"Frozen II" has a mix of everything that made the original a success: themes of sisterhood, dashes of romance and comedy, fantasy/adventure elements and musical numbers. The songwriting team of wife-and-husband Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez and composer Christophe Beck were brought back to create the soundtrack that mimicked but didn't repeat that of Frozen. The greatest difficulty faced by writer/director Jennifer Lee and co-director Chris Buck was to tell a story that's new and interesting without regurgitating elements in the original. "Frozen II" opens where Frozen ended - Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), having harnessed her magical abilities, rules over the peaceful and prosperous city of Arendelle. Her sister, Princess Anna (Kristen Bell), provides advice and support. Anna's beau, ice-cutter Kristof (Jonathan Groff) has decided to propose to Anna but, every tie he tries, he botches it. And snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), now immune to melting, provides on-going comic relief. Although all seems well, Arendelle is threatened by forces from within a mysterious enchanted forest. Accompanied by her sister and friends, Elsa must penetrate the mist that surrounds the woods, tame the forces of air, water, fire and earth and discover the dark secret that threatens the kingdom.
Visually, "Frozen II" boasts stunning, crystal-clear visuals, full of vibrant hues and fantastical scenes. Musically, it's surprising that there weren't more obvious callbacks to the first film's songs. The new material has no real standouts, but will probably become popular nonetheless. The returning quartet of actors, Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonatan Groff and Josh Gad, slide seamlessly back into their roles. In addition, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Ciaran Hinds and Alfred Molina provide the voices for new characters. "Frozen II" is a worthy followup with enough heart, action and music to keep everyone entertained.
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