* * * 1/2
Having, this year, both been to Norway and been mildly obsessed with Norway’s 2019 Eurovision entry Spirit In The Sky, I feel I can appreciate the true oddity that is Frozen 2, one of those strange sequels, like Babe: Pig In The City, that not only feels weirder and more free-wheeling than its predecessor, but that also feels like some of its offbeat charm is a happy accident.
Because this movie is a mess. Nobly seeking to address the Sami indigenous people of northern Norway, and incorporate greater Norse mythology, while also maintaining the theme of sisterhood that made Frozen the ultimate girl-power success story, the scriptwriters deliver an incomprehensible plot dripping with mysterious mysticism – and that’s what’s fun. Going in, expecting a finely-tuned toy advertisement, and instead getting bonkers nonsense with some fine songs and Elsa ice-surfing, is unpredictable, and unpredictable in this case is to be celebrated.
The B plot, involving Kristof, is appalling, but includes a very funny 80s music video parody, and Olaf the snowman had my daughter in stitches. For me, it was all about the film’s joyous abandon: it makes no sense, it goes nowhere, and the Walt Disney Company signed off on it. It’s nutty!