Review: Frozen II’s gorgeous animation can’t quite rise above “meh” soundtrack

Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell reprise their voice roles as sisters Elsa and Anna in Walt Disney Animation's Frozen II.

Let it go, let it goooo... Just when that tune was starting to fade from our collective brain, Elsa, Anna, and the gang are back with another mystical adventure in Frozen II, the sequel to Disney's blockbuster 2013 hit, Frozen. It's well-made, fun family fare with gorgeous visuals-we'd expect nothing less from the Mouse House-but somehow it never quite achieves the same emotional resonance of the original.

(Spoilers for original Frozen below; mild spoilers for Frozen II.)

The first film told the story of two princesses of Arendelle. The elder, Elsa (Idina Menzel), has the power to control and create ice and snow, but she struggles to control it. When she accidentally injures her young sister Anna (Kristen Bell), local trolls heal Anna but caution that Elsa must learn to control her magic. In response, their parents lock them both away. When Elsa turns 21, she's crowned queen, but a spat with Anna after the coronation reveals her magic. She's exiled from the kingdom, flees to the mountains, and builds a gorgeous castle of ice and snow in which to live out her days in isolation. But she doesn't realize Arendelle has also frozen over, endangering the people.

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