Film of the Week: Frozen 2

When Frozen came out, everyone sang the song, every shop sold its merchandise, and from that equation, it was inevitable there would be a sequel. It became a phenomenon, and it only died down when the minions came on the scene, and by the time the sequel came around, Frozen’s merchandise was limited to festivities only, such as Frozen Christmas crackers, Frozen Easter eggs, Frozen Halloween costumes – I was bracing myself for when the phenomenon skyrocketed back up again. But that’s the thing, it didn’t. Sure, there were a few pieces of merchandise to go along with the film with the focus mainly on the toys. The sequel’s impact was not as big as the first film, and that did get me wondering.

Were people bored of it now? Were there no longer any original products left to put the Frozen stamp on? Or were the shops noticing that the public’s care for the film wasn’t as big the second time round?

After finally getting around to watching the film, those three questions returned to the forefront of my mind. I hoped they wouldn’t change my perception of the film, but I don’t think they did. Frozen 2 is a decent story that extends upon the lore of that world, developing the characters further by explaining their backstory, which ultimately pandered towards those who want a sequel, the kids. Only the kids would want to go and see Frozen 2, not the entire family like the last time purely because the parents must have become tired from seeing Frozen everywhere they go, even in the most obscure of corner shops.

Disney put a considerable amount of effort into the film, from the animation, story, and the music, making a visually pleasing, pleasantly sounding, and quite interesting film families wouldn’t have a hard time watching together instead of just plonking their kids in front of the telly to keep them quiet for 2 hours. They could have only put half the effort into it because they knew it was an easy way to make a quick buck, but they didn’t. Their merchandise might not be as big as it was the first-time round, but that didn’t matter. Those who watched the first film would want to see the second, and they cannot disappoint by making only half a decent film.

The overall product was classic Disney. The first subverted our expectations by not having a true love’s kiss be the solution to the problem, but instead just be the love between family, this film continues that philosophy forward and switches roles for the two main characters – Elsa is the one who gets frozen and Anna is the one who saves her. And they all lived happily ever after.

In conclusion; we all knew there was going to be a sequel, I was surprised there wasn’t as much merchandise as there was before, but it didn’t matter how much was sold because Disney knew those who brought some form of merchandise would return, and for that they made sure to put a lot of effort into making it a decent film with a strong story, good music, and well-developed characters.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)