Frozen holds a special place in our hearts. My girls were 1, 4 and 7 when the first movie was released. We saw it in the theatre at Christmas time as one of our advent activities. (Advent is basically a special countdown to Christmas.) We do 24 activities leading up to Christmas… some “big” and some “little”. We’ve been pretty excited for Frozen II, so we once again made it an advent, and Elisia and I were able to take the kids to see it on December 1st (the first day of our advent)! I was able to see it opening week, which was a really great experience that rarely happens for me.
The Story
Frozen II is set 3 years after the end of the first movie and deals with an Arendelle that is run by an Elsa who is growing into her powers after years of suppression. Olaf does an amazing “interpretive dance” recapping the first movie for any who have forgotten the main points.
But, because this is a spoiler free review, we won’t give you much more than that. We can comment, however, that even though the theme is a little more mature and may go over little ones heads, the animation, music, jokes and familiar characters will carry them through the movie. And as a parent, you can be thankful for how enjoyable it is for adults as well! Even if you don’t have children I’m confident in saying you should absolutely see it in the theatre, it is not just for kids.
We went with 11 kids (ages 8 months to 12 and a half) and not one of them got restless or even needed to go to the bathroom! (A Christmas miracle!) *says the person with the older kids* While the older kids were not restless, I had to pull out all of the stops for my two and four year old. I’m not going to lie, there was a lot of candy eaten that night. A lot. But it’s pretty normal for the age. I missed some crucial points of the story trying to keep my boys quiet and content, but it really is to be expected. There were several scenes in the movie that had them in stitches.
There were some sad and slightly scary parts, but nothing was so intense that we would say you would need to censor it for kids. The trailers made it seem like it was very scary. While you can expect some intensity, don’t shy away if you have sensitive kids. Don’t forget to wait for the hidden scene at the end of the credits! This one was well worth the wait.
One of the things I had heard going in was there is no villain in the story, which made me nervous… however, it leaned hard into a “quest” theme and became more of an inward struggle verses an external one. Though there was no one person to fall into the role of antagonist, there certainly were forces that opposed our protagonist.
The Music
Before the movie released, I did listen to the songs a bit but I generally like to go in not knowing what to expect. If you don’t want the plot spoiled for you, then I wouldn’t listen to the soundtrack before going.
I listened to the whole album religiously for days leading up to seeing it, as I tend to connect more with it if I have an expectation of what’s to come. I love every bit of the soundtrack, though “Lost in the Woods” only became amazing to me AFTER seeing what they did with it. Helloooo 80’s power ballad! They made it a whole Bohemian Rhapsody nod and honestly, it was hilarious. Jonathan Groff did about 20 different voices for it and our entire theatre was cracking up in laughter. My husband and I laughed so hard during this song as well, it was epic.
In all seriousness though, I love that Kristoff has a song dedicated to his feelings for Anna as not many male characters are so vulnerable. I loved hearing Kristen Bell talk about this scene. The song is about Kristoff having very big feelings, which is actually ground breaking for boys. We don’t often get to see a male character being vulnerable so bravo Disney. Honestly, this whole soundtrack just did it for me. It doesn’t hurt that the songs are actually in a singable key for your average person, so you can usually catch me belting it out while cooking or cleaning.
While it’s hard to compare Elsa’s new songs with “Let it Go”, I did have intense, amazing feelings towards the climax of the movie and her becoming all she was meant to be. I didn’t find any of the new songs matched “Love Is an Open Door” or “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”, but they are good songs none the less.
Idina Menzel’s vocals are quite incredible, and she has two songs to star in this time as opposed to only one in the first film. For me, the more I listen to the songs, the more I love them and see their significance. To each their own I guess! Also, from an animation standpoint, they brought in a professional vocal coach to help in creating realistic breathing patterns and movements while the characters were singing. I was so amazed to hear of such a small thing being added!
The Easter Eggs
Heidi is usually our Easter Egg finder, and I only found a few. I was watching for them, but was immersed in the story and animation most of the time.
In the scene near the beginning with young Elsa and Anna playing with “snow toys” watch for Baymax and Dumbo, as well as an obvious Mickey Mouse nod. I am also told during Olaf’s song there is a hidden Mickey, but I never found it. I didn’t really notice any others because I was so immersed in the story!
Frozen Fever
One of the things I enjoyed the most was seeing all the little girls dressed up as Elsa! That doesn’t get old. And while shopping for Christmas this week, I loved seeing all of the different things that are out for the movie. Even though I don’t have littles anymore, I did ask for a Little People toy sled set with Anna, Kristoff and Sven for Christmas. It’s just too cute, and it goes with all of the other Little People Disney toy sets we have.
I also loved seeing all of the baking items out! If you want to be super extra, a Frozen themed snack for the theatre is always a good idea.
Getting to Know Us
Erica:
- Favourite Song: “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”
- Favourite Character: Olaf
- Favourite Quote: “My love is not fragile.” – Kristoff
- Favourite Movie: Gotta be Frozen
Heidi:
- Favourite Song: “Show Yourself”
- Favourite Character: Elsa
- Favourite Quote(s): “When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing.” – Pabbie; “Change mocks us with her beauty.” – Olaf
- Favourite Movie: Frozen II
Elisia:
- Favourite Song: “Show Yourself”
- Favourite Character: Anna
- Favourite Quote: “I’m here. What do you need?” – Kristoff
- Favourite Movie: Jury’s out. I need to see it again and not be worrying about making sure my kids are quiet and still.
Danielle:
- Favourite Song: “All Is Found”
- Favourite Character: Kristoff
- Favourite Quote: “This is how we cope when we can’t cope.”
- Favourite Movie: Frozen II
We’d love to hear what you thought of the movie! Let us know in the comments.
Have a magical day!
Erica, Heidi, Elisia and Danielle
Let us know what you think!