[There is a second update at the end of the article]
I personally have a lot of affection for "Frozen". When it was released in China in early 2014, even though it was a few months late abroad, I was still excited about it. The production of the film was impeccable. Between Aisha and Anna That innocent and firm friendship gave me a refreshing and wonderful experience.
Six years later, the original team returned collectively and brought a new sequel. I was fortunate enough to see this film at the premiere of "Frozen 2" in advance.
To be honest, I was worried before I watched the movie. After all, the first story is very complete, and the sequel movie is under pressure to make a splash. Fortunately, this worry is unnecessary, "Frozen 2" He did not die in the "halo" of the previous work, but opened a new chapter based on the completeness of the story.
If the theme of the upper part is "grow up", then the theme of this book is "mature".
[Solemn reminder: There will be various spoilers below, if you have not watched the movie, it will affect the movie watching experience, please read it carefully! If you don’t mind being spoiled, you can use the following as a movie guide~]
Feelings & laughter
As the sequel to the world's highest-grossing animated film in film history, "Frozen 2" will naturally play a "feeling card" , the question is only to what extent.
In my opinion, the film is quite restrained when paying tribute to the first film. At most, it only accounts for 1/10 to 1/8 of the ratio, and it is mainly for the purpose of effectively connecting the plots of the two films.
For example, in the opening scene, Aisha and Anna, who are also young, are in the same frame as their parents. The difference is that this time the parents will tell a story about the past and the future...
The laughter of the film has been greatly improved compared to the previous one , and many characters have contributed characteristic humor in line with their own personality.
The most eye-catching one is of course Olaf. It has developed its physical characteristics to the extreme, combined with the cute, warm and playful character of children, which brings a lot of laughter to everyone.
I put my feelings and laughter together, because these two points played a wonderful chemical reaction in "Frozen 2"——
Remember when Aisha sang "Let It Go" in the first part? The scene where she swayed and sang while walking, but the signboard of "Ice and Snow" .
However, "Frozen 2" took Aisha, the classic POSE, to open it twice: once when everyone was playing the game, Xuebao ’s COSPLAY, and the other time when Aisha could not bear to look straight when he saw the past in the secret. .
It is both a high-profile tribute and a low-profile ridicule . I believe fans will definitely smile when they see these scenes.
It can be said that the film is very meticulous and attentive in handling feelings and laughter, and there is no taste of deliberate sales or awkward laughter. "Entertainment" can be guaranteed .
Music & special effects
"Does the song sound good" is one of the important criteria for evaluating ice and snow movies, and this is what many viewers are most concerned about.
The music of "Frozen 2" is still written by the original songwriters Christine and Robert. I personally feel that the tune and upper part of the new batch of original songs are slightly different, perhaps not as good as "Let It Go" and "Do You Want to" "Build a Snowman?" and other songs are so "top", but their styles are the same . If it is narrative and lyrical, several songs are even better.
For example, Queen Aduna sang "All is Found" for her daughters. The melody of the lullaby and the content of the mysterious legend not only express the queen's eternal love, but also lay the groundwork for future adventure stories. With the unfinished voice of "Sister Mu", the whole song seems to connect time and everything.
The film's title song "Into the Unknown" has received the treatment of "one song and three singing" : the female vocal prelude is ethereal and long, appearing as the "distant voice" that summons Aisha; Aisha sings alone, the singing voice is up and down, from resistance to confrontation , Which shows the courage of the queen to look directly at the unknown challenge; the final theme song adds more rock elements, and it feels nothing at first, but it will become more and more exciting if you listen to it several times...
Especially when Aisha sang solo, it fully demonstrated her complicated mood changes . Although Aisha had experienced an adventure, she didn't want to do it again, so when she first heard the call, she would be afraid, withdraw, and wait until she understood that she had to Faced with her own destiny, Aisha strengthened her confidence and took a step forward without hesitation.
Regrettably, "Into the Unknown" appeared a bit earlier (the third song in the film), and the audience's emotional precipitation was not enough, and the effect was somewhat compromised (the same title song, "Let It Go" is The fifth first appearance).
In addition, the effects of other songs such as "Some Things Never Change" and "Show Yourself" are also great.
For example , Xuebao's solo "When I Am Older" sings questions about growth and longing for the future, both solemn and harmonious, and Kostov's solo "Lost in the Woods" is sung with the texture of old-fashioned karaoke. I feel full of joy after the troubles of a man in love.
In contrast, "Frozen 2" has made much more progress in special effects .
In fact, the first special effects are enough to be breathtaking, especially the dynamic scenes where the earth is frozen and the ice is melting. The details and smoothness represent the highest level of 3D animation movies at that time, and they will not be seen for many years. Seems outdated.
In the second part, the main creative team just upgraded the visual effects to the scale of "visible to the naked eye" .
When Aisha was determined to respond to the call and release her own power resonance almost out of control, the entire Arendale Kingdom was instantly flooded with ice crystals with the four element patterns-in just a few seconds, whether from the macro wide-angle lens or the micro close-up lens When I look at it, the pictures can be described as patchy, delicate and delicate.
There are also a number of one-man shows where Aisha is truly and imaginary, and they are also beautiful to the taste of "dazzling skills".
The first "Starlight Inkjet" special effects that used less, not only let go of the use in "Frozen 2, but also played a variety of tricks, with different colors, images and artistic conceptions, it is called a beautiful wheel Beautiful .
And what surprised me most was definitely the scene where Aisha tamed the water horse (water spirit) when crossing the dark sea!
Dynamic water effects have always been a special test of the special effects team's ability. The film has proved its excellence through multiple perspectives such as sea surface, ocean wave, ice surface, and underwater.
Aisha’s process of fighting the water horse in the sea takes full account of the basic characteristics of water’s "colorless and invisible", as well as the flow form of the human body and ice in the water , the floating temple hair, the fleeting ice crystals, from dark blue to light blue. The changing color of the water horse, with strong layering and high fluency, looks exceptionally shocking, especially the scene where Aisha transforms into an ice bridle horse straddle, strong and soft, sassy and heroic, I almost call it out !
It is no exaggeration to say that this scene is the most impressive and the best special effects scene I have seen this year, and it must be blown up!
Settings & clothing
Different from the winter environment with white as the main color in the first part, this time "Frozen 2" shows a more colorful autumn environment -but this "autumn" is different from what we are familiar with. It is more energetic and more mysterious, so the main color of the film is orange, orange-red and red-purple, which are more compatible with the misty temperament, rather than brighter yellow.
The main stage of the film is placed in a magical forest, and many unknown magical powers are hidden among the colorful leaves-this "ice and snow version" of autumn is very unique, and it matches the atmosphere of the story very well, and it can be convincing at first glance.
As a new setting in the film, the design of the four elements of wind, fire, water, and earth is also very mindful, and its spiritual bodies are all in line with their respective characteristics .
Fengling is invisible, shapeless, and elusive. You can only see its existence through the maple leaves it brings up. It likes pranks when it comes and goes without a trace;
The fire spirit is restless and unpredictable. It seems wild and untamable. It will burn things to play at every turn, but in fact, as long as it is treated properly, it is just a cute little lizard;
Shui Ling has already mentioned that it is a fierce fighter in the form of a water horse. Because it shoulders the mission of guarding secrets, it shows more of the dangerous side of water;
The earth spirits are thick and solid, and they are powerful and heavy. They appear in the form of giants of the earth. They seem clumsy and arrogant, but they are indispensable.
Aisha is a symbol of the "fifth element" to contact, deal with, and interact with them, which can also be regarded as complementing each other in setting .
As the saying goes, "the devil is hidden in the details", "Frozen 2" can reflect the film's "thoughtfulness" in many places, especially the dress that keeps pace with the times, which not only makes the characters beautiful, but also shows from the outside and the inside. Out of the growth and changes of the role.
In the first part, Aisha and Anna are both young girls who are just about to reach adulthood, so they wear brightly colored palace dresses.
In the second part, the dressing styles of the sisters were obviously mature . While their casual clothes were light and comfortable, they must also consider their queen and princess identities -Aisha was wearing a close-fitting lavender one-piece dress. Noble and elegant, Anna is wearing an ivory-colored waist-waisted long skirt and a short coat, which is luxurious and lively.
More typical is their outfits when they go to the magic forest of the northern country.
The two sisters wear roughly the same, both underwear + one-step skirt + cloak + leather boots: Aisha is the classic water blue color of "Ice and Snow 1", because it is not afraid of cold, the overall is lighter and thinner; Anna's deep The combination of yellow + black + purple red is thicker and more stable, and it is also very easy to move after taking off the jacket.
Of course, what I said may be biased. I hope I can analyze it with a small partner who is professional in fashion design or who is familiar with western women's clothing~
The reason why I, a layman, insists on mentioning clothes because Aisha's final outfit is too! drift! Bright! NS!
Stills are difficult to reflect, and can only be felt in the movie... If the aqua blue dress of Aisha in the upper movie is gorgeous and elegant , then Aisha's set of completely ice white in "Frozen 2" The dress perfectly interprets what is "simple luxury", it is full of fairy spirit!
Even me, a straight steel man, can't help but want to have a girlish heart and dream of a princess...
Politics & Governance
"Frozen 2" is more "adult" than the first in all aspects . The most obvious point is that the story is no longer so simple and easy. There was a fairy tale meaning of "prince and princess" before, but now it is closer to Reality.
The biggest crisis of contradiction in the film means the failure of "zero-sum thinking" in politics .
Arendale and the Northern Kingdom originally coexisted peacefully. After the establishment of diplomatic relations, as long as they remain intact, they can be in peace, but the old King Runard held the idea that "the people who are not my race will have different hearts", and smiled and hid a knife for the northern country. A pit: The construction of the dam is nominally to help the northern kingdom, but it actually suppressed the other's spiritual veins... As Lunadtu saw each other, the two sides met each other in battle, and the spirit of nature was furious and closed the northern kingdom.
What's interesting is that while running a trick on the northern kingdom , Runald also left a huge hidden danger for himself. Once the dam is damaged, the flood will surely flood the Arendale Kingdom.
But in order to lift the "curse" of the magic forest, the dam must be destroyed...so I think it will be better for the surviving citizens to rebuild their homes in the mountains by letting the floods wash away the town of Arendale, which will make it more prominent. The heavy price of "political conspiracy"-of course, letting Aisha smooth the floods can make the ending more family- friendly .
In addition, questions such as "Secrets of Kings and Queens" and "Why Aisha is born with magic" also have answers.
Aigner is Prince Arendale, and Aduna is a member of the ancient aristocracy of the northern kingdom. The latter can save the former when the two countries go to war, and become a husband and wife to wait for an opportunity to unlock the magic curse, which in itself is a return. Symbol of peace .
And Aisha and Anna, the children of King Aigner and Queen Aduna, are the most precious seeds they left for "peace."
The queen and princess of Arendale, the northern kingdom has the blood of magical nobles, and they are destined to be recognized and supported by the two forces in the forest.
The subsequent development of the plot, I think it is also reasonable- Aisha is not the most suitable person to be Queen Arendale.
Although Aisha has a stable temperament, she has been troubled by her innate magic since she was a child, leading a life almost isolated from the world, and keeping herself in the room for a long time, except for her parents to communicate with anyone.
After experiencing the story of "Frozen", Aisha successfully became the queen for three years, but from the beginning of the film, she has always been a little absent...It's no wonder that Aisha has too much experience in interpersonal communication and government affairs. Less, and her real destiny stage is in the north.
It is not difficult to imagine how much Anna has helped in the past three years—compared to her sister who has not been able to live for many years, she is the child who has received a normal royal education and grew up .
Anna was a bit naive before, but after the "scumbag" Hans scam and three years of experience, she is now much more stable. When Aisha was worried about magic, she was able to comfort her being trapped in the forest. For more than 30 years, Captain Mattis talked with him about the people in the distant hometown and the affairs of his hometown. These words are the best consolation for a soldier who loyally guards Arendale and dedicated his life.
At the end of the movie, Aisha stayed in the northern country and Anna returned to Arendale to become the queen. In addition to "suitable environment", this was the choice and sacrifice made by the sisters for the long-term peace of the two countries.
Aisha and Anna both grew up.
Growth & friendship
It must be admitted that the story of "Frozen 2" will not "attract" the audience like the first one, at least not in the way "Frozen" attracts everyone.
It's not that the second one has regressed, but the subject of the film's discussion has become larger, abstract, and heavier .
The core of "Frozen" is "find the identity" and "sister love is stronger than gold" , use courage to break through the shackles, use love to melt the ice, most of the difficulties are on the face, when Aisha and Anna win When we are true, we will all rejoice for this precious breakthrough.
But the original experience is not always applicable. If Anna and Aisha stay together, they will never be able to solve the curse of the north.
Life will always give you setbacks again and again, and the dangers of adulthood are often indescribable and indescribable...Even the closest family members, partners and friends cannot be with you every time. We must be slow. Get out of your protection circle slowly and learn to be independent.
Aisha and Anna are like this. One goes deep into the secret realm to decrypt the truth, one destroys the dam to remove the obstacles. They not only rescued each other, but also solved the distress together in different positions... When they were alone in trouble, the only thing they could do It is to believe in yourself and believe in each other .
"Frozen" grew up from adolescence to adulthood, it is a slightly anti-traditional happy fairy tale; "Frozen 2" is an epic that has experienced wind and rain to become mature after adulthood, and is an epic that gives a mythical color on the basis of fairy tales.
Therefore, the film may not be able to "please" the audience like the upper part...because most adults don't know what to do (maybe never know). They can only hope to choose a good direction and be firm like Aisha and Anna. Go down.
Easter eggs
After the film features and subtitles are over, there is another easter egg -here is a brief review.
In "Frozen", Aisha built an ice castle on a high mountain, and later built a huge snow monster as a guard...
In the end credits, the snow monster picked up the crown that Aisha lost and became the new owner of the castle.
And in the 2015 animated short film "Frozen Fever" (Frozen Fever) , Aisha, who spent her whole heart on Anna’s birthday, accidentally caught a bad cold, so she sneezed all the way and used out of control magic. The scene of making a little snowman...
In Xuebao's eyes, these little guys who can't talk and like to make trouble are all his own brothers, the baby is terribly good.
At the end of the short film, Xuebao took a large number of well-named little brothers to the ice sculpture castle. The castle where only the snow monster lived alone instantly became lively.
Combining with Xuebao's experience in "Frozen 2", the last egg is not difficult to understand.
Concluding remarks
In summary, you may prefer "Frozen" or "Frozen 2", but one thing is certain, this sequel animation is definitely worth watching.
I have already prepared to go to the second film after the film is officially released. If you plan to watch it, please go there~ If you haven't thought about it yet, I hope this article will be helpful to your decision.
After finishing the second brushing on November 22, come back and update some new ideas briefly:
1. In the first scene after the opening of the film, when Anna and Aisha played a snowdrift game in their childhood, they actually spoiled the adventure story of the magic forest afterwards . Especially Aisha turned into a horse riding queen to solve the crisis-and At this time, Anna was still full of dreams of the princess and the prince, and finally picked up all the snow dolls and said, "Everyone is married!"
Tribute fairy tale and anti-fairy tale taste everything.
2. When Aigner was about to tell her daughters the story of the magic forest, Aduna hesitated. Aigner insisted that "it should be known to them" and also taught the sisters to "be ready at all times", indicating that the king and queen have been there. In preparation for solving the curse of the northern kingdom , not all of the subsequent journeys to Ata Horan by sea were due to Aisha's magic (although expecting to solve the problem of her daughter is still the biggest reason for traveling).
3. Regarding the issue of the education and governance of the sisters, I was biased. Aisha and Anna are both very competent queens/princesses . In the first part, Aisha has always been in charge, and "Frozen 2" The opening was the occasion where she met with foreign envoys (and the like).
However, Anna is indeed more careful than Aisha in some places . For example, when she first saw the dam, she understood that it was a hidden danger to Arendale , and only recognized the soldier Matisse through a portrait/photo in the castle. (She didn't look at those less when she was playing alone since she was a child), and first thought of the "secret grid" to find the map on the Hulk.
4. Aisha saw a lot of past history in the secret realm of Atahoran. One of them was a conversation between the teenager Aigner and Aduna. Aduna asked "What are you looking at?" Aigner said, "A Danish writer." "'S book" (to the effect)——
"Frozen" is adapted from the fairy tale "The Snow Queen" by Danish writer Andersen. The names of the three protagonists, Prince Hans, Kostov and Anna, also pay tribute to Andersen (full name Hans Christian Andersen). And this scene can be regarded as "Frozen 2" pay tribute to Andersen again .
5. When Anna was determined to destroy the dam, she already knew that this would destroy Arendale, but she dared to give it a go because the people had already hid in the highlands.
Finally, Aisha solved the flood and told Anna that "the spirit of nature agreed." From this point of view, the whole story of "Frozen 2" is more like a test of the spirit of nature to mankind : Runald's The behavior made it very desperate. It wanted to destroy everything, but after seeing Aduna's behavior to save Aigner, she decided to give them a chance. Specifically, it must be realized by Aisha, who received the "magic curse/blessing", Aisha The magic of the movie has been getting stronger and stronger, so the "catastrophe" in the film cannot be avoided. Sooner or later, I have to face it . In the end, Aisha and Anna's performance satisfied the spirit of nature, so they even "destroy Arendale" Such symbolic punishments are eliminated...
The practical significance is further weakened, and the mild fairy tale means stronger than originally thought.
6. The second part continues the spirit of the first "anti-tradition and anti-fairy tale" . The first part is "I want sisters and not a prince". The second part is also about women saving the world. Men are full of love and love and stand aside ( But it's much better than those "feminist" superficial articles that just shout slogans).
However, the film does not obliterate the existence of the male protagonist. Although Kostov is marginalized, he is not completely a tool person. An interesting discovery: every time he failed in his previous marriage proposal, it was because of too much inner play. There was too much talk and too much emphasis on form. In the end, it was only to reach out and stay with Anna when she needed him the most. The next proposal was a matter of course.
7. The music of "Frozen 2" is still great-I have been looping the original soundtrack recently, Frozen 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Deluxe Edition)-"Brainwashing" is not as good as the first one for an important reason : The narrative or lyrical flavor is too strong, weakening its own power of "single song".
While ensuring the basic narrative, the first song seems very natural whether it is connected to the plot or independently broadcast . The second song is much weaker in this respect. If you don’t watch the movie, the sense of substitution and catchy will be great. At a discount, for example, Anna's solo "The Next Right Thing" is too narrative. Everyone who has seen the movie knows that she has experienced the pain of losing Aisha and Xuebao, and must be strong to complete her mission. Christine Bell's crying singing method It’s okay...but it’s less interesting to listen to it in normal times, but Kostov’s "Lost in the Woods" is too lyrical, drifting away from the plot, and a little bit blunt.
In addition, several of the film’s title songs "Into the Unknown" and "Show Yourself" are more difficult to sing , and the degree of vocalization has naturally declined. For example, in the chorus part, many children will naturally hum "let it go". ,let it go", the pronunciation of the three sentences "Into the Unknown!" is higher than the other, so I directly persuade the children to leave...
8. The plot of "Frozen 2" has been criticized by many people. The first time I watched it, I didn't think it was exciting enough. The second time I watched it with questions, I found it was much smoother, but it was relatively flat. The main paragraphs The transition between the plots is a bit harder (and there are some routines), but the story itself has no major faults and major flaws .
It may be disappointing to look at the first part with the eyes of "surprise", but if you want to say "bad", you can't make it-you might as well ask yourself, what kind of story do you want to see? It’s a good thing that creators don’t want to repeat themselves. The film still has enough sincerity. The question is just how much to pass.
above.
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