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The Student News Site of Sunny Hills High School

The Accolade

The Student News Site of Sunny Hills High School

The Accolade

Sunny Hills’ hype cold toward ‘Frozen II’

In+Frozen+II%2C+which+will+be+released+Nov.+22%2C+the+gang+from+the+first+installment+is+back+for+another+adventure.+This+time%2C+Elsa%2C+Anna%2C+Kristoff%2C+Olaf+and+Sven+journey+far+beyond+the+gates+of+Arendelle+in+search+of+answers+to+Elsas+powers+to+manipulate+ice+and+create+snow.+Image+posted+with+permission+from+Disney+Studios.
DISNEY
In “Frozen II,” which will be released Nov. 22, the gang from the first installment is back for another adventure. This time, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven journey far beyond the gates of Arendelle in search of answers to Elsa’s powers to manipulate ice and create snow. Image posted with permission from Disney Studios.

Let it go, let it go

Can’t hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door!

Who hasn’t heard of Disney’s “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel from “Frozen,” which raked in $1.2 billion in box office ticket sales — the highest amount for an animated film? 

According to Spotify, it’s the most streamed song from a Disney animated movie with 280.5 million listens.

Six years since that movie’s initial release, it seems the House of Mickey doesn’t want to heed the advice from “Frozen’s” conflicted character Elsa, who has the ability to manipulate ice and snow.

Instead of letting go and slamming the door to its franchise, it plans to release the sequel Nov. 22 featuring the return of such cast members as Elsa, queen of Arendelle; Anna, Elsa’s sister; Olaf the snowman; Kristoff, Anna’s love interest and Sven, Kristoff’s reindeer.

Some Sunny Hills students and staff aren’t as excited to watch it — at least not to the point of pre-ordering tickets to see the first few showings the night before.

AMC Dine-in Fullerton 20 on Lemon Street, for example, has three screenings at 6 p.m. Nov. 21.

Though freshman Lauren Pak is a “Frozen” fan, what she’s heard and seen about the sequel hasn’t impressed her.

“The trailer was confusing because I didn’t really know what was going on,” Pak said. “I think Disney could have done a better job on raising expectations through this trailer.”

Sophomore Andre Sagum owns an 11 inches wide by 16 inches tall color poster of the “Frozen” cast.

But, he’s never pre-ordered tickets to watch a movie, and he’s not going to start with “Frozen II.”

“I’m going to watch with my friends or girlfriend probably,”  Sagum said. “I don’t think I’m going to watch the very first day of the release though [because] I don’t see a need to watch it that quickly.”

Math teacher Jennifer Papageorge, who plays Disney music during passing periods for each of her classes, likes the franchise’s theme and characters.

“Frozen shows you don’t need a man to save you,” said Papageorge, who has no special plans to watch the sequel unless her niece wants to watch it. “It’s sister love, which is important for little girls to understand.”

Disney already released a preview on Sept. 30 of the film’s new soundtrack with “Into the Unknown” by Panic! at the Disco and Menzel, and that seems to have caught more interest than the upcoming film.

“I’m super excited for possible newer [and] better songs in the sequel because ‘Let It Go’ was a massive hit,” Sagum said. “I think ‘Into the Unknown’ sounds similar to ‘Let It Go,’ so I have a feeling it will be equally as popular.”

But not everyone agrees with Sagum’s assessment.

“I don’t think ‘Into the Unknown’ will be as good as ‘Let It Go’ because in my opinion, the first movie is always better than the sequels,” Pak said.

According to Disney’s media information, Elsa will embark on a dangerous yet remarkable journey to find answers about her magical powers and their origins, alongside Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven. 

“[The sequel] approached a different angle than ‘Frozen’ definitely,” Sagum said. “People can tell [“Frozen II”] will be more fun and exciting because of all the action shown from the trailer.” 

In addition to the venturesome aspect the movie tries to present, the characters have also become a fan favorite.

“I really like the characters and their internal conflicts,” said senior Diana Stoica, who plans to catch “Frozen II” when she can stream it at home. “Elsa dealt with some issues I can relate to such as fearing her own emotions, which is something people can relate to … fearing her own emotions.”

And what about some other concerns about gender identity and wardrobe among the sisters Elsa and Anna?

“I have a concern on the execution on how Disney will deliver Elsa’s sexuality and how people will react to it,” freshman Maxwell Cabales said. “Some people aren’t open-minded to the idea of change, so parents might not want their kids to be exposed to something in a PG-rated film.”  

Stoica also read about this issue from her social media apps.

“I saw people talking about how they want Elsa to be part of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “I think [this idea] will be fun and new because it introduces kids to the new society we live in.”

Also, in a Nov. 8 Los Angeles Times article, it addressed the fact that the two princesses will be wearing slacks in certain scenes, something unbecoming of regular Disney princesses.

In original Disney films such as “Cinderella” or “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the female protagonists are found sporting dainty and delicate gowns, while the men are in suits and armor. But this is not the case for “Frozen II.” 

That change doesn’t upset Stoica. 

“I’m really glad to hear that,” she said. “Even though it may not seem significant, that small detail shows people that their role models — princesses — can step out of comfort zones that Disney has created for them and wear pants or manifest more power.” 

The support toward the feminstic symbol the pants are representing seems to be a recurring theme among Stoica’s peers as well. 

“I think the [idea] is good because normally princesses wear dresses, but ‘Frozen II’ took a bigger step for [them],” Pak said. “It shows that girls can step out of the confinement that Disney kind of created in the past.”

Pak and Stoica are not the only ones at Sunny Hills who consider the substitution of dresses as a good idea. Math teacher Cristian Bueno, a self-proclaimed Disney fan who plays her own Disney song playlist often in her classroom, agrees with the students.

“[Girls] can wear whatever they want,” Bueno said. “Especially Elsa and Anna, who really proved they aren’t like the other princesses since they didn’t need a man to save them.” 

And even though Cabales is not a big “Frozen” fan, he still has some optimism about the sequel.

“I didn’t really like ‘Frozen,’ so I’m not sure how successful or appealing ‘Frozen II’ will be, to me at least,” Cabales said. “But, a lot of people seemed to like it because it had that appealing aspect like the songs and the quirky characters. So, if Disney keeps that up, I think [the film] will do well or hopefully even better.” 

 

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