On the first snow day of the season, I went to go see Frozen 2, written by Jennifer Lee, with a friend. My inner child was so excited as I vividly remember going to see the first movie the day it came out in theaters in 2013. Watching the sequel six years later has allowed me to reflect on how quickly time has passed. Frozen took the world by storm when it first came out and ever since then it hasn’t really let up. I remember hearing the Oscar-winning song “Let It Go” everywhere I went and liking it before it quickly got old. In fact, there is a brief part in the movie where Elsa herself hears a snippet of the song, cringes, and quickly dismisses the memory. We made sure to get hot cocoa to enjoy while watching which undoubtedly helped get us in the winter spirit as snowflakes continued to fall right outside. Needless to say, we had high expectations.

As soon as it started, I realized I was already smiling in anticipation. The first scene began with adolescent Elsa and Anna playing together and then took a dark turn as their father, King of Arendelle, told stories about a magical forest and the people trapped in it following a brutal war. There were many morbid themes and events in the movie, which isn’t the conventional method of Disney. However, I think some of it is important for younger generations to learn from like taking control of your own life and always searching for answers to a problem, even when it seems impossible. There is a lot of death in the movie but also the idea of learning how to adapt when facing a difficult situation.

On a lighter note, all of our favorite characters like Olaf and Sven are back and better than ever. This in and of itself made the movie. I like the sequel because of how deep it is, not shying away from challenging topics. However, the first Frozen holds a special place in my heart and is better in my opinion because of how wholesome and inviting it is. Catchy songs are always a crowd-pleaser, and that was the one big thing missing from this movie. Rating: 7/10