Disney’s Frozen 2 Plot Holes Need Filling

Happy Thanksgiving, lovely reader! Everyone get enough to eat? Feel the need to waddle to the couch? Mission accomplished on my end.

Actually, instead of simply shlumping to the couch, I got proactive and schlepped all the way to the movie theater. Twice. Yes, that’s correct. I blew fistfuls of money on movie tickets and saturated fats to watch Frozen 2 twice in two days.

Actually, I decided to see it on Thanksgiving (calm down, we celebrate on Wednesday) as a “date night” with the Hubs. He said he felt especially manly sitting in children’s movie watching the preview for the new Trolls film. I wanted to see Frozen 2 to decide if our children would be scared. He wanted to see it because I made him come and look for plot holes. Yes, I utilize my brilliant husband’s skeptical mind for more blog fodder.

Back in July, I ranted and raved about the immense, embarrassing plot holes in the original Frozen. I’m still baffled by those oversights. Aren’t those Disney imagineers supposed to be the best of the best? SMH.

Well, after our adult viewing, we decided the kids could probably handle the darker, sadder big sister of Frozen. And if anything was too harsh, it’d probably go over their little heads anyway. So, Mama Sr., and I loaded up the minivan and headed to the cinema to ply the littles with popcorn and Disney magic.

So, cuddle close and scootch in. We need to dish.

SPOILERS WILL APPEAR BELOW – You have only yourself and your literacy to blame if you continue to read and get upset to discover spoilers.

Here are the questions I have about Frozen 2 (in no particular order).

1. Does Kristoff live in the palace now? We see him in his jammies playing charades with the sisters before the girls trundle off to bed. He played his cards right when he went from a humble ice seller to Anna’s hunky boo.
2. Why is Arendelle’s leadership so pathetic? In the first movie, Anna decides to chase Elsa to the North Mountain and leaves her kingdom in the hands of Prince Hans, who she just met that day. In this one, the old troll, Grand Pabbie, reassures the girls he’ll watch over the citizens until they return. Did the people even know magical trolls existed? Are there really no responsible Arendellian adults? A prime minister? Some kind of hierarchy?
3. What is Elsa’s deal? In the moment before she and Anna part ways in the enchanted forest, they share an “I can’t lose you!” moment. Then, Elsa whips up an ice canoe and sends her sister hurtling down the side of a mountain with a snowman. Oh, and she ends up in a river with a hoard of sleeping earth giants before tumbling down a waterfall and into an abandoned cave. What. The. Hey.
4. Wait, who or what is the magical voice calling to Elsa? On the ride home, my 3-year-old kept singing that little “Ah-ah-ah-ah!” and asking what it was. Good question, preschooler! It was only the main, moving force of the entire movie, so why don’t we have an answer? It wasn’t the fifth spirit (which had an odd conclusion anyway), so it was…a memory? Kind of? I’m not buying it.
5. Why can’t my wardrobe and hairstyle upgrade every time I have a life-changing experience? In Let It Go and Show Yourself, Elsa’s clothes and hairdo magically transform. How do we bring that into the real world?
6. How did the dam hurt the forest? First, it seems unlikely they could’ve whipped up such a complex dam in the first place. Later, we’re told the dam is hurting the forest, but there’s no evidence of this. Also, how did those mammoth giants not destroy that dam long before now?
7. Can we talk about the Arendellian soldiers stuck in the forest? First, why would they stand against Anna in anything? She’s the freakin’ princess of their kingdom. In a more violent thought, how are any of the Northuldra people left? They were fighting steel with sticks…
8. What was the deal with Anna’s super, super dark song in the cave?
   • The life I knew is over/The lights are out/Hello, darkness/I’m ready to succumb.
   • I felt the urge to pray she’d find Jesus.
   • I wish she’d had more than a “tiny voice” whispering in her mind that she’s lost and hope is gone, but she should probably do “the next right thing” anyway. It didn’t seem like a sturdy enough message to pass along to the next generation.
9. Will any other Disney “princes” ever measure up to Kristoff? Isn’t he the cutest? With his fantastic, 1980s ballad (we died laughing), he was the jewel of that film. And I love how a very female-centric movie didn’t destroy his masculinity. Yes, the song was cheesy and he bumbled a bit with the proposal, but he saved his distressed damsel when she desperately needed him. And that “My love is not fragile line” made my little heart patter.
10. What is Elsa going to do now? OK, Anna is now queen of Arendelle, which makes a lot of sense. But what is the hyper-magical ice queen going to do? Just wander the enchanted forest for the rest of her days? It’s been set free and everyone is happy, so why is she needed up there?

Things I loved:

1. Olaf’s retelling of Frozen.
2. The water horse.
3. “Do you want to build a snowman?”
4. “I prefer you in leather anyway…” (winky face)
5. Elsa’s powers now have a semi-understandable origin story.
6. “Into the unknown! Into the Unknown! Into the UNKNOOOOOWN!”
7. Little, eye-licking fire lizard.
8. We understand what really happened to the parents.
9. The after-credits scene, which includes a second retelling by Olaf.
10. Do the next right thing.

So, there was a heft of darkness in this one. My 3- and 5-year-old needed to sit in my lap or hold my hand through the harder parts. I think they generally enjoyed it, though Olivia stated “The movie was creepy!” on the way home. So, win?

I would love to hear your thoughts! Leave any comments below.

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Currently Reading:
I am trying to listen to absolutely everyone and start reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, but I haven’t gotten past the first sentence. Things are a bit busy on the holiday homefront.