'Unsolved Mysteries': Netflix’s Revival Series is as Eerie as it is Compelling
'Unsolved Mysteries' is a reminder that not everyone has closure in their lives. Things will happen that have no known explanation, and seemingly come out of nowhere.
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I am very sad to say that Frozen II is forgettable. And in an era of post Zootopia, Moana, Tangled, Princess and the Frog, Wreck-it Ralph, Big Hero 6, the first Frozen, and so on, I’m afraid Frozen II joins the tier of lame Disney sequels. It’s above average for a Disney sequel, but that’s like saying losing your hand is better than losing your arm. They’re both pretty bad. Frozen II is not quite direct to DVD Disney sequel level, but if it wasn’t for the spellbinding animation and budget, it certainly would be. In fact, I’ll take Lion King 1 and 1/2 any day over Frozen II.
I thought Frozen II would be a dark and enthralling fantasy musical, and instead, I felt like I watched a 1 hour and 40 minute advertisement for:
DISNEY’S FROZEN II: THE SOON TO BE STAGE MUSICAL.
(PLEASE BUY OUR MERCH)
Yes, I’m afraid I was cautiously optimistic for Frozen II, despite enduring the now infamous Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (shudder) before being permitted to watch Coco, and all 5 years of overblown exposure to the original Frozen, which I am a fan of…and I was let down.
I’m not really sure I can sufficiently explain the plot of Frozen II. Essentially, the movie takes place 3 years after the first film, and explores the origins of Elsa’s ice powers. These stem from some magical forest north of Anna and Elsa’s kingdom of Arendelle. The forest has been blocked off by a mysterious fog for years and is cutoff from the rest of the world. Elsa hears a voice calling her towards the forest and decides to follow it, jump-starting the adventure. If you read that and are wondering “Who’s Elsa/Anna?” then I have bad news for you: You need to see the first Frozen. I’m not going to bother explaining a major movie that came out 5 years ago and got imprinted into everyone’s brains when kids everyone sang the songs, bought the merchandise, and re-watched the movie constantly.
You know, that reminds me. I always thought of the first Frozen as The NeverEnding Story of 2013; albeit a much better movie, but similar nonetheless. Both movies are fantasy films aimed at children dealing with self-identity, and each has a song that dominated the radio for weeks. And now, the cycle is complete, because both films have a mediocre sequel. And likely a third, one day.
Now then. I think I’d like to elaborate a bit more as to why I wasn’t a fan of the film, but that’s gonna require spoilers. So go ahead and skip to the last paragraph if you’re going in blind. Remember: Every movie is worth seeing at least once, even if it’s bad. It’ll probably give you something. Except any Illumination film besides the first Despicable Me.
I think Frozen II suffers from the following conditions:
Anyways, rant over. Let’s talk a little bit more about the good, I guess? Well, “Into the Unknown” is a good song, I suppose. Everyone’s voice acting is on point. The animation is a step up from the first. I appreciate the attempt to expand the world and mythos, even if it’s too much at once. I wasn’t particularly bored while watching it, I just wasn’t as engaged. I like Elsa’s story. And the new lizard is cute, even if he acts just like a dog, which Sven (the reindeer) already did. Whatever. It’s fine.
Alright, let’s just get into the meat of this thing and talk diversity now. As I said before, Kristoff is a serious detriment to Frozen and kind of serves as a representation of “woke” Disney. That is, Disney realizes they can’t be 1940s Disney anymore and have helpless women and racist designs, but they also realize they can’t (or rather, don’t want to) lose any chunk of their mainstream audiences, so their version of “representation” is the most bare minimum, if even that. Thankfully, I think Frozen II, and most modern Disney animated films, manage to be better than their live-action siblings. Anna and Elsa pass the Bechdel test, Elsa isn’t given a pointless love interest, a male and female director worked on this film (just like the first), and there’s nothing inherently offensive in these films. You really have to dig deep to be outraged, and I don’t think there’s anything that warrants a lecture from me about how Disney is tone deaf. Besides my deep resentment of Kristoff (which again: not the worst), I suppose Frozen II is another step in the right direction just as its predecessor was, if a bit of a clumsy step. It’s still a step. And we should encourage baby steps.
So, Frozen II. It’s not bad. It’s not good. It’s utterly forgettable and it certainly feels fluffed up and ready to get turned into a marketable stage musical. Frozen on Ice. There you go. Not a fan of forgettable movies, but I guess I’d take that over harmful or utterly boring movies.
Author: Rafael A. Sarmiento, originally published [12/10/2019] for Incluvie
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