Ranking the Songs Of Frozen II

 

Hello, friends!

As you might have heard, Frozen II released a few weeks ago and has done quite well at the box office. You can check out my review of it here. In the time since watching this movie in the theater, I have seen several people do their own ranking of the songs from the film and thought to myself, “what a great idea!” Honestly, I can’t believe I haven’t thought before to this myself, either with Disney’s latest animated feature or any of their others. Well it is time to remedy that!

Below is my ranking of the seven songs from Frozen II. In this list, I am not including the Panic! at the Disco, Kacey Musgraves, or Weezer versions of the songs, nor am I including “Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People (Cont.)” since it’s only 30 seconds long and it is really just an intro/prelude to “Lost in the Woods.” I have linked each song title to a video of the song on YouTube so you can check them out for yourself, after you’re done reading the full list here of course!

Alright, enough chit-chat. Onto the rankings!

7) When I Am Older

I’m not exactly sure what it is about Olaf’s song this time around, it has a similar tune and naivete as his song “In Summer” from Frozen, but I am not as entranced by “When I am Older.” It’s fun and it’s whimsical but it doesn’t have the same foot tapping potential as “In Summer.”

6) The Next Right Thing

I appreciate the message of “The Next Right Thing;” it’s about getting up, dusting yourself off, and moving forward when you are at a low point. However, I haven’t found the song to be one that I find myself randomly start singing like I do some of the other songs on this list. So to recap: great message, not a catchy melody.

5) All Is Found

Like “Frozen Heart” from Frozen, “All Is Found” foreshadows the events of the film. It’s a sweet lullaby sung by Anna and Elsa’s mother, Queen Iduna, voiced by Evan Rachel Wood. As an opener, I’d say it is a little better than “Frozen Heart.” I can see many parents singing this song to their young children while lying them down to bed.

4) Some Things Never Change

“Some Things Never Change” feels the most like the songs from Frozen than all the other songs on this list, which is one of the reasons it is smack dab in the middle of the ranking. There is a nice beat and it feels ripe for Disney’s sing-a-long treatment. Every major character gets at least a few lines to showcase their talents before their own numbers later in the film.

3) Lost in the Woods

In the theater, “Lost in the Woods” had me nearly crying from laughter. Lyrically, it’s actually sweet. The song is a rock ballad, reminiscent of something you might have heard in the 80s. The film goes all in on that angle, too, with the sequence. I give credit to Disney and the directors because this one is definitely for the parents who have to endure watching the film with their young children.

2) Into the Unknown

I think “Into the Unknown” is expected to be Frozen II‘s “Let It Go.” It was the first have the in-film sequence and already has a multi-language version released online, just like “Let It Go.” Once again, Idina Menzel proves that she is an incredible powerhouse of a singer. While “Into the Unknown” is not quite the anthem that “Let it Go” has become, it is still amazing to both listen to and watch.

1) Show Yourself

Even after listening to “Show Yourself” many, many times, I still get emotional. Visually, be the best looking sequence in the entire film. However, it is during this song that Elsa finally becomes who she was meant to be since where we met her in Frozen. Throughout both movies, Elsa feels like she is an outsider; like she belongs somewhere else. During this song is when she finds what she has been looking for for two films. On my Disney playlist, I have “Let it Go” and “Show Yourself” back-to-back because these two go together thematically. Songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez most popular song might be “Let it Go” but “Show Yourself” is their most powerful.

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And that is my ranking of the songs of Frozen II! What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? How would you rank the songs of Frozen II?

Until next time, cheers!

Frozen II Review

Synopsis
When the spirits force the people out of Arendelle, Elsa (Idina Menzel), Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad), and Sven venture to the Enchanted Forest to settle the spirits.

Review
Back in 2013, Frozen became a phenomenon. Children everywhere dressed up as Anna and even more dressed up as Anna’s sister Elsa. It seemed you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing “Let it Go.” I’m man enough to admit that I got swept up in the craze as well. It was no surprise that a sequel was announced, especially given Disney has had more of an eye towards making theatrical sequels to their films as of late. Given how much I enjoyed Frozen, I was excited to see what directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck had in store for Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and Kirstoff in the sequel. Despite my high expectations, Frozen II blew them away.

Easily the stand-out feature of Frozen was the original songs written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. The songwriting couple returns for the sequel and once more they knock it out of the park! Idina Menzel again demonstrates how much of a powerhouse singer she is. “Into the Unknown” is bound to become this film’s “Let it Go” but “Show Yourself,” Menzel’s duet with Evan Rachel Wood, should not be ignored either. Jonathan Groff didn’t get much room to flex his singing chops in the last film but that was remedied this time around. Besides having a small part in the ensemble song “Some Things Never Change,” he gets his own song in “Lost in the Woods,” which is presented in a boy band-esque way that had me laughing uncontrollably. And of course Kristen Bell and Josh Gad have their songs as well, so no one is left out.

Olaf (Gad) provided much (not all but a lot) of the comedy from the previous film. While Olaf still functions as the comedic relief, and even though he does have some of the funnier moments of this film, it feels like the humor is spread out more evenly throughout the cast. This makes the comedy feel more organic. Anna, Kristoff, and many of the new characters all get a few laughs in. Two new characters, Lieutenant Mattias, voiced wonderfully by Sterling K. Brown, and Ryder, voiced by Jason Ritter, aren’t on the screen much but they each have a handful of memorable moments that help them stand out in this sequel.

Frozen II is unsurprisingly done in an animation style very similar to that of Frozen. However, everything just looks… better. Similar but better. The character models look better and feel like they have more expression, Elsa’s ice powers look better and seriously jaw-dropping at moments, the environments look better and almost life-like. Just like most of the last film is spent in the snow, most of this film is spent in the Enchanted Forest, and the Forest look absolutely stunning. If you’ve ever been in the woods, particularly during the autumn months, you’ll know how vivid it can be, with a wide range of colors and textures. This film captures all of that in great detail. From the various colors of the leaves to the greens of the grass and moss to the grays of rocks and to the clear blue streams. Once again, the Disney animation studio has outdone themselves.

Every sequel should build on and expand the world from the film(s) before it and continue to evolve the characters. Both sisters grow considerably. Elsa’s journey takes her on a path of discovery about her powers and herself more so than the previous film. At the end of Frozen, she learns to embrace her powers and that they are not something to be feared. Throughout this movie, she embraces her powers even more. Of the two, Anna displays the most change and growth. I don’t want to spoil anything but she goes through a dramatic change that is perfect for her character and will serve as an inspiration for many young children. When we meet Olaf at the beginning, he has begin questioning the world in a more mature way than his more innocent and naive self of the last film. It’s played for comedy but is exciting to watch. As for Kristoff, we get to see how his feelings for Anna have deepened but it feels like his character does not quite have as drastic an arc as some of the other characters.

Out of everything I have talked about up to this point, I think what I appreciate most about this film is how well it rounds out and completes the story of Frozen. As I just talked about, the two central sisters go through tremendous character growth, especially if we look at where they started in Frozen. It’s awe-inspiring how much the writers were able to accomplish in just two films. While the movie could potentially have a threequel (even if Disney decided to actually make a third theatrical film for one of their animated franchises), I feel like the story is complete enough that a third outing is not needed nor would it be necessary.

I thought Frozen II was GOOD 🙂 Despite all my positive comments, there are still a few flaws that can be found. However, those are minor compared to everything else I enjoyed in this film. There is a larger sense of adventure this time around and even more excitement than Frozen. While I usually feel most Disney animated films do not require sequels, this is an instance where I am extremely glad this sequel was made. Building on where the characters ended in the previous movie, this movie expands on them even further. Where Frozen II really shines is when it’s taken as a whole with Frozen. Together, they tell a complete and complementary story, making both films better in the process.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Chris Buck – Director / Story
Jenifer Lee – Director / Screenplay / Story
Marc Smith – Story
Kristen Anderson-Lopez – Story / Original Songs
Robert Lopez – Story / Original Songs
Christophe Beck – Composer

Idina Menzel – Elsa (voice)
Kristen Bell – Anna (voice)
Josh Gad – Olaf (voice)
Jonathan Groff – Kristoff (voice)
Evan Rachel Wood – Queen Iduna (voice)
Alfred Molina – King Agnarr (voice)
Sterling K. Brown – Lieutenant Mattias (voice)
Martha Plimpton – Yelana (voice)
Jason Ritter – Ryder (voice)
Rachel Matthews – Honeymaren (voice)
Jeremy Sisto – King Runeard (voice)
Ciaran Hinds – Pabbie (voice)
Alan Tudyk – Northuldra Leader (voice)
Mattea Conforti – Young Elsa (voice)
Hadley Gannaway – Young Ana (voice)
Aurora – The Voice (voice)

Lightning Review: Couples Retreat

Synopsis
When Jason and Cynthia (Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell) decide to go to a couples resort to strengthen their marriage, they invite their couple friends Dave and Ronnie (Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman), Joey and Lucy (Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis), and Shane and Trudy (Faizon Love and Kali Hawk).

Review
I’m torn about how I feel about Couples Retreat. On the one hand, I laughed quite a bit and many of the gags were funny. Most of the cast all had several good moments throughout the film. The yoga scene was one of the funniest scenes of the entire movie, if not because of Carlos Ponce’s Salvadore. He absolutely nailed the part. But on the other hand, I didn’t particularly care for the story. There are the stereotypical couples you would expect from this kind of film: the cheating couple, the couple trying to save their relationship, the new couple, and the couple who thinks their relationship is working fine. There isn’t much to draw me towards the characters. Part of the problem for me is Dave and Ronnie’s relationship doesn’t feel like it has much growth compared to the other couples’. Also, I don’t like how Shane’s part of the story was resolved. I’m not sure if “clean” is the right word for it, but it wasn’t I was expecting. Despite a less than engaging story, I strangely found myself enjoying Couples Retreat, probably more than I should have.

Rating
3/5

Favorite Quote
Dave: Is his junk out?
Ronnie: Yup.
Dave: Is his junk literally out of his pants?
Lucy: Yup.
Dave: Now it’s a party.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Peter Billingsley – Director
Jon Favreau – Writer
Vince Vaughn – Writer
Dana Fox – Writer
A.R. Rahman – Composer

Vince Vaughn – Dave
Malin Akerman – Ronnie
Jason Bateman – Jason
Kristen Bell – Cynthia
Jon Favreau – Joey
Kristin Davis – Lucy
Faizon Love – Shane
Kali Hawk – Trudy
Peter Serafinowicz – Sctanley
Jean Reno – Marcel
Carlos Ponce – Salvadore
Tasha Smith – Jennifer
Temuera Morrison – Briggs
Jonna Walsh – Lacey
Gattlin Griffith – Robert
Colin Baiocchi – Kevin
Vernon Vaughn – Grandpa Jim

Fanboys Review

Synopsis
Four friends, Hutch (Dan Fogler), Windows (Jay Baruchel), Linus (Christopher George Marquette), and Eric (Sam Huntington), travel across the country to Skywalker Ranch to steal a rough cut of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace before it is released in theaters.

Review
Fanboys is one of those movies that looks at a culture and dives headfirst. Star Wars, and really geek culture as a whole, is placed in the spotlight. I remember when The Phantom Menace first hit theaters in 1999 and how huge of an event it was, so I was looking forward to seeing a film centered around not the movie, but the release itself. Fanboys stumbles a few times, but offers a satisfying experience to Star Wars fanboys.

Since this is a farce centered around Star Wars, there are many, many references to the movies. Almost every scene there is at least some sort of reference to the movie, whether it is a direct quote or nod to the films. If you are a Star Wars fan or have at least seen the original trilogy, you will have a lot to enjoy. As a huge fan of the movies myself, I found it very rewarding. I’m sure if I watched it again I would find many references that I missed the first time around.

The road trip movie format allows for great cameo appearances, and Fanboys takes full advantage. There are several great cameos in the film relating to the Star Wars/science-fiction/cult films, including Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen, Joe Lo Truglio, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, and William Shatner (who “can get anything.”). Shatners appearance was by far my favorite, but each one, particularly Fisher’s and William’s, were great nods to the fans.

So this movie takes place in the past (1998), it makes references to future events and opinions. It was pretty funny seeing Windows confident that his internet girlfriend looks exactly like how she described herself and Windows saying Harrison Ford cannot make a bad movie (referring to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull). It was one of the smaller things but it made the movie more enjoyable if you caught the remarks.

Parts of Fanboys feel really generic for a road trip movie. Several of the segments are unique, such as the groups stop in Iowa where they start a brawl with some Star Trek fans. But others, such as a high-speed chase, could have been a placed in another road trip movie and not seemed out of place. This movie was best when it was embracing its ridiculousness and culture.

The friends’ reason for their road trip is because Linus has cancer and his given four months to live while The Phantom Menace comes out in theaters in six. This subplot is glossed over for most of the film. And when it is brought up, it brings down the mood. Apparently, the cancer subplot was a huge deal for viewers. I think the Fanboys would have been a more enjoyable experience if this detail was omitted.

Fanboys is a fun and wild look into Star Wars fandom. It has some great cameos and funny references to future Star Wars and pop culture events. The cancer subplot was unnecessary and could have been ignored since every time it was brought up the film immediately kept moving on and ignored the fact Linus’ cancer was just mentioned. Fanboys was generic at times but that doesn’t mean you won’t have some fun along the way.

Rating
3.5/5

Veronica Mars Trailer

Official Synopsis: Years after walking away from her past as a teenage private eye, Veronica Mars gets pulled back to her hometown, an ex-boyfriend with baggage, and an unraveling murder mystery.

I have never watched the show Veronica Mars.  Honestly, I never even heard of it until its Kickstarter campaign made its goal in only ten hours.  After reading the Wikipedia article, it sound interesting.  I really enjoyed Kristen Bell in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Fanboys.  But other than those and her voice work in Frozen, I haven’t seen her very much on screen.  Since I have not seen the show, I’m not sure what to expect.  Sometimes the movies you watch with no expectations going in are the ones you enjoy the most.

Veronica Mars will be in theaters March 14, 2014.  Many actors are reprising their roles from the show, including Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, Jason Dohring, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Ryan Hansen, and Chris Lowell.

Frozen Review

Synopsis
When Princess Elsa (Idina Menzel) was a little girl, her parents closed the doors to the castle because they feared their kingdom would not accept Elsa’s snow magic. On the day of Elsa’s coronation ceremony, no one is more elated than her sister, Princess Anna (Kristen Bell), since the castle doors will be open for the first time in years. Excited to meet someone special, she runs into Prince Hans (Santino Fontana) , who quickly proposes to her. When the two ask for the new Queen’s blessing, an argument erupts between the two sisters, causing Elsa’s powers to surge out of control, cloaking the entire kingdom in an eternal winter, and Elsa to run away. After gaining the help of Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), an ice salesman, and the talking snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), Anna heads off on a journey to find her sister and convince her to end the curse that has befallen the land.

Review
Finally. Finally Disney is starting to regain its musical glory from the 1990s. The Disney Renaissance (the time between The Little Mermaid and Tarzan) gave us some of the greatest animated musicals, and Frozen successfully recaptures the magic that made them fun, entertaining, and heartwarming. It appears Disney has learned from the last few years and has created an animated musical that could propel them back to the King of the animated feature.

Frozen is different than your normal princess movie because it has not one but two princesses: Anna and Elsa. The two sisters are very different, but their contrast is what drives their relationship. Anna is without a doubt my favorite of the two. She is quirky, outgoing, and awkward, whereas Elsa is more reserved and poised. However, both sisters have aspects to their character than anyone can find something to relate to. It’s such a refreshing take on the Disney Princess.

Despite what the trailer or my synopsis may portray, Elsa is actually not the villain. Rather, she is more of a catalyst for Anna’s journey. Eventually, she becomes comfortable with her gift and accepts what she can do. Never once does she have any malevolent intent to her actions. The true villain doesn’t reveal themselves until about the last third of the movie. It was a good reveal and it took me by surprise.

Olaf, the hard-not-to-love snowman, almost single-handedly stole the show. I would say he is great as the comedic relief, but that is not really true since every character has some comical elements to them. He is, however, the funniest character of the bunch, not just in what he says but also his actions.  Kristoff is fun, particularly when he is “conversing” with his pet reindeer, Sven.

The animation is gorgeous. It is amazing to see how far the computer animation has improved over the last fifteen or so years. Some of the ice effects are some of the best I have seen. These amazing effects help evoke emotions that really bring you deeper into the story. Disney’s other recent computer animated films, Wreck-It Ralph and Tangled, were well animated, but Frozen improves on them to create one of the most visually pleasing movie since How to Train Your Dragon.

The moral of the story is unlike Disney’s previous princess movies. One of the character’s actions make for a good jaw-dropping moment. It still has to do with “true love” but isn’t exactly what you would expect. I’m not going to say any specifics, but it was a good twist that is more inline with modern views.

The songs can make or break a musical and the score in Frozen is the best since the aforementioned Disney Renaissance. The husband-and-wife songwriting team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez did great penning the songs. They were reminiscent of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, but still felt like their own. Elsa’s song “Let It Go” has become one of my favorites. I may or may not have once listened to it on repeat for an hour and a half… Anyway, I’m hoping Lopez and Anderson-Lopez write for the next several Disney musicals because I can’t wait to be wowed by the pair again.

Frozen is one of the best Disney movies in years. Anyone can relate to the bond between Anna and Elsa. The animation and score do wonders to enhance the already stellar story. If Disney Animation continues to create movies of this magnitude, this could be the start of another Disney Renaissance.

Rating
5/5