frozen 2 review essay

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"Frozen II" has an autumnal palette, with russet and gold setting the stage for an unexpectedly elegiac tone in the follow-up to one of Disney's most beloved animated features. Even the irrepressibly cheerful snowman Olaf ( Josh Gad ), now permafrosted so even the warmest hugs don't melt him, is worried about change as the leaves turn orange and float down from tree branches. He is confident, though, that as soon as he gets older he will understand everything. After all, that's what he expects from Elsa ( Idina Menzel ), Anna ( Kristen Bell ), and Kristoff ( Jonathan Groff ). Anna reassures him (in song, of course) that yes, some things change, but some things are forever. She tells him that even when you don't know the answers you can always just do the next right thing, and that will help. 

"Frozen II" is funny, exciting, sad, romantic, and silly. It has great songs and a hilarious recap of the first movie, and then it is all of that all over again. Plus an extra scene ALL the way at the end of the credits. This sequel can seem overstuffed at times, and tries a bit too hard to replicate the magic of the first film, but it is impressively willing to engage with some complicated issues in a frank manner that is accessible to children and insightful even for adults. 

It throws a lot at us, like rock monsters, a cute fire salamander, and a magnificent water horse (the latter two likely to appear on holiday gift wish lists). The settings are gorgeously imagined and wonderfully inviting. Anna has a sensational new wardrobe. We learn family secrets, some comforting, some painful. Characters confront some of the most daunting human questions about loss, change, trust and how we can best heal the wounds of the past.

In a charming flashback, we see the princesses as little girls, playing together happily and being put to bed by loving parents. The king tells them a bedtime story from his own childhood about visiting an enchanted forest with his father to celebrate the completion of a dam the Arendellians built to help the indigenous people. But the gathering turned into an attack. The king was killed, and only the young prince survived, rescued by a mysterious character. Ever since, the enchanted forest has been barricaded by a powerful mist. The girls learn from their mother's lullaby that the river may hold some answers about what happened. "Dive down deep into her sound, but not too deep or you'll be drowned," the Queen sings. "When all is lost, then all is found." It's surprising how dark lullabies can get, a character points out.

In the present day, the sisters live happily in the castle, enjoying family time (Olaf is the Charades MVP) and caring for their community. But Elsa hears voices calling to her from the enchanted forest. She is afraid, but also thrilled. It is an invitation she struggles to admit that she wants to accept, leading to this film's belter ballad, "Into the Unknown." "I've had my adventure/I don't need something new ... don't you know there's part of me that loves to go into the unkn-ow-ow-own."  

And so, after a warning from Kristoff's "love expert" friend Pabbie ( Ciarán Hinds ) and Olaf's not-always-helpful fun facts commentary along the way, they reach the enchanted forest. There, they meet new characters, sing some more songs, sort out some misunderstandings and try to protect each other. They confront the consequences of bad, even tragic choices made by their family. 

Parents often ask me why children, especially preschoolers and middle-schoolers, like to watch the same movies over and over. I tell them that when everything around you seems to be drastically changing on a daily basis and you barely know yourself anymore, it can be a great comfort to have a movie friend that's the same every time. "Frozen II" is destined to be one of those movies children will want to see dozens of times. It will reward repeat viewings with both its reassuring messages about responding to change with courage and curiosity, and its challenge to understand the mistakes of the past so we can begin to work on "the next right thing" together.

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

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Film Credits

Frozen II (2019)

Rated PG for action/peril and some thematic elements.

104 minutes

Kristen Bell as Anna (voice)

Idina Menzel as Elsa (voice)

Jonathan Groff as Kristoff (voice)

Josh Gad as Olaf (voice)

Sterling K. Brown as Lieutenant Mattias (voice)

Evan Rachel Wood as Iduna (voice)

Ciarán Hinds as Pabbie (voice)

Jason Ritter as Ryder (voice)

Rachel Matthews as Honeymaren (voice)

Alfred Molina as Agnarr (voice)

Jeremy Sisto as King Runeard (voice)

• Jennifer Lee

Writer (story by)

• Kristen Anderson-Lopez
• Robert Lopez
• Jeff Draheim
• Christophe Beck

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“Frozen 2”: Concept and Plot Analysis Essay (Movie Review)

Introduction, act i: setup, act ii: confrontation, act iii: resolution and the themes.

“Frozen 2” is a sequel to the popular Disney animated film “Frozen”. The new fairy tale about Elsa and Anna was presented to the audience by directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee six years after the first part which won two Oscars (Rogers 4). It seemed that the sequel would appear much earlier. Almost every year, the studio announced that they had a good idea for the sequel or that the final touches were added to the script, but only short films were released. Finally, in 2019, the fans of “Frozen” got an opportunity to watch “Frozen 2” (Rogers 4). Its plot is emotionally concentrated not on the two sisters but on their parents’ experience, and other subjects. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a narrative structure analysis of “Frozen 2” and cover the theme of the film as well as its following or deviating from the typical movie structure.

The film begins with a story about the Enchanted Forest that is told to children, Anna and Elsa, by their father. Once the Northuldra tribe and the Arendelle soldiers made peace, the latter built a dam for the indigenous people. However, later, a war broke out between the countries. The spirits of the Enchanted Forest, enraged, drove Arendelle’s troops beyond the forest (Rogers 10). These events of the distant past might be regarded as a background to the main action of the movie that lets the viewers understand the context and easily follow the story.

The narration continues three years after the last episode of “Frozen”. Elsa hears a mysterious voice and, following it, accidentally awakens the spirits of the Enchanted Forest, whose forces began to cause panic in the kingdom of Arendelle. However, subsequently, the residents have time to leave. Grandfather Pabbyie calls on Elsa, Anna, and their friends to go to the forest, where she must pacify the spirits (Rogers 11). It is the inciting incident of the film that creates a problem to be solved by the main characters; besides, it arouses interest in the audience. The sequence of events described above is the setup, or Act I.

In Act II, or the confrontation, Elsa’s fight with the elementals on the way to where the voice leads her is demonstrated. Having reached the forest, Elsa, her sister Anna, Kristoff, Sven the deer, and Olaf the snowman encounter the air spirit in the form of a tornado (Di Placido). Elsa destroys the whirlwind by the power of magic. Soon, the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest are attacked by the spirit of fire. Trying to stop the elemental, Elsa sees that the spirit of fire is a harmless magical salamander; Elsa calms it down and prevents a forest fire.

Afterward, following the mysterious voice, the princess goes to the north and discovers the place where her parents’ ship has wrecked. They tried to get to Ahtohallan, a river of memory. Elsa reaches the water reservoir and finds out that the mysterious voice that has beckoned her during all the course of the film belongs to Iduna, her mother (Di Placido). The river shows Elsa that her grandfather has tried to harm the Northuldra tribe. The only way to set the spirits of the Enchanted Forest free is to destroy the dam. This point is the climax of the movie plot that keeps the audience in suspense.

The dam collapses and the water flow goes to Arendell. That is why Elsa rushes to the kingdom and prevents the flood. After that, Kristoff makes Anna a marriage proposal which she accepts. Anna is proclaimed the new Queen of Arendelle, and Elsa remains in the Enchanted Forest to protect it (Di Placido). These events can be regarded as Act III or the resolution of the conflict; as many Disney movies, “Frozen 2” has a happy ending. The structure of the film mostly reminds of the typical plots of fairytale animated films. Usually, in such a movie, there is a problem to solve, and the main character together with his or her friends overcomes all the obstacles and at the same time, learns some important lessons.

Speaking about the way “Frozen 2” deviates from the typical structure, the main difference is that the action is driven forward mostly by magic. This creates the impression that the characters remain passive; the peculiarity is closely connected with another difference, which is the fact that the characters do not progress much throughout the plot (Di Placido). Under the group mission, they have no chance to evolve; for instance, Kristoff proposes to Anna which becomes evident at the beginning of the story, and this is the only significant deed of his. As for the themes, they include colonization and minority representation, toxic masculinity, and sisterhood the first one being of great importance (Di Placido). The victimized natives are the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest who did not benefit from a dam; eventually, they receive freedom and become protected by Elsa. She is shown as an ideal colonizator who protects the natives and does not abuse them.

In conclusion, it is significant to press the point that “Frozen 2” has a rather typical plot the main peculiarity being that it is magic that drives the action. Besides, the characters of the movie do not develop much; in this respect, “Frozen 2” is different from other films of this kind. Unlike “Frozen”, the second film is centered on the problem of colonization and pays less attention to the relationships between Elsa and Anna.

Di Placido, Dani. “Frozen II Is a Good Sequel but a Bad Movie.” Forbes , 2019. Web.

Rogers, Anna S. “Are Disney Characters ‘Frozen’ in Stereotypes? An Intersectional Analysis of Frozen.” Education Sciences & Society-Open Access Journal 10.2 (2019).

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IvyPanda. (2022, February 15). "Frozen 2": Concept and Plot Analysis. https://ivypanda.com/essays/frozen-2-concept-and-plot-review/

""Frozen 2": Concept and Plot Analysis." IvyPanda , 15 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/frozen-2-concept-and-plot-review/.

IvyPanda . (2022) '"Frozen 2": Concept and Plot Analysis'. 15 February.

IvyPanda . 2022. ""Frozen 2": Concept and Plot Analysis." February 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/frozen-2-concept-and-plot-review/.

1. IvyPanda . ""Frozen 2": Concept and Plot Analysis." February 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/frozen-2-concept-and-plot-review/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . ""Frozen 2": Concept and Plot Analysis." February 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/frozen-2-concept-and-plot-review/.

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‘Frozen 2’ Review: The Cold Still Never Bothers Them

The sisters and sidekicks from “Frozen” reconvene for another adventure with storms of feeling and a new power ballad.

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By Manohla Dargis

“Let It Go,” the warble heard around the world, wasn’t just the signature song from “ Frozen .” It was an anthem (“Here I stand!”) for the mighty, mighty girl power that helped push Disney into industry dominance. The company’s supremacy is often pinned on its highest profile franchises: Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar, which have historically featured male-driven stories. But Disney has also heavily profited from a sparkly pink world of adventure and aspirational uplift for spirited girls and women who “dream big,” to borrow a motto from its princess franchise.

The sisters from “Frozen,” the magical Elsa (the leather-lunged Idina Menzel) and the younger, perkily ordinary Anna (Kristen Bell, a honeyed soprano) aren’t part of the official princess juggernaut . Maybe that’s because Elsa was crowned queen in the first movie, though also because the sisters are big enough to have their very own franchise, having raked in a billion plus worldwide. So, of course they are back for another round of global domination in “Frozen 2,” a diverting, prettily animated musical, again written by Jennifer Lee, who directed the movie with Chris Buck.

“Frozen” neatly tied things up with Elsa having embraced her magic and wearing the crown, and Anna matched with a nice bland hunk, Kristoff (Jonathan Groff). But there’s no such thing as happily ever after in Franchise Land. So, after the reintroductions (hello, Olaf and Sven), Elsa performs a call-and-response with an ethereally pure voice, a “secret siren” (the Norwegian singer Aurora), in “Into the Unknown.” True to her new musical grail, Elsa ventures off into the unknown, followed by Anna, and together they climb the mountain, touch the sky and re-enter the circle of life.

The ensuing adventure is lively, amusing and predictably predictable with revelations, reconciliations and some nebulous politics for the grown-ups. It’s never surprising, yet its bursts of pictorial imagination — snowflakes that streak like shooting stars — keep you engaged, as do Elsa and Anna, who still aren’t waiting for life to happen. They’re searching, not settled, both active and reactive, which even today makes them female-character outliers on the big screen. Even better, this time this journey isn’t as tethered to romance. Kristoff yearns to propose to Anna and spends much of the story fumbling to pop the question, a light comic refrain that smartly never overwhelms the story.

Instead, the emphasis remains on the sisters. In “Frozen,” Anna found true love with Kristoff, but mostly she and Elsa found each other. It was a promising change of genre pace particularly given that Disney has long drawn from classic fairy tales (its first animated feature was “Snow White”), which it has struggled to recalibrate for changing gender norms. With “Frozen” it created grown heroines with different once-upon-a-time stories, one sealed with a man’s kiss, the other happily not. It was a modest liberating détournement along the lines of the first “Maleficent,” a rethink of Sleeping Beauty in which a kiss from a motherly queen, not a prince, wakes the princess.

“Frozen 2” continues in the same nonthreatening, emancipatory vein, jumping to life when Elsa responds to the siren’s call. As before, the songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez are pleasantly melodious with lyrics that can have the quality of a confession, as if a friend were sharing her inner-voice struggles: “I’m afraid of what I’m risking if I follow you.” One of the sweetest tunes, “All Is Found,” appears in a flashback with Elsa and Anna’s mother (Evan Rachel Wood), who introduces an animistic motif (“a river full of memory”) while readying her daughters for the future with the Disney Dare: “Can you brave what you most fear?” Well of course they can.

As is often true in animation, “Frozen 2” soars highest when it embraces abstraction, as in one number with a pitch-black void that entertainingly evokes Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin.” These moments enrich the storytelling as do Menzel and Bell, who give Elsa and Anna feeling, not simply pluck. This adds dimensions to their sisterly quest, even if the harmonious emotions and good intentions never fully atone for the conventionalism of the blond-on-blond character design, the tiny waists, pert breasts, jeweled eyes and pale plastic-y skin. Hearing women sing of freedom is irresistible, but Disney needs to take its old-fashioned ideal of female beauty and just, well, let it go.

Rated PG for mild peril. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes.

Manohla Dargis has been the co-chief film critic since 2004. She started writing about movies professionally in 1987 while earning her M.A. in cinema studies at New York University, and her work has been anthologized in several books. More about Manohla Dargis

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‘frozen 2’: film review.

THR review: 'Frozen 2,' the sequel to the 2013 Oscar-winning smash, follows the further adventures of sisters Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel).

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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Frozen 2 has everything you would expect — catchy new songs, more time with easy-to-like characters, striking backdrops, cute little jokes, a voyage of discovery plot and female empowerment galore — except the unexpected.

When you’ve made an original film that became the biggest-grossing animated movie of all time with a $1.27 billion worldwide haul, with income from an ongoing stage version and myriad merchandising sources as gravy, any temptation to mess with success would be deep-sixed in an instant. So, yes, Disney has been careful, cautious, conscientious and committed to continuing the franchise with the utmost fidelity to the original, resulting in a sequel that can’t miss with its massive constituency and will make another mint, but at the same time can’t help but feel predictable, safe and beholden to formulaic rules.

Release date: Nov 22, 2019

As in the first outing six years ago (but just three years later in terms of the narrative), Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel ) remains an intriguing and rather more serious young woman than has been the norm for young female Disney royalty through the years, one who seems intent upon understanding her abilities and heritage. It’s her present preoccupation to explore and master them, to harness the power of nature — hers and that which remains to be discovered.

Domestic jibber-jabber among the royal family of Arendelle dominates the early-going in a rather let’s-get-reacquainted manner, and this is something at which Elsa’s chatty younger sister Anna ( Kristen Bell ) particularly excels. During this domestic first act set at the castle, a new song is introduced every few minutes, and there’s nothing wrong with that; as before, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez have turned out a host of snappy, catchy tunes, at least two or three of which seem very likely to become favorites. The songwriting team’s contribution to the franchise’s success can scarcely be overestimated.

Before long, however, a devastating storm serves to get everyone out of the house and a select few into an enchanted forest, from which Elsa feels like she’s “being called.” But while the troops gather to figure out what to do, some of the same crew from the previous film are given a few moments apiece to reintroduce themselves with their basic shtick, most notably including comic relief snowman Olaf ( Josh Gad ), who can be amusing in small doses, and Anna’s oafish beau Kristoff ( Jonathan Groff ), who, sadly, has become no brighter in the intervening years.

Although the pic to this point can hardly be called dynamic, Elsa’s almost mystical belief in a strange and unknown destiny begins refocusing the narrative once she sets out on her quest of self-discovery; she becomes, increasingly, an often brooding woman of “dark powers” convinced that “the truth must be found,” whatever it may be. She’s no innocent Dorothy looking for a way back home through a scary forest, although the journey has its emphatic perils. Rather, Elsa is a seeker and seer of a potentially high order, a woman determined to learn the truth about the world she inhabits and rules, whatever the risks and cost. This (along with some quite exceptional shape-shifting) is what makes Elsa stand out among the crowd of commoners and sets her increasingly apart from the more motley crowd accompanying her on her journey to hitherto unimagined places.

Without missing a beat,  Frozen 2 at this point could have easily become a tale of a dead-serious journey, a kind of cartoon  The Revenant  with awful weather and dangerous creatures (here, notably, some enormous rocks that become hulking giants that shake the Earth when they walk). Visually, too, some of the effects point in the direction of a head trip. But, indeed and alas, that’s a different movie. The journey we get is an equivocation, one that seems momentarily tempted by destinations perhaps not on the map but understandably travels on another, much safer road.

So while it flirts with the dark side, where the movie actually goes are the destinations of colorful and undisturbing sensation (Elsa’s underwater exploits are particularly striking) and constantly reassuring humor. There’s nothing wrong with that in terms of the massive, all-inclusive audience Disney is aiming for and will most certainly reach, and no one wants to scare the 4-year-olds too much (there are moments in  Bambi  and  Sleeping Beauty,  at the very least, that supplied children of earlier generations with nightmares for years). 

Certainly the overriding intent of Jennifer Lee’s script (she also solely wrote the first installment and co-directed both with Chris Buck) is to position Elsa as a serious role model/inspiration for girls and young women, a resilient, can-do, nothing-can-stop-me character able to overcome any challenge in her path. This she most certainly does, and a raft of co-story writers has joined in to try to stir the ingredients to the desired balance among drama, excitement, comedy, suspense, action and inspiration.

Unfortunately, if you stop to notice you can readily sense the efforts of the many cooks in the kitchen, recommending a bit more sugar here, a pinch of spice over there, bake this a little longer, put some extra frosting on just for good measure. The recipe is a good one, but you can feel all the fuss that went into it.

Production company: Walt Disney Animation Studios Distributor: Disney Voice cast: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthews, Jeremy Sisto, Ciaran Hinds, Alan Tudyk, Hadley Gannaway, Mattea Conforti, Aurora, Alan Tudyk, Santino Fontana, Libby Stubenrauch, Eva Bella Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee Screenwriter: Jennifer Lee; story by Chris Buck, Marc E. Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez Producer: Peter Del Vecho Executive producer: Byron Howard Production designer: Michael Giaimo Editor: Jeff Draheim Music: Christophe Beck Original songs: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez Visual effects supervisor: Steve Goldberg Casting: Jamie Sparer Robert

Rated PG, 104 minutes

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Frozen II Review

22 Nov 2019

As a rule, animated Disney princess movies don’t get theatrical sequels – they end, by definition, with ‘happily ever after’. But then, 2013’s Frozen went far beyond your average animated Disney princess movie, a $1.2 billion box office behemoth that subverted fairy-tale notions of true love, with an earworm soundtrack that sent frazzled parents loopy on endless repeat listens. So it is that Frozen ’s happy ending gives way to a big-screen sequel that — as they tend to — goes bigger, bolder, and more epic.

It begins gloriously, with a lush, confident opening act that establishes the new status quo – Elsa ( Menzel ), in control of her ice powers, ruling Arendelle and living with love and warmth among sister Anna ( Bell ), soon-to-be-brother-in-law Kristoff ( Groff ), and goofy snowman Olaf ( Gad ). The first film’s frosty palette is swapped for a gorgeous autumnal aesthetic — all golden leaves, hazy sunsets and open fires — bolstered by a string of stirring musical numbers that deal beautifully with ideas of growth and impermanence (“I can’t freeze this moment, but I can seize this day,” sings Elsa). Frozen II isn’t just set in a season of change — it’s about the inevitability of it.

It’s also a more mature film that deals with notions of maturity, for an audience that has itself grown up in the six years since the previous outing. That means an expansive, mythical tone as the gang sets off on a quest tied into a mystery around Elsa and Anna’s family history, incorporating epic fantasy elements from Middle-earthian stone giants, to elemental spirits and indigenous tribal communities. Like Moana before it, Frozen II takes Disney further into Studio Ghibli territory, dropping binary good-and-evil storytelling for more nuanced depictions of the balance between humanity and nature.

The monolithic spectre of ‘Let It Go’ is not only winked at in a sharp gag, but is followed up with a double whammy of Elsa-bangers.

That the plot largely exists in service of world-building leads to a meandering middle act, driven by a mystery that remains narratively vague for too long and is largely obvious in hindsight. If the wider scope is admirable, the mythology-extending doesn’t always succeed, delivering backstory and familial revelations in hazy, hasty exposition that leaves big questions still unclear come the credits.

But just as Frozen transcended a tangled narrative thanks to its engaging characters and show-stopping music, Frozen II ’s plot missteps are more than compensated for by another suite of hits by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez . Olaf — who delivers a hasty recap of the previous adventure in the film’s funniest sequence — gets a particularly witty number in ‘When I Am Older’, repressing his trauma as he’s menaced by forest spirits. Kristoff gets the only notable misfire — a half-hearted parody of mopey soft-rock ballads. As for the musical elephant in the room, the monolithic spectre of ‘Let It Go’ is not only winked at in a sharp gag, but is followed up with a double whammy of Elsa-bangers, two fresh songs of spine-tingling self-discovery — the propulsive ‘Into The Unknown’ and mystical ‘Show Yourself’. If neither quite matches the last film’s breakout hit, that they both come close is impressive enough.

Where Frozen II does surpass its predecessor is in the jaw-dropping animation – one moment involving water drawn from a plank of wood is near-photoreal. Elsewhere, the film is far more stylish and playful than the prosaic original, with metaphysical character-driven sequences that make full use of the medium’s blank canvas, their imagery more emotionally intuitive than any expository dialogue. A scene of Elsa taming a spectral water-horse in the heart of a raging sea is simultaneously frightening, beautiful and enigmatic, drawing to mind Rey’s finger-clicking journey to self-discovery in Star Wars: The Last Jedi .

If the final act underwhelms in the action stakes, Frozen II still delivers where it really counts — the emotional beats and relationship between Elsa and Anna, who continually strengthen and uplift each other across the runtime. Among the not inconsiderable flaws, there’s enough greatness to make Frozen II worth Disney breaking its big rule for. And that in itself is a happy ending.

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Frozen 2 Exists Because the Market, Not the Story, Demanded It

Elsa does not get a girlfriend in Frozen II , with condolences to the fans who pleaded to Disney for one, like supplicants petitioning an indifferent corporate god. The frosty former princess does, however, get a magical horse, and it’s pretty sick. It is, technically, a water spirit called a Nokk, but what matters is that it’s crystalline and capable of galloping across the surface of the ocean in a way that both looks cool and makes Elsa’s silver hair, unleashed from its braid, flutter aspirationally in the wind. That’s the kind of sight that you can imagine making a child’s heart explode with covetous delight, especially one of the little girls who were key to making the first Frozen a beast of a $1.27 billion global hit in 2013, and who pushed its breakout ballad “Let It Go” into brain-melting inescapability.

Frozen II is, like its predecessor, a kids’ movie, but it’s also, like its predecessor, an official Walt Disney Animation Studios release, which means it’s a vector for merchandise, music, theme-park rides, eventual remakes, and a young generation’s pop cultural pressure points. There is every possibility that “Into the Unknown” — the new designated banger from songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, featuring the same sort of soaring chorus and the same high note as Let It Go — will become aural wallpaper in the houses and vehicles of families around the world. The tendency people have developed to talk about these movies as bearing a public responsibility is both a symptom of our disturbingly parasocial relationship with a massive media conglomerate, and an acknowledgment of that massive media conglomerate’s awesome reach and influence. Disney doles out its milestones of representation in intensely calculated dribs and drabs. It’ll only give one of its princesses more than an “exclusively gay moment” once its sure it can maximize plaudits for its progressiveness while preserving its bottom line in more repressive international regions.

It’s easier to think about Frozen II as a product than as a film because a (sometimes stunning-looking) product is all that it feels like. It was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the team behind the first film, from a script that Lee wrote, and that never really pretends that it exists because the story, rather than the market, demanded more. That story has the feel of the kind of invented errand that used to fuel countless direct-to-video sequels, only this one’s been blown up to a grand scale, with accompanying sumptuous production values. Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) is now queen of the hygge-heavy kingdom of Arendelle, though she’s distracted by a haunting call that only she can seem to hear. Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), still accompanied by his reindeer, Sven, is working his way up to proposing to Elsa’s sister, Anna (Kristen Bell). Then there’s the snowman. There is, I regret to inform you, an awful lot of the snowman, Olaf (Josh Gad), which, alongside Elsa’s ascendance to lead, indicates that some fan demands were heeded.

The group hauls off to the north in order to save Arendelle from a plot device, finding their way to an enchanted forest that’s home to the Sámi-inspired Northuldra tribe. The Northuldra, led by Yelana (Martha Plimpton), have a fraught history with Arendelle, once approached as allies until something went wrong and the area was sealed off by mist. The mystery behind these events will turn out to involve the colonialist ambitions of a past king and a betrayal that reveals that illustrious ancestors are rarely all they’re idealized to be — ambitious stuff from the company that made Pocahontas , though the inevitable happy resolution suggests that these films still aren’t exactly up to reckoning with restitutions for inherited trauma. That mystery, anyway, becomes intertwined with a journey of self-discovery involving an explanation for Elsa’s powers, and while that resolves in a sequence that I’m still not entirely sure I understand, it does manage to once again gift the character with a gleaming new outfit.

It’s hard not to feel jaded about Frozen II , while also understanding that those feelings don’t matter at all, and that the film is going to go on to draw huge audiences heavy on children and accompanying parents who’ll appreciate being thrown a bone by way of Kristoff’s amusingly ’80s-rock-inflected number. The film comes from a tradition that has spawned both incredible classics of animated artistry and overtly calculating entertainments, and it happens to skew more toward the latter. It’s carefully modulated to reach the widest possible audience while offering just enough for the adults in the room to shrug and think, Hey, at least these are strong female characters, right? And the thing is that, even as a mostly mercenary endeavor, the movie is still capable of moments of astonishing beauty. Take, for instance, the sequence in which Elsa attempts to cross a stormy sea, trying and failing to use ice to crest the raging waves. It’s in those waters that she battles the Nokk, eventually finding a way to get on its back and ride away triumphant. Adult me knows that thing is already available in toy stores, but child me would have died to have one.

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Frozen II review – magical journey into the unknown with Elsa and Anna

The sisters try to heal the sins of the past in a moving follow-up that touches on climate change and has at least one great song

T he more times I listen to Frozen II ’s rousing anthem Into the Unknown , the more I’m convinced of its earworm quality. It’s as good (and maybe better) than the indelible Let It Go . The much awaited sequel to Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee’s 2013 animated musical phenomenon sees Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) beckoned by a “secret siren”, whose disembodied soprano whistle leads her through the Enchanted Forest and to the River Ahtohallan to learn the difficult truth about her family’s past. “Can you face what the river knows?” sings her late mother (Evan Rachel Wood) in the opening flashback’s lullaby.

A battle means the forest has been sealed off for decades by a magical fog; Elsa and co discover that trapped within are its indigenous people, the Northuldra. The spirits of earth, air, water and fire are also volatile; the animators demonstrate the beauty, terror and instability of the elements via a neon pink forest fire and an ethereal water horse that Elsa rides across the unruly, dark sea. The new songs, on the other hand, are less consistent. Jonathan Groff’s Kristoff draws the short straw with forgettable 80s rock ballad Lost in the Woods , while chatty, cutesy snowman Olaf (Josh Gad) has a sweet but thin number about growing older, crooning with a faux-Sinatra lilt.

Frozen ’s formula cleverly matched the expansive dreams and deep anxieties experienced by children with Broadway-style belters (powered by actual Broadway stars Menzel and Groff). The rage-inducing loneliness that accompanies Elsa’s power or her non-magical sister Anna’s primal fears for her family’s safety are not obstacles to be overcome but incorporated into the storytelling. Here, the idea is developed further, with Elsa and Anna (Kristen Bell) vowing to undo the damage done by generations past, thoughtfully touching on the timely themes of colonialism and the climate crisis. Indeed, Anna’s moving solo The Next Right Thing advocates for taking the first small step towards change even when the future is uncertain.

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'Frozen II' Review: A Gorgeously Animated Sequel That Tops The Original

"Some things never change," or so go the lyrics in one of the songs in the highly anticipated Disney sequel Frozen II . This follow-up arrives six years after the worldwide phenomenon of Frozen took hold of popular culture, with its songs becoming so unavoidable and ubiquitous almost overnight. Frozen II attempts to carve out a place for itself while delivering the charm, catchy music, and core emotional underpinnings that so inflamed people's imaginations in 2013. With its eye-popping animation, world-building, and character exploration, Frozen II is nominally a slight improvement on its predecessor. But it's still limited by the burden of expectations. Arendelle is thriving in the reign of Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel), yet the young leader is plagued by the mysterious sound of a beckoning siren call only she can hear. Coupled with her memory of the king and queen describing for her a strange, enchanted forest in the North where magic reigned supreme, Elsa is compelled to leave her home. Unable to quell her wandering spirit, she heads off to an enchanted forest in the North, joined by her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), Anna's beau Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven, and the supposedly lovable snowman Olaf (Josh Gad). The core adventure is less about the sisterly bonds delved into during the 2013 original, and more about the pressing question of why Elsa is gifted with magical powers, and whether those powers might destroy or save their land. What works most in this film's favor is that it doesn't present itself as a direct copy of the original. Shrewdly, Anna and Elsa are teamed up for a bulk of the story, this enabling their connection to be more believable. Now at least, Anna and Elsa act like sisters, instead of lip service being paid to their relationship. Elsa, too, may still be a figure of some mystery, but Jennifer Lee's script (she co-directed the film with Chris Buck) is at its strongest when the icy queen is at the forefront. Anna, though less outlandishly klutzy than in the first film, is placed in a silly subplot with Kristoff, who's desperate to pop the question but unable to close the deal. It's not exactly a good thing that this film recalls the first-ever Disney animated sequel, The Rescuers Down Under , wherein the kindly male lead struggles to pop the question to his longtime girlfriend. But the similarities are...unexpected, if not straight-up unwelcome. Of course, the vagaries of what is expected of a sequel—the same, but more of it—means that there are more songs, including two big numbers for Elsa. ("Into the Unknown" has received the "Let It Go" treatment in the marketing campaign, but her other solo number, "Show Yourself", is the standout.) Groff, like Menzel, is a seasoned Broadway vet, although he ironically never got a show-stopping number in the original film. That has mercifully changed with Frozen II , where his 80s-throwback song "Lost in the Woods" is the best of all the compositions from songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez. It's one of many pop-culture in-jokes that toe the line between being too referential and just slyly funny enough. (To describe the song further would ruin one of the film's most delightful surprises.) There is also a great deal of Olaf, speaking of humor that tries to land on the right side of being too jokey. If you like the sentient snowman who loves warm hugs, you're in for a treat—Olaf jockeys with the two sisters as the second lead of the film. The rest of us have to stew in silence through extended comic bits that land with a thud, as when Olaf hurriedly rushes through a plot synopsis of the first film for a captive audience of new characters. Less continues to be more with Olaf, which means his screen time is an aggressive albatross hanging around the rest of the film. Those aforementioned new characters are plentiful, but it's fascinating that none of them make much of an impact, nor are they meant to. Sterling K. Brown appears as a long-lost Arendellian (Arendellite? We'll have to wait for the third film to know for sure) with a connection to Anna and Elsa's parents, acquitting himself nicely enough in a mildly thankless role. The same goes for Martha Plimpton and Jason Ritter, both as denizens of the mysterious forest where our heroes spend most of the film. Yet Frozen II is not about the new characters, instead trying to expand upon the creaky mythology of the original. (The expansion of said mythology does not improve its creakiness, sadly.) The truest improvement between films comes not in its story, but in its striking presentation. Though Elsa's powers arrive in full bloom in the enchanted forest, the real power of this movie comes through its gorgeous, often jaw-dropping animation. Much of the film's antagonism is driven by natural elements like air and water, which are visualized in crisp, detailed fashion that goes well beyond past Disney animated fare, hand-drawn or computer animated. An extended sequence midway through the film, in which Elsa goes on a very important journey of self-discovery, is visually one of the most accomplished sequences of the 80-plus years of Disney animation, period. The way that Disney animators have pushed computer technology to give life to even droplets of water is genuinely gasp-inducing. Whatever else can be said, Frozen II is truly beautiful. Frozen II has an insurmountable challenge in front of it. When the original arrived in the late fall of 2013, no one would have predicted exactly how massive it became. Its songs became instant anthems, its story tapped into the vibrant spirit of young women around the world, and its characters were quickly welcomed into the collective public's hearts. Nothing about this movie is going to ruin the original film's impact, and it's a more coherent story with a stronger emotional heart. It's a good movie, a solid follow-up to a slightly less entertaining film. But only when its visuals do the talking does Frozen II really sing. /Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10

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‘Frozen II’: Review

By Tim Grierson, Senior US Critic 2019-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Disney knocks out another belter.

Source: Disney

Dir: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee. US. 2019. 103mins.

Full of big emotions and boisterous musical numbers, Frozen II is, like its predecessor, a film designed to bowl you over — a mission it accomplishes, even if the brazen overkill can be exhausting at times. Elsa and Anna find their sisterly bond tested when a mysterious new presence enters their kingdom, but although the storytelling sometimes sags, this is a movie with plenty on its mind — about how societies have to reconcile with an imperfect past, and how individuals sometimes must choose between unenviable options for their future. An air of wistfulness imbues the proceedings, building to a resonant climax that’s hard to resist, despite some legitimate reservations about this uneven sequel.

The film’s confidence in its sensory overload can be persuasive

Frozen grossed $1.3 billion worldwide, took home two Oscars and made the song ’Let It Go’ a generational staple. Disney’s follow-up may not be the cultural phenomenon that the 2013 original was, but spectacular grosses seem assured when the film opens November 22 in the UK and US. A new batch of swaggering Broadway-style songs will only further stoke huge audience interest.

As the new movie begins, Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) hears strange music from beyond Arendelle, going on a quest with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), their magical snowman Olaf (Josh Gad) and Anna’s boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) to find its source. The journey will not only reveal a surprise about Arendelle’s history but also shed new light on Elsa and Anna’s deceased parents.

Original directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee return for Frozen II , and as with the first film, this is a gorgeously animated fantasy-adventure that is packed with songs courtesy of Oscar-winners Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. And much like ‘Let It Go’, the new film’s tunes tend to be belters, conveying demonstrative sentiments through unsubtle arrangements and super-sized hooks. That flamboyant approach becomes formulaic, but when the song is witty (Olaf’s anxiety about growing up in ’When I Am Older’) or genuinely moving (Anna’s self-motivating ballad ’The Next Right Thing’), Frozen II has a winning old-school showmanship.

Less successful are the twists and turns of this particular story, as Elsa and Anna encounter unexpected new individuals and cultures that hold clues to the fate of the entire kingdom. In general, Frozen II ’s narrative works best as a conduit for the next musical sequence or for articulating the script’s underlying themes. The plot machinations matter less than the opportunity to see these two sisters together, trying to make up for the time they lost when Anna’s memory of Elsa’s powers was erased.

Frozen II is a somewhat more sombre affair, exploring the characters’ worries that the happiness they share may be fleeting. Elsa and Anna will discover that everything they’ve been told about Arendelle isn’t necessarily true, forcing them to make difficult choices that could jeopardise their kingdom but, ultimately, might be the moral thing to do. And although they’ve grown closer since Frozen , the sisters come to understand that there are fundamental differences between them — and not simply the fact that Elsa has magical abilities and Anna does not.

As with the original, the sequel is a bit hit-or-miss in its comedy. Gad remains an acquired taste as the adorable Olaf: the character is so aggressively positioned to be this franchise’s comic relief that his cutesy shtick can get tiresome. Likewise, a Frozen II subplot concerning Kristoff’s disastrous attempts to propose to Anna strain for hilarity.

And yet, the film’s confidence in its sensory overload can be persuasive. Buck and Lee craft a half-dozen or so indelible images that feel pulled from our collective unconscious, evoking long-ago fairy tales and myths. And the characters’ willingness to risk their own lives for each other results in some lump-in-the-throat moments — despite the fact that, deep down, we suspect no permanent harm will come to any of them.

Menzel and Bell easily elicit our sympathy as young women tasked with saving a kingdom that may not be so storybook after all. Among the new cast members, Sterling K. Brown shines as a loyal soldier who must face a terrible new reality he could have never imagined. And although not everything in Frozen II sings, the film follows in its predecessor’s footsteps, determined to entertain us with feverish devotion. To quote from one of this movie’s tunes, ’Some Things Never Change’.

Production company: Walt Disney Animation Studios

Worldwide distribution: Disney

Producer: Peter Del Vecho

Screenplay: Jennifer Lee, story by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Marc E. Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, inspired by “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen

Production design; Michael Giaimo

Editing: Jeff Draheim

Cinematography: Mohit Kallianpur, director of cinematography lighting, and Scott Beattie, director of cinematography layout

Music: Christophe Beck

Main voice cast: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter

• United States
• Walt Disney

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‘Frozen 2’ Reviews: What the Critics Are Saying

By LaTesha Harris

LaTesha Harris

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Early reviews are in for the highly anticipated “ Frozen 2,” and the sequel stands its ground amid lukewarm responses.

Currently sitting at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, “ Frozen 2 ” has released to mixed reactions, the main sentiment being that while the film is unnecessary, Disney has released another money-maker that knows how to satisfy its audience. Some reviewers claim that the sequel’s adventures bypasses the original’s while others believe the heart and genius of “Frozen” is missing.

Variety ‘s Peter Debruge applauds the screenwriter and co-director Jennifer Lee for not creating a “mindless remake,” stating that the sequel feels more like a follow-up to Pixar’s “Brave.” Debruge says the film will resonate with younger audiences in a time of political strife; Anna and Elsa’s actions in “Frozen 2” parallel sentiments from teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg. “Conventional Disney princess movies — in which alabaster beauties from Snow White to Belle passively awaited the liberating effects of true love’s kiss — may have been taken at face value for most of the studio’s history, but today’s kids have gotten savvy,” he wrote in his review. “They recognize the often-problematic socializing effects of popular entertainment, and they demand better. They also know when they’re being patronized, and at times, ‘Frozen 2’ tiptoes a bit too carefully along that fine line, where escapism stops being fun because the adults responsible have started overthinking the politics of it all.”

“Frozen 2” hits theaters Nov. 22, but until then, take a look at what critics are saying below:

Variety ‘s Peter Debruge

“Reunited by their last adventure, the sisters are now closer than ever. Though Elsa has been named queen, she privately wrestles with the feeling that she doesn’t belong in Arendelle. She’s been gifted with magical abilities — namely, the blessing/curse of blasting snow and ice from her fingertips — and yet, the first movie never explained how or why she came by these talents, while Anna lacks them altogether. ‘Frozen 2’ gives Elsa a chance to get to the bottom of the mystery while showing audiences that it’s OK for people to feel restless when their potential is being constrained. Normally, a character in Elsa’s position would wander off on her own in search of answers, but her connection with Anna is too strong for that, and her sister insists on coming along. As Anna tells her at one point, ‘You don’t want me to follow you into fire? Then don’t run into fire!'”

The Atlantic’s David Sims

“‘Frozen 2’ sometimes gets impressionistic enough to reach the heights of its forebear, which was at its best when Elsa cut loose and made towering ice sculptures to symbolize her loneliness. A couple of sequences see the queen skiing across a raging ocean, encountering water spirits in the shape of horses, and exploring caverns of crystalline memories. Those standout moments, reliant on music and visuals, hit harder than the bulk of the dialogue. Most of the time, though, this elaborate plot doesn’t yield anything remotely original. ‘Frozen 2’ may be big and expensive-looking, but it has no more reason to exist than the direct-to-DVD offerings Disney used to churn out.”

Entertainment Weekly’s Christian Holub

“‘Frozen 2’ makes a valiant effort to live up to its predecessor, but can’t escape its shadow. Over the course of the movie, multiple characters openly wonder if they’re done adventuring yet. In our zeitgeist of maximized intellectual property, the answer is ‘probably not,’ but at least this fictional world isn’t afraid of a little change here and there.”

Uproxx’s Mike Ryan

“The first ‘Frozen’ is such lightning in a bottle that it’s impossible to capture that exactly. The phenomena around that first movie is one of those once-in-a-generation type events that can’t just be duplicated, so why even try to do exactly that? What’s smart about ‘Frozen 2’ is, instead of trying to just recapture its past glory, it decides to be interesting. And when making a sequel to a cultural phenomenon, ‘being interesting’ seems both pretty rare and the best we can hope for.”

IndieWire’s Kate Erbland

“‘Frozen’ may have ended with everything in its right place, but Lee and [co-director Chris] Buck’s long-awaited followup makes the case that a sequel was necessary, not because it was demanded, but because ‘Frozen’ was never the correct end of the story. Loving the characters and themes of ‘Frozen’ and wanting to see more of them can only naturally lead to ‘Frozen 2,’ which does away with so many of the happily-ever-after elements of the first film (and finds new, updated ones). By moving the tension between the traditional and the bold to the forefront, ‘Frozen 2’ is one of the more daring visions of the future of Disney moviemaking, all bolstered by gorgeous animation and a handful of instant-classic new jams.”

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw

“It’s nice to see these figures again, but I couldn’t help feeling that there is something a bit underpowered and contrived about the storyline in ‘Frozen II’: a matter of jeopardy synthetically created and artificially resolved, obstacles set in place and then surmounted, characters separated and reunited, bad stuff apparently happening and then unhappening. At times, ‘Frozen II’ almost felt like an extended bonus featurette that could have gone with the Blu-ray edition of the first film. Having said that, it looks and sounds good, with a stirring central song for Elsa entitled Into the Unknown, the curtain-raiser for her encounter with the primeval forces of the forest.”

USA Today’s Brian Truitt

“The themes of growing up — especially evidenced by Olaf — make sense for a massive fandom of boys and girls moving through formative years themselves. But unfortunately, ‘Frozen 2’ is a heavily plotted — and sometimes plodding — affair with way too much going on and not enough of it working together cohesively. At the very least, the relentless exposition looks great, with top-notch animation delivering a larger magical landscape and its dynamic nature-centric fauna.”

The Los Angeles Times’ Justin Chang

“Like the first film, ‘Frozen 2’ is less a triumph of storytelling than of packaging. It bundles together a bunch of familiar, likable characters and a fresh list of bright, catchy songs, expertly written (by the returning duo of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez) with an ear toward the Broadway showtunes they will one day inevitably become.”

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Frozen II Reviews

Frozen II maintains the values of its predecessor, brotherhood and love between sisters. Sisterhood is a fundamental value since unlike some reigns portrayed in other stories, Anna and Elsa never fight for the throne or power, they are not greedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 27, 2024

Frozen II compensates for the six-year wait with a follow-up worthy of standing up to its original, which in my opinion, surpasses it. It really feels like a magical film.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 24, 2023

We also get amazing songs like Into The Unknown, Some Things Never Change, Show Yourself and of course Lost in the Woods. They're easily on par with Let It Go, Do You Want to Build a Snowman and For the First Time in Forever.

Full Review | Mar 31, 2023

Frozen II has affable intentions, but overall it fails to meet the expectations set by its predecessor, and it lacked real substance.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Mar 8, 2023

Just when you think Frozen II shows signs of doing something bold or confronting, it pulls back to a commercial safe zone, supplying Disney with an excuse to further their empire with future sequels and a reliable franchise.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 23, 2022

Reminded me of an old adage that women have larger colour vocabularies and a greater sensibility for colour than (most) men, and that feeling certainly transmits here.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 5, 2021

So well done... it was just a beautiful experience.

Full Review | Sep 16, 2021

The plot of the sequel is both convoluted and familiar.

Full Review | Sep 10, 2021

While its music, visual effects, and general spectacle will wow audiences, it's nice to know that Disney is still maintaining the responsibility of exploring change in their stories through diverse ways.

Full Review | Sep 5, 2021

You will probably either laugh or cringe. I laughed out loud. And, yes, Olaf (Josh Gad) gets plenty of opportunities to entertain us, including a song that hilariously recaps what happened in the first film.

Full Review | Aug 12, 2021

The film's answers and resolutions may end up feeling too vague or abstract, but this bold and sensory approach to storytelling is something that I hope to see more of from Disney.

Full Review | Original Score: 4 / 5 | Jun 25, 2021

Like most sequels, Frozen II doesn't quite live up to the first film, but it's far from a waste of time. If nothing else, it's nice to be able to spend some more time with the engaging characters of Arendelle.

Full Review | Feb 17, 2021

The beauty of this sequel is that it is more intricate than the first, namely in plot. It ditches the simplicity of what boiled down to repairing a sister-sister relationship and opts instead for lofty, complicated concepts in a children's movie.

Full Review | Jan 28, 2021

While it's usually difficult to surpass the original, this broader, more engaging follow up to the wildly successful original speaks more to the power of togetherness than its predecessor even considered.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 16, 2020

Pleasant and enjoyable but unlikely to leave much of a mark.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Dec 7, 2020

Disney's 'Frozen 2' far exceeds the original animated film. The character development, storyline and the overall themes are more nuanced, detailed and intriguing. There are some scenes that may insight fear in smaller kids, but overall it's kid-friendly.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 15, 2020

Frozen 2 brings the strenghts of the first movie and takes them further (...). It's more balanced so kids and adults can enjoy the journey. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Oct 16, 2020

There's no question the Littles will enjoy Frozen 2. It's plenty colorful, even if it did feel long. I say "feel long" because it's only 103 minutes, but a lot is going on.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 16, 2020

Disney has managed an impressive act of tightrope walking in following up their latest golden goose with something that shimmers almost as brightly

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 16, 2020

It's a sweet tale of sisters doing it for themselves with a melancholic hinting at how childhood's innocence gives way to the concerns of the world and their place in it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 15, 2020

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Frozen 2 (2019)

November 16, 2019 by Tom Beasley

Frozen 2 , 2019.

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Starring Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton and Alan Tudyk.

When elemental forces threaten the future of Arendelle, Elsa and Anna take their friends on a dangerous quest to a long-hidden enchanted forest.

A lot of sequels come with the weight of anticipation behind them. Avengers: Endgame had to pay off one of the biggest superhero cliffhangers ever, while Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will have to put a cap on a 40-year franchise. Frozen 2 , however, carries something far more important on its icy shoulders. If it flops, it’s going to ruin Christmas for roughly 50% of the world’s children, as if a million voices belted out the last note of ‘Let It Go’ and were suddenly silenced. Thankfully, this particular trip into the unknown is a delight from start to finish.

The original film’s cast has settled into an idyllic existence, with Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) ruling over the universally happy population of their isolated kingdom. Olaf (Josh Gad) is enjoying the benefits of living longer than the average snowman (“maturity is making me poetic,” he deadpans) while Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) is preparing to pop the question to Anna. Elsa, however, begins hearing voices that become impossible to ignore when elemental powers force the people out of Arendelle. The heroes embark on a journey to an enchanted forest, clouded in mist, which relates to a story Elsa and Anna were once told by their parents.

There’s a great deal more plot to Frozen 2 than the first time around, with the visual spectacle taken up a notch by directorial duo Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee – the latter is now Disney’s chief creative officer. There are stampeding reindeer, huge monsters made of rock and an autumn-brown forest strafed by blasts of pink fire. This is a much bigger Frozen , but it never loses sight of the sisterly bond at the heart of the story. These are characters exploring their past, and that means things get sticky.

While the first film focused on a pretty straightforward, uplifting theme of sisterly affection, Frozen 2 explores what it means to grow up and take responsibility. These characters are getting older and that is forcing their relationships to shift. It’s no coincidence that the eternal winter of the first film has become a feast of autumnal glow, reflecting the season of change. This movie is precisely as emotionally mature as its predecessor, with Olaf singing with adorably misguided certainty about how he’ll understand and know everything when he grows up and later sharing a scene with Anna in which the two rationalise their anger and discuss how it’s okay to be frustrated and upset sometimes. It’s no Inside Out , but it’s a far cry from the average fairytale adventure.

If Disney is now aimed as much at millennials forced into arrested development by the financial peril and general insecurity of life as it is at kids, Frozen 2 feels like it is speaking directly to that audience. It’s essentially ‘Adulting Is Hard: The Movie’, and I mean that absolutely as a compliment.

On the musical front, husband and wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez have again delivered a half-dozen or so memorable numbers destined to form a key part of family road trip mixtapes for years to come. Elsa gets not one but two impressive show-stoppers, with Idina Menzel’s soaring, almost supernaturally acrobatic voice capable of sending a row of goosebumps running down even the most sceptical of arms. Gad and Bell carry more of the comedic weight, though each gets emotional high points, and Jonathan Groff – vocally sidelined last time around – steps out into the musical spotlight with soft rock ballad ‘Lost in the Woods’. The first karaoke bar in London to get that track will earn my eternal custom.

At times, Buck and Lee knock the movie down into cruise control and relish in the glory of the original film. While this fan loved the numerous nods to the ‘Let It Go’ behemoth and the fact Anna still knocks on her sister’s door in the same way they did as children, those references might eventually grate for parents worn down by repetition over the last six years. There’s even a whirlwind recap of the story so far delivered by Olaf, channelling Michael Pena’s fast-talking Ant-Man character. Corporate interests also intrude occasionally, with an adorable little lizard critter gaining a prominence that initially seems likely to become plot-relevant, but ultimately proves to be a naked merchandising opportunity.

This is also true of the new characters, who are given short shrift in favour of the reverence for the original cohort of protagonists. Sterling K. Brown’s military man has the whiff of a character whose best moments ended up on the cutting room floor, while Kristoff’s new reindeer-loving buddy Ryder and Elsa’s barely named friend Honeymaren are perfunctory to say the least. It’s as if the team felt obliged to bring in new faces without really having any need for them. Perhaps, as the running time crept up, it was a first in, first out policy.

But the film understands its audience and understands that it’s the original characters who are the draw. They’re already beloved by legions of fans across the world and Buck and Lee are not afraid to manipulate that affection for some pretty savage emotional hammer blows, as well as humour that’s a great deal goofier than it was last time around. Like all of the best Disney works, Frozen 2 skates across the entire emotional spectrum with consummate ease. When it comes to emotional torture, there’s no one who can match the House of Mouse. Being cold never bothered them anyway.

Although Frozen 2 is flawed, Disney has managed an impressive act of tightrope walking in following up their latest golden goose with something that shimmers almost as brightly. Only a fool would bet against a threequel and, either way, the new songs, characters and moments are going to become a part of the cultural canon from the moment the cinema doors open. Sorry parents, but you aren’t getting out of Arendelle any time soon.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.

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'Frozen 2' review: Disney's most beautiful movie ever is fiercely anti-colonial

Beautiful in both song and soul, 'Frozen 2' is the rare sequel that outshines its predecessor and advances the entire medium.

It’s been a long six years since Disney’s Frozen put the world on ice. Children who tortured parents to “Let It Go” on loop are now in middle school. They’re watching TikTok, not Elsa. Frozen 2 , the sequel, knows this. It knows its audience has grown. It knows the world has changed, and it’s discontent to rest on bedazzled laurels.

Frozen 2 , out November 22, is another sparkling light show with emotionally charged Broadway-ready bangers and a hint more prog-rock energy. But at the heart of the movie is a story about the fear of change, and the uncomfortable bravery it takes to accept it.

This is the rare sequel that takes evolution seriously, as Frozen 2 unspools its story to ask new questions about self-identity. Where Frozen was a queer parable about hiding oneself from the world, Frozen 2 is a confrontation of the systemic infrastructures that invisibly define one’s understanding of it.

Frozen 2 is a family musical about the evils of colonialism, about the pain it causes and the lies it creates. It’s about how newer generations, through no fault of their own, benefit from the privileges of ignorance and white-washed history. Frozen 2 tackles all these weighty themes and more, with all the singing snowmen, cute animals, and cheesy expressions of love fans of the original expect.

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, written by Lee and Allison Schroeder ( Hidden Figures ), and songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Frozen 2 picks up shortly after 2013’s Frozen . Elsa (Idina Menzel) has settled as Queen of Arendell, but deep down she feels something is wrong.

In 'Frozen 2,' the heroes reunite in a new adventure that calls them to the far north of Arendelle.

Sometimes, Elsa hears a voice, a ghostly melody beckoning her. When the ancient spirits of fire, water, earth, and air awaken (and no, the Fire Nation does not attack), the spirits curse the Kingdom of Arendell, making the kingdom inhospitable. The spirits are basically the electric company, and Arendelle is way past due. Hoping to restore Arendell, Elsa journeys to a fabled forest her late father swore was real. Thus kicks off another adventure with Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Sven, and Olaf (Josh Gad).

There’s singing, there’s dancing, there are magical spirits with quirky personalities and cute animals with big anime eyes. On its sleek surface, Frozen 2 is as much Frozen as the original. The infectious music will play in your head for weeks, its vast autumnal landscapes rival Elder Scrolls and are some of the most breathtaking visuals ever put to screen, and the film has all the playful winks that imbue it with personality.

Frozen made an actual billion dollars, but Frozen 2 roasts it whenever it gets the chance. Kiddies who aren’t ready to grasp the movie’s bigger ideas will still envy Elsa’s outfits and howl at Olaf. The children at my screening broke the sound barrier from Olaf’s relentless gags.

With scenery that resemble a 'Final Fantasy' game, 'Frozen 2' might be the most gorgeous Disney movie of all time.

But for the bigger kids, Frozen 2 is a heavy movie. In Frozen , Arendelle was a kingdom in a vacuum, existing as a copied and pasted world from the Walt Disney sourcebook. Frozen 2 changes that. Because all kingdoms rise from the subjugation of a populace, Frozen 2 is among the first, or at least most prominent Disney movie in recent memory, to explore colonialism as part of a kingdom’s foreign affairs.

This is Frozen 2 : Characters leave their hometown, meet diverse new people, and discover a harsh truth about the world — the Disney musical of freshman year at a liberal arts college. To explain the specifics would be too much of a spoiler, and Frozen 2 arguably doesn’t go far enough to make its point actually sting. After all, this is still a film about two very fair skinned white women from a very white-influenced setting. But it’s no mistake Arendelle’s neighbors have darker complexions, black hair, and a frontier lifestyle than the Arendellians who walk on cobblestone streets.

But does any of this still make a good movie? The answer is YES. Frozen 2 packs a wallop with more dire emotional stakes than the first movie. It is still very much about Elsa and Anna’s sisterhood, which is put to the test here — another sign of significant growth since Anna asked Elsa to build a snowman.Olaf has also matured; he’s the kids’ vehicle, singing directly to them about how growing up is freaking scary, but you’ll come out better in the end if you don’t melt. A nice counterbalance is Kristoff, whose arc is a hysterical distraction from the dark places the other characters go.

Beautiful in both song and soul, Frozen 2 is the rare sequel in a world of sequels and spin-offs that elevates its predecessor while advancing itself and the medium of animation. Its imagination is as vast as the Final Fantasy -esque lands it explores, and its lessons profound enough to leave an everlasting impression. After all this time, Frozen still knows how to warm the heart.

Frozen 2 hits theaters on November 22.

Frozen 2 - Review

A muddled message drags down this otherwise impressive sequel..

It's hard to follow up a movie like Frozen. The first film was a smash hit that undermined the tropes of fairy tale storytelling, sparking a renaissance in the (unconventional) Disney Princess business. With the beautiful, expansive, and frustrating Frozen 2, directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck attempt to add new lore, mythology, and a deeply political analogy which, despite early promise, ultimately misses the mark. It's a choice that muddies the message of Frozen 2 and also adds confusing continuity issues when it comes to the sisters and their newly uncovered past.

Beginning with a flashback and then jumping straight off of where the last film ended, Frozen 2 gets off to an exhilarating start that establishes new lore and slickly sets up the core conflicts of the film. With Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) reunited and safe -- the latter now ruling over Arendelle and the former just happy in her new status quo -- things seem to be back to normal. That is until a mysterious voice begins to call to Elsa, eventually leading her to a mysterious enchanted forest. However, an early reveal about one of their parents proves a nagging continuity issue.

The animation that brings the world of Frozen 2 to life is utterly stunning, with a wider scope on the kingdom of Arendelle as well as newly added detail and realism for the human characters, which for the most part stays just on the right side of the uncanny valley. After the forever winter that Elsa accidentally set off in the original, Arendelle is now living through a transitional and idyllic fall which is beautifully rendered with autumnal forests and plump pumpkin patches. As a feat of animation, the sequel is a success, with multiple impressive set-pieces.

Another early highlight is Josh Gad's Olaf who has done a complete 180 since the first film, which portrayed him as a sometimes annoyingly naive sentient snowman. Here the writers and Gad craft a being going through nothing less than an existential crisis. There are plenty of standout moments as he gets poetic whilst wandering about the ever-changing nature of life and love. Gad does a brilliant job of distilling the fears of growing up and getting older in a completely hilarious fashion. It's a pleasant surprise as Olaf very much felt like the "kids" character in the first film, but here he's an analog for all the adults who still have no idea what's going on even though they're older.

Watch the video below to learn how the songs of Frozen 2 differ from the first film's:

That topic is covered in a rather witty song that Olaf performs whilst stuck in the enchanted forest, which brings us to the other good part of Frozen 2. Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez return and fill the sequel with a whole bunch of barnstorming tunes that will surely inspire the young audiences watching them.

There’s plenty of intelligence and humor here, with Jonathan Groff's Kristoff finally getting his own tune which ends up being the best and funniest moment in the entire film. But as the movie slips into the halfway mark, a messy choice to try and tie the sisters' identities to the forest begins to slow the joy and fun of the tale and ends up taking away from the power of the film rather than adding to it.

Find out why Elsa doesn't have a love interest in Frozen 2:

Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, the film introduces a new cast of characters who are deeply connected to nature and are clearly meant as analogs for the Sámi people, the indigenous communities of Fennoscandia ( who Disney made a contract with before making Frozen 2). Unfortunately, the film uses these people to introduce a conflict based on real-world colonialism, only to skirt around saying anything meaningful about it.

Oddly, Avatar: The Last Airbender's shadow also hangs heavy here as the sisters explore the spirits of the four elements of the forest and search for a connection between them. If you've seen the Nickelodeon animated series you'll easily see the similarities, and might be slightly disappointed by the fact that Frozen 2’s biggest reveal seems to be taken directly from The Last Airbender, without embracing the things that made the show so powerful.

The Verdict

Frozen 2 is nothing if not ambitious, and like any big undertaking, that ambition comes with flaws. The beautiful world of Arendelle and beyond is a total joy to explore but a confusing subplot that can't quite commit to its radical intentions takes away from the power and the message of the film. If you've got kids who loved the first movie then they'll probably adore this darker and more mature take on the characters they loved, though a warning: some of the new creatures are a little scary. Think The Neverending Story and you're close to the tone.

Frozen 2 Review

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Frozen 2 (2020) Review

A shallow icy adventure.

Disney is no stranger to hit animated releases. From The Lion King to Alladin , Disney has produced some of the top-grossing animated films of all time.

In 2013 came Frozen , a film that dominated the box office and crushed expectations for merchandise—even the song “Let it Go” managed to be on repeat on radio stations and playlists everywhere. So it is no wonder that Disney found a way to continue the Frozen story, and while it may not have the level of heart seen in the original, Frozen 2 still manages to hit many of the notes that will keep audiences happy for another ice-covered excursion into Arendelle.

At its core, Frozen 2 feels very similar to the first installment in the series. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, and scripted by Lee, and featuring songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen 2 carries over much of the talent that made the first movie so memorable. And while there is that talent in place to make something special, the final product feels disjointed and is lacking the cohesion and impact of the first.

While Frozen 2 is a stunning production that showcases the potential of Disney CGI animation, the other elements do at times take away from the spectacle of the visuals. The music, story, and overall tone sometimes makes it feel like there were too many cooks in the kitchen, leaving Frozen 2 muddled and never really hitting a mark that sparks wonder or impact.

Frozen 2 starts with a flashback to when Elsa and Anna were children, giving the audience a look at the idyllic life the sisters had before the fear of Elsa’s ice powers set in. Their father provides details about a mystic forest that no one can never go to due to magical reasons. After that exposition dump, their mother gives a bit more in terms of a song, and the film proper gets underway.

In the present, Anna (Kristen Bell) and Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) are living the life of royalty, trying to rule the kingdom, be a family, and do all things one would expect following the events of the first film. As with any sequel, something has to be thrown into the mix to upset the simple lives our cast of characters find themselves in, and in this case, comes in the form of a mysterious voice that is drawing Elsa away to new adventures.

As this is a modern Disney movie, the side characters also have their own stories that will be dealt with as the film pushes forward. Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) wants to propose to Anna but is awkward and does not know how to do it, and Olaf (Josh Gad) the resident sentient snowman and comic relief, is worried about the impermanence of life and what it is like to be alive.

But this is the story that Frozen 2 presents to its audience. It is this lust for adventure and need for Elsa to uncover the truth of the voice that leads to the gang setting out once more into the unknown, and pushes the rest of the film into motion. Yet, even though it works as a basic premise, Frozen 2 ’s story never feels urgent or impactful.

This lack of urgency gives the film an overall meandering feel throughout. The end goals of our leads are never really made clear until the last act of the film, so we as the audience do not really know what it will take to succeed—or if there is an end goal at all. There are plenty of sections that depict the wonder these characters are experiencing, and some fun new characters introduced along the way, but much of what is shown feels like filler until the sisters find their ultimate goal.

The script of Frozen 2 tries to fill the rest of the time by building a more fleshed-out world and answering many questions that were left from the first film—that honestly never needed answering. The world of Frozen worked due to the fact the emotional root was the sisters and their love for each other. This film utilizes that to try and sneak out one more romp rather than truly build on what made the original movie so fun and engaging in the first place.

Even the songs of Frozen 2 lack the true impact left from the first outing. Nothing on the soundtrack will ever rise to the level of “Let it Go” and while there are more songs, they all feel soulless. Opting for a rock power ballad style for this go around, most are immediately forgettable, and while they are fun when on screen, ring hollow five minutes after the movie ends. It is a shame since the same team that managed Frozen worked on this installment, and yet nothing here works nearly as well. It feels like a sophomoric album that tried to recapture the glory of an amazing debut but fails miserably at the attempt.

Despite the flaws, Frozen 2 is still a fun romp that kids should enjoy. It is not nearly as impactful as the first installment, and the songs will be long forgotten, but it is a visual spectacle that is ultimately fun to watch. Compared to the likes of Illumination or Dreamworks, Disney has put forth an effort to make something special that sadly does not hit every note in the process. Frozen 2 is an enjoyable, if not flawed, trip back to Arendelle, which just lacks the heart of the first film.

Final Thoughts

Brendan Frye has over a decade of experience in the gaming and media industry. From an early age, he loved gaming, and that life-long passion has found its way to his work. He now works as the EIC of CGMagazine, along with acting as a Judge for numerous gaming conventions. He contributes to shows such as The List and other radio and TV programs. When he is not working, he can be found enjoying the latest Souls experience or finding a good horror movie that is in need of watching.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, CGMagazine may earn a commission. However, please know this does not impact our reviews or opinions in any way. See our ethics statement.

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Screen Rant

Frozen 2 early reviews: an overambitious, but gorgeous disney sequel.

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The first reviews are in for Frozen 2 . Following a fairly quiet September and October, Disney is back with a vengeance this month. They only just launched their Disney+ streaming service this past Tuesday, and are already exceeding expectations when it comes to selling subscriptions. Things won't slow down next week either, when their anticipated sequel to Frozen - the studio's Oscar-winning animated blockbuster that grossed well north of $1 billion at the box office in 2013 - begins its run in theaters.

Directed by Frozen helmers Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee from a script by Allison Schroeder ( Hidden Figures ), Frozen II picks up a few years after the first movie, as the sister-princesses Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) set out to save Arendelle from a mysterious and magical threat that appears to be connected to a long-forgotten (and distant) enchanted forest. Early social media reactions to Frozen II have described the sequel as more emotionally and thematically complex than the first movie, if also less enchanting and not entirely necessary. Now, the professional critics are having their say on the matter.

Related: Is Frozen On Netflix, Prime Or Hulu? Where to Watch Online

Disney officially lifted the Frozen 2 review embargo today, a week ahead of the film's release in theaters. To see what critics are saying so far, check out these spoiler-free review excerpts. (You can also click on the corresponding links to read the reviews in their entirety.)

Molly Freeman, Screen Rant

So while the larger story of Frozen 2 may leave something to be desired, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee deliver a visual and audio feast for viewers - one that will leave an emotional impact. Frozen 2 does lose some of the magic of the original movie, but that's to be expected when Frozen was such a surprising success. To their credit, the filmmakers smartly (but sparingly) play on Frozen's success, and use Olaf's brand of silly humor in more clever ways.

Brandon Zachary, CBR

These bolder choices make the film feel wholly unique as a result, simultaneously more complex but simplistic. At time, the first Frozen felt beholden to the classic Disney structure, with the more inspired moments coming when it bucked tradition and played out as something different. This film commits fully to that ideal and, while it may not all be the most riveting material in the world, it is a consistently gorgeous piece of compelling character work.

Kate Erbland, IndieWire

“Frozen” may have ended with everything in its right place, but Lee and Buck’s long-awaited followup makes the case that a sequel was necessary, not because it was demanded, but because “Frozen” was never the correct end of the story. Loving the characters and themes of “Frozen” and wanting to see more of them can only naturally lead to “Frozen 2,” which does away with so many of the happily-ever-after elements of the first film (and finds new, updated ones). By moving the tension between the traditional and the bold to the forefront, “Frozen 2” is one of the more daring visions of the future of Disney moviemaking, all bolstered by gorgeous animation and a handful of instant-classic new jams.

Alsono Duralde, The Wrap

There’s a lot to like here, from a rich palette of autumn colors to a potentially provocative subplot that will teach children that nations need to acknowledge and atone for their historical sins, but in the final tally, this is a sequel that exists not because there was more story to be told but because there was more money to be made. As such, there’s a certain level of calculation going on here... but there’s also enough craft and care to keep “Frozen II” from coming off as an utterly shameless cash grab.

Kristy Puchko, Pajiba

Yet all thrown together, these good but disparate threads and themes don’t feel incorporated but in competition. Frozen 2 is grab bag of good intentions, bold ambitions, and entertaining sequences. So even if it doesn’t come together, it casts an enchanting spell that’s sure to have kids and grown-ups laughing throughout, then singing the snatches of songs they can remember for days after. Simply put, it’s a bit of a mess, but also a ton of fun.

Matt Goldberg, Collider

There’s nothing atrocious about Frozen II, but it’s a movie that easily gets overshadowed by the first film as it attempts to figure out what made that film such a success. Perhaps 2013’s Frozen was lightning in a bottle; it was clearly a movie that not even Disney expected to land as big as it did back when it was released. And perhaps that audience goodwill for the original will carry over to Frozen II. But taken on its own merits, Frozen II lacks any unique magic. It’s songs and jokes and then you can easily let it go.

Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

Aesthetically speaking, this a dazzling beauty. The animators have created powerful imagery that evokes emotions on the macro and micro... Female empowerment and finding strength through sisterhood assuredly remain sturdy tethers. There’s also a hearty ecological message instilled about working with nature, not against it. Yet with all of these thoughtful ingredients in the mix, they can’t manage to coax out some semblance of a cogent, coherent, compelling fairy tale for the ages.

Peter Debruge, Variety

Ironically, “Frozen” fans may secretly be wishing for a more straightforward rehash, and to them, the best advice comes in the form of three little words: “Let it go” - a mantra they’ve surely internalized since the first movie. As with snowflakes, no two are alike, and this gorgeous, glittering reunion of siblings Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) proudly flaunts its own identity, even while taking care to incorporate so much of what worked about the original - like a steady stream of wisecracks from wonderstruck snowperson Olaf (Josh Gad).

Overall, the initial critical response to Frozen 2 is positive, as evidenced by its current standing on Rotten Tomatoes (83% Fresh and an average rating of 6.9 out of 10, after the first 42 reviews). There's not a whole lot of agreement over whether the film is better or worse than the first Frozen , but most every review suggests the sequel is ambitious and far from a rehash. At the same time, the majority of reviews describe Frozen 2 as being a bit of a narrative mess, with plot threads and character arcs (not to mention, deeper themes) competing for screen time and failing to come together to form a cohesive whole. The other thing critics agree on is that Frozen 2 is beautifully rendered and boasts some of the most visually stunning sequences ever featured in a Disney animated movie.

Considering what a surprise success the first Frozen was, it's not surprising to hear Frozen 2 bites off more than it can chew in an effort to match and possibly exceed the first film in quality. Even so, it sounds like there's plenty to love about the sequel, from its catchy songs (tunes that some critics feel are even better than the ones from the original movie) and beautiful animation to its complicated themes about relationships, purpose, feminism, and, it seems, even colonialism, as unrefined as they might be. It may not be a home run, but it's hard to fault Frozen 2 too much for having a reach that, by the sound of it, exceeds its grasp. And with the year Disney's been having so far, those efforts should ultimately pay off at the box office .

NEXT: Every New Character in Frozen 2

Source: Various [See the links above]

Key Release Dates

• Frozen 2 (2019)

I'd heard good things about Shake Shack , the burger and frozen custard chain that started life as a hot dog stand in New York City.

My friend gushed about its cheesy fries after returning from New York, and I'd seen billboards advertising its delicious-looking vegan crispy shallot burger.

So I decided to give it a try.

Shake Shack first came to the UK in 2013. It now has 15 restaurants in the UK and three delivery kitchens.

I went to the Shake Shack in Stratford, located in a shopping mall near London's Olympic Park, to see what the hype was about.

Upon entering the restaurant, I was struck by how upmarket it looked for a fast-casual chain. The interior mainly consisted of subtle, natural colors — there was lots of exposed wood, green and black paint, and what I took to be fake plants.

You could place orders with a staff member at the counter, next to the pickup spot.

But while I was there, I only saw customers placing orders at the three digital order screens. Digital kiosks are a massive priority at Shake Shack.

Source: Business Insider

The chain’s execs have said that they’re Shake Shack’s biggest and most profitable order channel and that customers place orders that are, on average, more than 15% bigger than orders placed at a cashier.

Sources: Business Insider , Shake Shack earnings call

There was also a stack of printed menus, which I found unusual. This may have been for people who ordered with a member of staff or who wanted to browse the menu at their tables before ordering at a kiosk. It gave a better overview of the full menu than the kiosk screen did.

The kiosk was easy enough to operate.

I was able to customize some of the items, like adding pickles and tomato to my Crispy Shallot Burger for no extra cost. I wouldn't have thought to have asked for these at a staffed kiosk.

I felt like Shake Shack had a slower ordering process than other fast-food chains, though. I was surprised that it asked for my collection date and time when I was placing an in-store order.

When your order was ready, staff called your name, which was also displayed on screens in the seating area. The screens meant you could sit down to wait for your food to be prepared rather than having to stand by the pickup counter.

While I waited for my food, I looked at the decor. The kitchen was open plan, which is increasingly common at quick-service chains, and there was a foosball set.

I noticed that some of the tables were labeled as being made in Brooklyn from former bowling lanes. I felt that there was a contradiction between the eco-friendly upcycling and the final product then being shipped across the Atlantic.

In the UK, Shake Shack sells a range of beef, chicken, and vegetarian burgers, frozen custard, and milkshakes. You can also get hot dogs and crinkle-cut fries, as well as soft and alcoholic drinks.

Digital screens, including the order kiosks, advertised some of Shake Shack's limited-edition items. These included a couple of Al Pastor burgers — a flavor that burrito chain Chipotle has seen huge success with.

My friend and I ordered a Crispy Shallot Burger, a ShackMeister with bacon, a pot of Shack Sauce, a portion of cheesy fries, and two large drinks. The drinks were massive.

My friend had the ShackMeister. The base price was £9.25 ($11.50) for a single patty, though he paid an extra $1 to add bacon. My friend thought the burger was delicious but was disappointed by the size — he said it definitely wasn't filling enough. Perhaps he should have got a double.

My friend said that the bacon was fairly priced and an "excellent addition." He chose the burger partly because of the crispy shallots it included, which we both thought were an interesting addition and differentiated Shake Shack's burgers from those sold by other chains.

My vegan Crispy Shallot Burger cost £9.55 (about $11.90). It contained a vegan fake-meat patty topped with vegan cheese, beer-marinated crispy shallots, lettuce, and Dijonnaise sauce. I added pickles and tomatoes to my burger for free.

The patty, which Shake Shack said is bespoke for the chain, tasted delicious. I was glad I added the pickle and tomato which gave the burger an extra crunch. I usually avoid mustard, but the Dijonnaise sauce gave it a tasty tang. It was a delicious burger.

But I was disappointed in the portion of the cheesy crinkle-cut fries we got to share. I felt like the fries were underseasoned — they tasted bland — and the cheese sauce was very thick and tasted artificial. There wasn't enough to spread over all the fries, too.

For £5.25 ($6.50), the portion seemed quite small, and unlike many other chains that offer a range of sizes for their portions of fries, there was only one size available.

For £1 I added on a tub of ShackSauce. It tasted great and gave my fries some much-needed flavor. To me, it tasted just like garlic mayo. Serious Eats suggests you can make a copycat sauce from mayo, ketchup, mustard, chopped dill pickle, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Source: Serious Eats

Of course, we couldn't go to Shake Shack without trying its famous frozen custard. You can get chocolate or vanilla frozen custard in a cup or cone, or you can choose from a range of so-called "Concretes" that come with toppings. We ordered the Sticky Toffee one to share.

This was delicious. I love creamy desserts, and the frozen custard was basically thick ice cream. The toppings were tasty and didn't cost much more: Our £5.60 ($7.10) Concrete only cost £1.35 more than a plain one-scoop portion of frozen custard.

We got a milkshake to share, too. The portion seemed quite large, though I was surprised that the shakes only came in one size. After having the delicious, rich, thick Concrete, our £5.90 ($7.35) Cookies and Cream Shake seemed a bit underwhelming.

In total, we spent £45.85 (just over $57) at Shake Shack, which seemed like a lot for a meal for two at a fast-casual chain. But we did get a lot of food because we wanted to try out the menu: two burgers, two soft drinks, fries, a shake, a Concrete, and a tub of sauce.

I enjoyed the vegan burger and loved the Concrete, but if I came back I'd skip the fries and shake. Though our large soft drinks were massive, my friend said the burger sizes were more like snacks than full meals. After his burger and half the portion of fries, he was still hungry.

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