I actually really liked the first Frozen and could immediately tell while watching it in the cinema that Let It Go would be a huge global phenomenon. It’s obvious that Disney struck lightning in a bottle with it and didn’t quite understand how that happened. The subsequent Frozen-based shorts that were released were truly awful and reinforced the impression that Disney had no idea how to replicate that initial success. The failure of any song in this sequel to make any lasting impression is proof enough that it isn’t as good as the first film but watching it now, I realize that it is far worse than I thought it would be.

A few years after the first film, Queen Elsa is troubled by a strange voice that calls out to her from far in the north yet no one else is able to hear it. She tries to ignore it and be content with the kingdom of Arendelle being at peace but one night cannot stop herself from extending her powers towards it. This awakens elemental spirits that threaten to bring disaster and so she journeys with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven to the source of the voice. To the north dwells the Northuldra people with whom Arendelle under Elsa and Anna’s grandfather signed a peace treaty many years ago. But conflict broke out between the two parties again. This incident is both the source of Elsa’s powers and is also connected with the sea journey undertaken by their parents that led to their deaths. Meanwhile Kristoff attempts to get around to propose marriage to Anna.

This whole film smacks of a B-team effort and creative decisions by committee as if no single person really wants to own this film. Even its the visual design lacks any real vibrancy or wow factor, compared to other recent films like Moana or Coco. I perceive a kind of stiltedness to the animation, with faces and limbs not quite moving in perfect synch with the voices. The pacing is awful as well with too little downtime between songs. As the songs in such musicals usually serve as emotional high notes, you need more of a break between them to ground the audience. Plus of course not a single song in here is good with most of them sounding too generic and unmemorable. The only possible exception is The Next Right Thing which has a darker tone and is the only song that sounds honest.

The sad thing is that there are plenty of viable paths that the film could have taken to be decent if only the makers were willing to aim higher. The film suffers from not having a main villain and so resorts to artificially separating the main characters from one another to generate conflict. But the truth is that the villains of this story is Arendelle itself all along and yet the film is resolutely determined not to have no one at all suffer any reprisal for their wrongs. At the same time, the film could pivot to say something meaningful about climate change or make a strong statement about how an infrastructure project by the civilized Arendellians were meant along to weaken the native Northuldra. But again, the film refuses to commit to anything substantial. It consciously chooses to be a lightweight children’s movie and so it is only that.

Disney and Pixar have already proven in their other films that it is possible to make a film that is appealing to children and yet is still intelligent enough that adults can find something of value to it. Indeed the first Frozen was such a massive success because it was easy to interpret Elsa’s story arc as a sort of coming out. So there is no excuse for this sequel to be as utterly banal and awful as it is. It’s a terrible disappointment on every level.