Walt Disney follows up one of its most successful 21 century films, Frozen, with a sequel that's mostly enjoyable but a step down from the original.
Sisters Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) must journey into an enchanted forest to save their kingdom of Arendelle, which appears to be under threat from magical forces. Anna's boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and the snowman Olaf (Josh Gad) are also along for the ride.
If it seems like there's not much of a plot, you're right. There isn't. Frozen II's biggest flaw is that it lacks an antagonist. While Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 4 made a point of having no true villain, Gabby still was an antagonist for much of that film. Frozen II really doesn't even have that, so it stumbles a bit once it finally gets to its third act.
But despite its flaws, Frozen II makes the low-end of the 3-star range for this critic because its quartet of main characters are still fun to spend time with for 103 minutes. In a way, that makes it similar to another recent sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, which wasn't necessary but was still largely fun. On top of the interplay between the characters, the animation in Frozen II is lovely, and this sentence doesn't do justice to how truly beautiful the film's visuals are.
At the end of the day, Frozen II won't have the staying power of the original (nor will any of its songs catch on as much as "Let It Go" did), but it's still a film your children will likely enjoy.
