Yesterday we went to watch Frozen 2 in the cinema. My friends took their grandkid and we took ours and the little one’s BFF. They were chatting so much in the car, and our friends arrived a bit late and once we all had our popcorn I was already so confused that we first accidentally ended up in the wrong theatre (I noticed when I could see clearly despite not wearing my 3D classes). Sorry to the other folks.
Once we found space in the right theatre, the movie could start and it was great fun. First, there’s a lot of the silly fun that these movies are known for. Olaf is reliable as in the first one, but there’s also lots of situational humour that both kids and adults can enjoy.
Also, there’s new fun characters, with the spirit of fire probably being the cutest.
I’m definitely waiting for merchandise.
There’s also the usual adult joke or two thrown into that Disney is famous for. You know the ones that completely fly over the head of the kids and make the adults giggle and I also think that makes a great family movie. Things can be understood at different levels.
I absolutely liked how they handled the Anna – Kristof relationship. The two of them are lovers, but they are also friends. The whole gang meets up at night in the castle to play games and all the characters care for each other.
Another great part was the costuming. Now, I have no idea how they got spandex in Arendelle, but both Elsa’s and Anna’s travel gear looks like they can actually do the things they are doing in them. Still no pockets, but Anna gets a bag.
Now, for the great “Elsa is gay” controversy:
If that ain’t a “coming out” song I don’t know what it is. She’s always been torn, and different and now she’s singing a duet with a female voice who holds the answer and who is supposed to show herself. I am not quite sure what she’s coming out as, but I think that “queer” definitely counts.
Lastly, an unexpected aspect. While the trailer already hinted at Sami culture, I expected some nod at cultural diversity and you know what. I didn’t expect colonialism to be actually a topic and I didn’t expect the solution to “past wrongs” to be so radical. Without spoiling it: That’s what actual recompensation looks like.
Reaping recognition (with record retail rewards) for representation, recompensation & realistic reindeer.
I once visited Lapland in late summer -- not the mountainous part, but quite far north along the Finnish-Norwegian border. The trailer scene at around 0:10 seems eerily familiar, with fireweed blooming in a sparse forest of stubby birch trees. I haven’t seen that exact combination ever here in “down south”.
I thought the only “Elsa is gay” pandering they did was the somewhat ambiguous discussion by the fire with the forest girl, where they share a tender moment petting a fawn.
The other voice in “Show Yourself” is her mother, so unless you want to get really Freudian, I reckon it was more of a “the power was inside you all along” thing. I think her romantic preferences are left open deliberately, because that’s not the point (she’s defined by her powers, not her love interests).
I liked the moral of the story (well kids, looks like Granddad done fucked up and now you have to fix everything!), it was clearly an allegory for our current climatological conundrum.
Olaf was a massive hit with the kids in the cinema (some genuine laugh out loud moments at “I’ll bring snacks” and “Samantha?”). I found his song a bit naff, although “Lost in the Woods” more than made up for that.
I watched the VEVO Lyric video, and I could not help but notice that the snowflake they put at the top does not have the correct 6-fold symmetry, but rather 4-fold, and looks rather like a stylized fancy cross.
So looking at that cross-like thing starting to glow brighter and brighter over the course of the song, and listening to/reading the words, I felt that the song could be interpreted as referencing Christian epiphany.
Maybe that’s just me, though.
@4 not quite.
In the movie there is a strong nature theme, which the movie represents with the “Four elements” trope. It’s used to good effect and is tied into a four-fold snowflake during the “Show Yourself” scene in the film, at the same time tying it to Elsa directly.
The cross is just a coincidence.