularity could not be ignored, with "Let It Go" sung by Elsa (Idina Menzel) becoming a hit that was played endlessly in public spaces in Korea.
Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, the two composers of "Let It Go," came up with "Into the Unknown" for the second movie but the song doesn't seem appealing enough to match the popularity of the original mega hit. Although some songs were hummable with catchy tunes, it is doubtful that the success of the second film will be as sensational as the first one.
"Frozen 2" delves deeper into Elsa's identity with the help of her sister, Anna (Kristen Bell). Elsa, now the queen, starts to hear mysterious singing in her ear, and decides to follow the voice into the "enchanted forest" ruled by the spirits of fire, wind, earth, and fire. She hopes to find the answer to why she keeps hearing the voices there.
During the journey, the two sisters ― along with iceman Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and talking snowman Olaf (Josh Gad) ― find out bits and pieces about the past, including why their parents went on a journey, and who started the war between Kingdom of Arendelle and the Northuldras, a tribe living in the enchanted forest.
After Elsa finds out her mother, Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood), was a Northuldra, she realizes her power comes from her mother. She also finds out there is a fifth spirit―besides the four spirits of nature―which could bridge two kingdoms together.
If the first film largely focused on finding oneself on a personal level, the story of the sequel touches on some important, broader subjects, especially on history, family and sustainability.
In the film, the story is divided into three generations ― the present where Elsa is reigns, the past when Elsa's father was king and before that when Elsa's grandfather was the king of Arendelle. The story delves deeper into the past, because as Olaf says, "there is no future without understanding the past."
Elsa encounters a surprising and painful history, learning that her grandfather was the one who started the war. She also finds out her parents died in the ocean while they were trying to find the source of Elsa's secret power in another land.
Frozen 2 explores what needs to be done in the present to ensure a better future for the next generation.
The two kingdoms show the conflict between nature and technology in today's society, where Arendelle represents the latter and Northuldra, the former. Elsa's grandfather builds an artificial dam as a present for the Northuldra. It puts them off-guard and eventually endangers its leader. Later, Elsa and Anna find out the key to saving both kingdoms was to break the dam and let the water flow naturally.
Yet it is hard to erase the sense that the story is largely the same, with characters playing similar roles as in the original. Elsa eventually goes into the journey of the unknown alone, puts herself in the danger until Anna sacrifices herself for her sister, and Kristoff helps her when Anna is again in danger. The subject became bigger but there was not much difference as to how it was told.
Under the theme of searching into the "unknown" the characters get lost in the enchanted forest, with Kristoff having trouble deciding how to propose to Anna and Olaf baffled about what is going on.
Olaf, as always, is a scene stealer with his cute gestures and lines. There were some funny moments where he explains the plot of the original which drew laughs in the theater. His lines, light―but not so light―made it easy for the audience to consider the answers to big questions.
The film "Frozen 2" will be released in Nov. 21.
