Movie Review: Disney serves up another ‘Frozen’ treat

If anything was a sure bet at the box office at the time, it was “Frozen II.”

The original, animated 2013 movie was that sort of serendipity any studio wishes for ... even Disney, which doesn’t always have its expectations met. The company wanted to make sure its best foot was put forward on a “Frozen” sequel, which is why it took six years. Freeform shows “Frozen II” Saturday, June 22, right after — appropriately enough — the first “Frozen.”

The care shows in the storytelling, so the 2019 follow-up wasn’t just a money grab … though Disney very happily grabbed a lot of money from it. Voiced again by Idina Menzel, Elsa has returns to her kingdom (or make that queendom) after getting her power to freeze under control. She’s still haunted by elements of her past, though, and she believes she might be able to change the fates of some of her ancestors. Thus, she and her sister Anna (again sporting Kristen Bell’s voice) set off on that quest.

Of course, snowman Olaf also is along, with Josh Gad’s vocals giving him the now-expected dose of attitude. In fact, the entire voice cast is well-chosen, with fellow Broadway veterans Jonathan Groff and Santino Fontana also back, and “This Is Us” alum Sterling K. Brown making a significant contribution in a new role. There’s no “Let It Go” on the soundtrack this time, though that tune does get a reprise, but the included songs are appropriate and catchy enough.

A second act for a movie franchise always is dicey, since history bears out that so few sequels live up to (and, indeed, don’t diminish) the original. It was particularly critical for Disney to ensure that didn’t happen with “Frozen II,” and not only for the financial health of that project itself.

Its arrival in theaters roughly coincided with the launch of the streaming service Disney+, so it was incumbent on the company – which clearly wanted potential subscribers to see in every way that the Disney magic was intact. “Frozen II” was not a minor element of that, so in that sense, mission accomplished.