After the original Frozen became an unexpected worldwide phenomenon, it was always going to be a tough act to follow. The great news is that Frozen 2 is every bit as entertaining, emotional and rousing as the first one, with a plot and songs that more than justify the return to Arendelle.

Premise: Three years after her coronation, Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) has settled into a happy life with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), Anna’s boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), and Olaf the living snowman (Josh Gad). But a mystery surrounding her father’s escape from an enchanted forest a generation ago threatens the future of Arendelle, forcing Else to follow a siren’s call and venture into the unknown once more.

Review:

Disney tend not to make cinematic sequels to their animated films, and most of their animated sequels are strictly straight-to-DVD affairs. Certainly, Frozen 2 is the first cinematic sequel to one of Disney’s “princess” films, and when the project was first announced, I was concerned that the decision had been motivated more by the $1.2 billion made by the first film, than it was by a genuine narrative need to continue the story. Thankfully, my cynicism was unwarranted, as the directors (Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee), script-writer (Jennifer Lee) and song-writers (Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez) have achieved the impossible, capturing lightning in a bottle once again.

Like the original film, Frozen 2’s story is more a vehicle for character development than it is a plot-focused narrative. So although the surface storyline involves a quest into an enchanted forest that’s been sealed off by a magical barrier for a generation, the film is really about the characters’ various quests to find their places in the world. Elsa, for example, has settled into a comfortable life in Arendelle, but can’t shake an underlying sense of restlessness, which comes from the fact that she still doesn’t truly feel like she belongs there, constantly having to keep her magical powers in check. This being a musical, these conflicting emotions are conveyed in the film’s main new song, Into The Unknown (a worthy successor to Let It Go, and part of a soundtrack that is every bit as good as, if not better than, the first film’s).

“…the voice cast slip effortlessly back into their characters…”

Anna, on the other hand, is coming at things from the exact opposite direction, because at the start of the film, she’s pretty much got everything she ever wished for – a relationship with her sister, an open castle, friends, and even a love-life with Kristoff. Her opening song is a naïve ode to maintaining the status quo – Some Things Never Change – which betrays her obliviousness to the inevitability of change. So rather than rehash the sisters’ disagreements from the first film, or find some contrived excuse to pit them against each other again, the writers of Frozen 2 have found a far more believable basis for Elsa and Anna’s emotional conflict – Anna wants to freeze (pun intended) the moment so that things never change, while Elsa longs for some intangible thing that’s missing, even if she doesn’t know what it is. And both are blinded by their obsessions – Anna’s so busy worrying about Elsa and avoiding change that she fails to see what’s happening around her (such as Kristoff’s unsuccessful attempts to propose to her), while Elsa is so focused on protecting Anna that she can’t see the danger she’s putting herself in and her need for her sister’s help.

The voice cast slip effortlessly back into their characters this time around, and are universally great. Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell do most of the heavy lifting, but Jonathan Groff is great in his supporting role, and Josh Gad is genuinely funny in the comic relief role and is responsible for the film’s biggest laugh-out-loud moment. This time around they’re also joined by Evan Rachel Wood and Alfred Molina as Elsa and Anna’s parents (in extended flashbacks), and Sterling K. Brown and Martha Plimpton as two characters encountered in the enchanted forest.

“…three dimensional characters, stirring musical numbers, and subverted expectations…”

One of Frozen’s strengths was its subversion of the usual “princess” tropes, and Frozen 2 continues this tradition, giving the stereotypically-female subplot to Kristoff as he pines after Anna and worries about romantic issues, while Anna’s busy saving the kingdom. It would be interesting to see if this film passes a “reverse Bechdel test” (requiring two male characters talk to each other about something other than a female character at some point), which makes a refreshing change. The film also touches on some deeper and darker moments, and I found Kristen Bell’s song The Next Right Thing in particular to be very evocative and emotionally resonant.

Being honest, if you didn’t like Frozen, or don’t like animated musicals generally, then obviously this is unlikely to be your cup of tea. Yes, it is visually impressive (some of the animated sequences involving water are all but photo-real), but if you were a fan of the first film, the most welcome news is that all the best bits from the original – the three dimensional characters, the stirring musical numbers, and the subversion of expectations – are all present and correct in this unexpectedly good sequel.

Oh, and there is a funny post-credit sequence, as well as a few humorous in-jokes and sight-gags hidden throughout which you can watch out for.