ANI-MOVIES, *Frozen II

Being one of the "official" theatrically released sequel to one of their prior animated movies, Frozen II was a sure bet to cash on the intense success of the original. While other Disney sequels like Return To Neverland or Jungle Book 2 were shown in theatres, they were considered not part of the regular features produced by the main Disney studio, making The Rescuers Down Under the only other film to be branded under their main studio lineup. So no made-for-TV production was included in this, despite the fact there had already been two other Frozen short follow-ups made prior to this, taking place in between both movies.

Three years have past in the kingdom of Arendelle, and Elsa is still queen(despite the fact that she still gets listed as being a Disney "Princess"), however she is bothered by an enchanting voice that only she can hear. Suddenly, unearthly entities force the citizens out of their home, so its up to Elsa and Co. to enter the enchanted forest to find some answers. The forest has been sealed off from the rest of the world for a while, but Elsa's power manages to pierce the misty veil. Our heroes learn that a group of royal soldiers have been living an uneasy alliance with the native Northuldra people. The land is watched over by four elemental spirits: a fiery little salamander, a living gust of wind, a wild kelpie, and a clan of stone giants. Elsa and her sister Anna also learn that their mother was a native of the forest, making the two of them a bridge between the magic the Northuldra could synchronize with. The sisters also uncover the shipwreck that took their parents, and for the purposes of this movie it seems that they were not originally on their way to Rapunzel's wedding from Tangled Ever After, but instead looking for an island across a short sea that was the source of this uneven magic. What follows is a painful revelation of the dangers fear between different cultures, plus Kristoff's refusal to just grow a pair and ask Anna to marry him! Also, Olaf is still pointlessly annoying, but not in a full-on Jar Jar Binks way.

Frozen II works as a feast for the eyes, and for quality in modern 3-D animation. The fault though lies in giving an explanation to Elsa's ice powers, but leaving even more questions involving her parents, and why they their past a secret from their daughters, a plotline probably left dangling if they ever decide to do a third movie. Most of the songs(including Kristoff's 80s power ballad)are very entertaining, despite the fact that Disney seriously tried to remake Let It Go with Into The Unknown. It's easy to see why Disney decided to make this a theatrical release as opposed to a Disney Channel original or made-for-video production, but mostly sticking to their safety zone of continuing the prior story in a similar light. There was lots more room for showcasing misunderstandings being a huge source of conflicts as opposed to having any real existing typical Disney villain, which makes it slightly disappointing that the plot kept shifting from different character motivations instead of a standard fantasy journey.