Frozen II is a slight step up from the first film, though notable that I am in the minority as I wasn’t a big fan of that movie, and with this film at least the music was better.
Frozen II
— Ultimate Collector’s Edition —
(2019)
Genre(s): Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
Disney | PG – 103 min. – $49.99 | February 25, 2020
Date Published: 03/01/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Walt Disney Studios provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and do not represent the 4K Ultra HD transfer.
THE MOVIE — 3.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Elsa the Snow Queen (IDINA MENZEL) has an extraordinary gift — the power to create ice and snow. But no matter how happy she is to be surrounded by the people of Arendelle, Elsa finds herself strangely unsettled. After hearing a mysterious voice call out to her, Elsa — with sister Anna (KRISTEN BELL), Kristoff (JONATHAN GROFF) and magical snowman Olaf (JOSH GAD) — travels to the enchanted forests and dark seas beyond her kingdom — an adventure that soon turns into a journey of self-discovery.
Review: Unpopular opinion probably, but after recently watching Frozen after all these years, in preparation to reviewing the sequel, I didn’t find the movie nearly as good as some and even felt it was half-baked in terms of the story, not to mention a villain who didn’t amount to much, especially when he only was villainous in the final 10-minutes. So, with Frozen II, I really didn’t go in with either low or high expectations and I left… pretty impressed albeit still don’t feel it’s a great movie from Walt Disney Animated Studios. Where this sequel excels over its predecessor, first and foremost, was it did feel like the story was a bit more in-depth by comparison though like the previous film, is much more of an adventure-fantasy film and exploration into Elsa, and no real antagonist, where they thankfully didn’t just throw in someone to be a hindrance to our heroes. Another part I did like, “Let It Go” withstanding, the music itself was a little more memorable (however don’t have desire to listen to them on their own) and did seem to flow a bit better at least.
The humor was probably on par with the first film and thanks to his popularity, does seem Olaf, voiced by Josh Gad whom I know has his detractors (I’m not one of them), got more screen time and even his own catchy musical number, “When I Am Older”, and the signature song, “Into the Unknown” was absolutely lovely, yes I used that word; has a haunting element that I enjoy in music, and actually think is far better than “Let It Go” and deserving of its Academy Award nomination… In the end, Frozen II isn’t great by any stretch but I did think it was a slight step up from the first movie if only for the music which I found to be catchier by comparison, and the story was adequate enough, if not still on the weaker side, kind of a reminder of those half-assed Disney sequels from the 1990s. All in all, this is a fun time for the entire family.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.25/5 |
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This release comes with an embossed and glossy slip cover. Inside is a code for the Digital HD copy. Outtakes (2:26) with the voice actors goofing around in the recording booth. Did You Know? (4:27) is a bunch of trivia about the making of Frozen II. The Spirits of Frozen 2 (12:02) — This featurette breaks down the four elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire plus the inspiration behind the Enchanted Forest and the people within. Scoring a Sequel (3:49) goes into the score of the movie with Christophe Beck and how it works with the music/songs. Deleted Scenes (17:58) includes an intro with Jennifer Lee and Chris Beck to five scenes that didn’t make it into the movie and obviously unfinished. Deleted Songs (11:42) — Two songs available to check out (a third is digital only for some reason). Also includes an intro with Lee and Beck. Gale Tests: Gale Test (3:01) and Hand Drawn Gale Test (0:55). “Into the Unknown” in 29 Languages (3:07) allows you to hear the signature song in different languages. Music Videos (6:23):
Last up is the Song Selection (21:45) to jump to your favorite song in the movie. Digital Exclusives:
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4K VIDEO – 4.75/5, BD VIDEO – 4.75/5 |
| Disney releases Frozen II onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray presented in the original theatrical 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers, respectively. No real surprise here, but these CGI animated movies tend to look good on either format, as such is the case here as this does look great, albeit not perfect as comparatively the 4K at least isn’t as sharp against other movies like Toy Story 4. That being said, colors are extremely vibrant splashing right off the screen while black levels were equally as impressive, most notably a sequence towards the end with a key discovery made by Elsa. |
4K AUDIO – 5.0/5, BD AUDIO – 5.0/5 |
| The 4K UHD disc comes with a Dolby Atmos track while, for some reason, the Blu-ray contains a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. Either one is rather impressive, outputting crisp and clear dialogue, not to mention the various musical numbers, or some nice depth during some scenes, like when Elsa is confronted with visions from the past. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Frozen II is a slight step up from the first film, though notable that I am in the minority as I wasn’t a big fan of that movie, and with this film at least the music was better… Now, with that said, this does come across as a bit phoned-in and don’t think they’ve really scratched the surface on the potential. The 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo pack comes with excellent video/audio transfers and some so-so bonus material. |
The screen captures came from the Blu-ray copy and are here to add visuals to the review and do not represent the 4K video.