Well, obviously we`re not seeing eye to eye here. I`ve always thought that the subplot with Hans/"you can`t marry a man you just met" was simply superfluous and needless for the story. The plotline of Elsa`s struggles and her broken relationship with Anna should`ve been the main focus, but it was very underplayed. Perhaps you thought it was needed to stress the sisterly relationship, but I didn`t thought it was needed. Because it took way much of the focus away from what should`ve been the main focus: Elsa and her struggle. Perhaps I shouldn`t use the word cluttered for the backstory, but I thought it was overloaded, contrived and rushed. I can`t come up with a better storyline to stress the conflict, but an external plotline shouldn`t take away the focus away from the main storyline. Nuff said.Disney Duster wrote:There is nothing cluttered about Frozen. So, what, do you think the story should have just been Anna getting her sister from her ice palace and using love to break the spell? Tell me, how? How could she do it without Elsa being mad and using her powers to cause the spell in the first place because of Anna's too quick love of Hans making it happen? How could Anna have figured out about how to stop her sister's spell without Kristoff taking her to see her, then seeing she failed to break the spell by trying to make her do it without knowing how, and finally learn from both Hans and Kristoff what love really is and how to use that to break the spell and get a happy ending with Elsa? Without Hans, how could Anna have sacrificed herself as an act of true love to break the spell? All of this relates to the romantic love subplot! So it was needed!
The backstory of Anna and Elsa was not cluttered, but I admit there is the plot hole of who was ruling the kingdom till Elsa's coronation. But it's not like that plot hole is fixed in Frozen II or that even more confusing stuff doesn't happen in Frozen II, like what happened to Kristoff during so much of the movie, and what happened to Elsa at the end of "Show Yourself" and why? Frozen II was also darker than Frozen because Olaf dies and Elsa sort of dies and Anna's song (which is a really bad song) feels like a too dark moment for even what I thought was a darker film! They even show the moment their parents died, via ice sculpture!
What were the "single traits" the characters only were in the first movie? Elsa is independent, firm in her beliefs, mature, lost, depressed, and finally loving and happy by the end of Frozen. Anna is quirky, a slob, excitable, yearning for love, lost, sad at times, brave and loving all through Frozen. Kristoff is also a slob, and hard-working, caring, brave, friendly, and loving in Frozen. What more depth is given to Elsa in Frozen II? That she finds out she's special and can rule over even more than Arendelle with the Enchanted Forest? She knew she was special in the first film and every main character was adventurous as she is in the first film because they all go on an adventure away from the home they are used to! Elsa trying to find out about herself is about the same as it was in the first film! What more depth is given to Anna in Frozen II, that she's always worried about Elsa and suddenly ready to rule Arendelle? Yeah, her "inner turmoil" scene didn't fly with me. She just sings about, "I'm in a dark spot, but I'll get out" and she does. What more depth is given to Kristoff in Frozen II? That he feels useless and he'll do anything Anna wants?
As for the tonal.shifts, I don't know how to explain how I feel Frozen's tone was perfect, so we'll agree to disagree there.
Personally, I thought that Elsa`s personality and characterization was more enhanced in the sequel. Both of her mandatory ballads explains that she has a bigger purpose in her movie and plays with her adventurous sides. I`m not saying that Let it Go doesn`t, but it doesn`t really enhance Elsa`s personality as it should`ve done: Simply because of her limited screentime. And while Anna has a turmoil in the first movie, I really thought that The Next Right Thing was a song that showed some depth in her (despite that I wasn`t particularly fond of that song either). I`ve never said that Kristoff was given more depth or that Frozen II wasn`t dark, but the tone was more consistent in my opinion. The tonal shifts weren`t as obvious as they were in the first film, as the darker scenes felt more harrowing.
And I hope you don`t find my remarks or arguments condescending, but obviously we`re not going to agree here.
(While munching popcorn.)
