The Unpopular Opinion: Frozen II is better than Frozen I
Ah, the classic battle between the sequel and the original. In most cases, I would argue the original was always more memorable than the sequel: The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Cars, Mulan, The Lion King, etc. And even in this case, there are many arguments of why Frozen I is better than Frozen II in which I believe is true: the soundtrack is catchier, the storyline is more creative and ending less rushed, etc. Albeit these flaws, Frozen II is a better movie than Frozen I because of further character development and taking on areas typically not seen in Disney films.
First, Frozen I has to first establish each character's foundation before developing on top of them (minus Kristoff which I still don't understand his backstory); Frozen II gets to build on top of the foundation of characters and dive deeper into their inner conflicts. Elsa, who still feels out of place, dives deeper to the "unknown" and pushes herself further outward to find her place; Anna, who cares a lot about her sister Elsa, has to face this time in her life where Elsa is gone from her life and she has to figure out how to move on and take one step at a time; Kristoff, who wants to marry Anna and tries to figure out a way to propose to her, faces the problem of feeling like his relationship with Anna isn't going exactly the way he wants it to go and what he should do.
These problems of purpose, grief, and love are real-life problems often faced by everyone at one point in their lives and for Disney to discuss these problems in Frozen II is a big step in progress for Disney, because although rewarding good actions can be a good lesson for children to learn morals, these complex problems of purpose, grief, and love will be much more heavy in their lives and to be able to discuss these problems in an easily digestible form of information can be helpful for them when they encounter these problems in the future. So although Frozen I gives us a unique take and already breaks away from the typical Disney's "True Love" kiss, I argue that Frozen II breaks away even further and is progressing to further, complex problems of life.
Interesting insights on the Frozen films, Louis! Are there any other films (or other media texts?) that you can think of where the sequel is "better" than the original?
ReplyDeleteAlso -- have you seen Cars 2? I didn't even see Cars until a few years ago, and I've never seen the sequel. I've heard it's....not great, and just wondering why...?
I would argue that the Toy Story sequels are better than the original as well as the Lord of the Rings series.
DeletePersonally, I think I enjoyed Cars 2 as a kid but I don't know if my kid judgment is a good perspective to base off. I have to watch again to give specifics but at least online, it seems to be the consensus that it's not great.
Hey Louis, I think your take on Frozen II vs Frozen I is interesting, as you seem to suggest that a more realistic portrayal love in Frozen II makes it a better movie. However, how far do you think we can take the realism? Is there a point at which a depiction of reality is simply too much for children?
ReplyDeleteI think a movie always has to tell a story, in which of course reality does not have to. So as long as the film is telling a story, I think it can, and should be, trying to address complex problems of reality. However, I'm not sure if there's a specific point. It would be interesting to see if we ever regress and go back to the more basic storylines if we ever get too realistic.
DeleteI totally agree with your analysis. The fact that Frozen II uses a less of a protagonist-antagonist storyline and addresses more complex life issues really hits home. I , however, think that Frozen I addressed some real-life problems as well such as sibling relationship dynamics and parental trauma and as such, Frozen equally handled some relatable problems albeit Frozen II handled its executed in a more nuanced manner.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I agree completely that Frozen I addressed sibling relationship dynamics and parental trauma but I also think that Frozen 2 built upon those problems and showcased them trying to solve them which made the more powerful to me at least.
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