“‘Frozen 2’s’ Themes Become Darker Even as the Kid Gloves Stay On”

I have been told in the past by jerks on Twitter that my blog is overwrought. Thus, I will only ever try to be overwrought. That’s called “revenge.”

How’s a guy supposed to criticize a movie like Frozen 2? On the one hand, it’s critic proof. On the other hand, it’s, you know, for kids. Culture has a weird way of overprotecting its children; parents strive to keep their kids blind to all the world’s ills, and the content handed down by corporate entertainment hegemons is made toothless so nobody gets bitten by substance. Froze 2 is a confluence for both; I suspect parents will defend this movie against critique, and as I’ve seen the movie, I can say for certain that it’s harmful fluff.

Movies need to have consequences. Frozen 2 has no consequences*. It’s as airy and light as movies like this can be**. 

You can read my full review over at Paste Magazine.

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*One thing I am wrestling with: Comparing this to The Iron Giant, one of my all-timers, which arguably also has no consequence based on (SPOILER TERRITORY) the resurrection of its title character, which falls sort of in line with the resurrection of Olaf, a moment in Frozen 2 that I hated. But The Iron Giant doesn’t really set itself up as a movie about death; it’s about self-determination. And when the Giant comes back to life, he’s halfway around the world, which has the effect of making his resurrection feel less like an inevitable gimme designed to draw cheap pops from the crowd, and more like a natural, organic function of the movie’s plot.
**The music also mostly sucks, and whoever thought up Kristoff’s 80s power ballad solo should be tried in The Hague.

 

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