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Even by Disney standards, Frozen II is one powerful movie. Here are some examples that show just why.
Teaser
- Elsa attempts to run across the ocean by freezing every part her foot touches, swimming past a wave, and running up a second.
- Anna reacting quickly to something behind her and pulling out Kristoff’s sword.
- Kristoff riding Sven accompanied by a whole herd of reindeer.
Film
- "Into The Unknown". As Elsa starts to give in to her wanderlust for adventure, she uses her ice magic to conjure up images of the enchanted woods, reindeer prancing, her parents playing as kids, and the four spirits dancing to life around her, all while she joyously harmonizes with the spirit that's been tempting her to leave home. Like the climax of "Let It Go", it's easily one of the most visually beautiful sequences in the Disney canon, and it seems to draw influence from the Disney classic Fantasia.
- Throughout the movie, Elsa fights and tames three out of four elemental spirits in Northuldra with her ice powers. She disintegrates the small tornado the air spirit creates while she's still within it, outfights the agile and destructive fire spirit before charming it with her ice magic, and finally taking on the water spirit as it mercilessly attacks her in the middle of a raging sea and wins, all by herself. These certainly demonstrate Elsa not only as one of the most powerful characters in the movie but in the entire Disney canon, period. She truly has come a long way from "Conceal, don't feel!" The Water Spirit fight is a particular highlight because the limits of her magic are challenged for once, at some points dispersed by the waves. She wins the fight in part through physical endurance and determination.
- Not to be outdone, Anna also gets the chance to show off her Badass Normal moments as well in the final act. Despite hitting a nasty Despair Event Horizon after Elsa and Olaf's deaths and discovering the awful truth about her apparently kind grandfather and the foundation of her beloved kingdom, she overcomes her grief and picks herself up to do what must be done: destroying the dam. Even if it means Arendelle will be destroyed, even if she has to do it all by herself, even if she would most likely get herself killed, she still soldiers on. She begins by waking up the earth spirits from their slumber and luring them to follow her to the dam. With a little help from Kristoff and Sven, she makes it there and convinces Mattias to stand down and help her lure the earth spirits. All their combined efforts allow the spirits to finally destroy the dam, removing the curse and reviving Elsa - who proceeds to save Arendelle from destruction at last.
- Kristoff himself gets an awesome moment in the climax. He not only saves Anna from getting crushed by the rock giants, but he also helps her get to the dam faster, and finally helps Mattias save Anna from falling to her death after the dam is destroyed.
- "Show Yourself" is just one massive awesome moment for Elsa. The same person who is going out of her way to find the source of the mysterious voice, encouraging it to finally appear before her, used to be an extreme case of The Shut-In. Talk about Character Development.
- What's more, when looking through the waters' "memories", she happens upon the truth about her grandfather: despite the stories of the kindly king he was, King Runeard was a cruel man who distrusted the Northuldra for having a connection to magic. When his memory says that magic causes people to "feel powerful" and "that they can defy the will of a king", Elsa responds "That is not what magic does, that's just your fear. Fear is what can't be trusted."
- Even more awesome, she's speaking from experience of what fear is capable of. It made her own loving parents unable to trust their daughters to see the world, it made her unable to trust herself to control her powers. She's come a long way from the girl who roiled in her own anxieties.
- Also, when she walks by the "memory" of Hans meeting Anna, does she cower because he tried to kill her? Nope. Instead, she uses her ice powers to make his likeness crumble.
- Give it to the soldiers defending the dam. When Anna comes to them with a story on how they've been deceived every bit as much as the people of the land, they really have only her word on the matter, and yet without hesitation let her go ahead with her plan to destroy the dam. They start beating their shields to get the rock giants' attention to help, despite the danger they'd be in.
- Anna is the princess of the royal family that they've sworn to serve. Even it's an insane plan that could get them all killed, they will follow their orders and fulfill their oaths.
- When the dam falls and the waves come crashing down, it's a veritable tsunami crashing down the fjord towards the castle and town. But then, suddenly, there, she is — Queen Elsa of Arendelle, riding the Nokk hell-for-leather along the top of the rushing water, only to wheel just meters in front of the castle and throw up an impossible ice wall that turns the tide and saves the coastline. The sight of that ice wall erupting to turn away the water is absolutely breathtaking.
- Notice that the symbol at the centre of the wall isn't her signature hexagonal snowflake - it's the elemental vegvisir, with the fifth spirit symbol in the middle. Elsa and the spirits (or at least the Nøkk) are working together to calm the water.
- Kristoff's proposal to Anna is awesome, as opposed to Hans's shallow proposal. Kristoff drops all pretentions and just tells how amazing he thinks she is.
- At the end of the movie, the Dark Sea Elsa rides the Nokk upon is entirely frozen.
