So I left the theater last night absolutely vibrating from the high of seeing this movie. It's not without it's flaws - and I have a couple of very specific criticisms - but I had such a good time watching it and I really liked what it had to say thematically. You can read my pre-viewing speculation here.

Also, I've been listening to both versions of "Into the Unknown" on a loop all day, and I may have already successfully run it into the ground for myself. Quite an accomplishment.

( SPOILERS FOR FROZEN II )

So I wouldn't really consider myself a big fan of Disney's Frozen, but it's a film that's grown in my esteem over the past few years. I think the original movie was very overhyped, which negatively impacted my opinion of it when I originally did see it (flipped vertically on a youtube stream and on a smartboard at my college anime club). The only view that hasn't really changed over the years is that the "Let It Go" sequence is the best part of that film.

In general, my view of the movie has grown kinder over the years, and I am legitimately hyped to see Frozen II after seeing the promotional materials for it. But the original film isn't the only piece of media that currently exists for this franchise, and on a whim I decided to go see the Frozen Musical on Broadway. I ended up having a very, very good seat in the front row of the mezzanine, which extends much farther than it does in most theaters, so I ended up being pretty close to the stage with a sweeping view of the action taking place.

( 'Then Don't Run Into Fire' is a line of dialog Anna has in this movie. )

So the teaser trailer for Frozen 2 (or Frozen II as it's stylized in the logo) dropped today, and it looks like the designs from the internal Disney calendar were an accurate predictor of the movie's color palette?


My favorite aesthetics are definitely related to autumn, so the fact that Frozen is focusing on a "late-November" look is really exciting to me personally. I thought the first movie was fine - nothing earth-shattering like a lot of people thought at the time - but it seemed to play very safe for me and a lot of the animation didn't feel very creative to me. For example, the "2013 Tumblr Let It Go" clipping controversy was overblown, but it still wasn't ~great~ that that animation error was there in the centerpiece magnum opus sequence of the movie. Also, there's only so many things you can do with shades of white snow and glass-tints before the animation becomes repetitive and not particularly interesting to watch.

"Olaf's Frozen Adventure" was a big step-up in this regard. Like, it essentially used the same color palette as the original movie but used lighting in much more creative ways and it had a noticeably better budget for the animation. I was expecting something along these lines for Frozen 2, and ultimately I was fine with that, but I'm glad they're taking more risks when they really didn't have to. A safer version would've still sold tickets.

I don't really have any specific hopes in terms of story but I hope the songs are consistently better ("Let It Go" was great, but "Fixer Upper" was atrocious.) I also think the first movie was weighed down by some weird plot contrivances (like how Elsa and Anna's mom and dad were REALLY BAD PARENTS and the movie and spinoffs skated over this), and I think a sequel may have more breathing room by being set at a point where the main characters are mostly past dealing with those particular beats. I do wonder if the specific autumn setting and the red maple leaf shown before the title have any significance, especially with a new female character briefly shown in one shot of the trailer.

Anyway, I hope Frozen 2 is good! I didn't really like Ralph Breaks the Internet, so I hope this sequel ends up being as good as this teaser looks. Also looking forward to Constable-Frozen spreading his wings once more.