Back in 2013, Frozen turned into one of the biggest animated films of all-time. It took six years, but fans finally got a sequel via 2019’s aptly-titled Frozen II.

Set a few years after the events of the original film, Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) rules over the peaceful land of Arendelle with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell) at her side. However, Elsa finds herself haunted by a strange voice that calls to her.

Rather than suspect schizophrenia, inhabitants of a world where snowmen come to life view these events in a more literal way. To discover the secret of this voice, Elsa decides to travel to a land outside the borders of Arendelle.

This journey comes with challenges, as it takes Elsa to places their late father warned her created menace. Nonetheless, Elsa, Anna, snowdude Olaf (Josh Gad), Anna’s boyfriend Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer Sven all head out on this risky adventure.

Back in 2013, the first Frozen felt like a real blockbuster, as it became a cultural sensation. Frozen II seemed to make less of a stir, and I thought it fell short of the original’s financial dominance.

Nope. As it happens, Frozen II managed to surpass the totals taken by its predecessor, as it ended up with more than $1.4 billion worldwide, nearly $200 million more than the 2013 flick.

Even if we chalk up those increased receipts to higher ticket prices, Frozen II still became a box office behemoth. This likely makes a Frozen III inevitable.

When/if that third chapter occurs, I hope it finds renewed inspiration. While not a bad movie, Frozen II seems frightfully low on creativity.

I can’t claim I went into Frozen II with high expectations, as I didn’t love the original. As I noted in my review, I thought the movie seemed like Disney on autopilot, as I felt it lacked much to make it memorable.

I may need to revise those beliefs, though, as the first Frozen seems substantially superior to its sequel. If the original flick showed Disney on cruise control, Frozen II finds the studio stuck in neutral.

I first wrote these remarks about two months after I saw Frozen II. With most films, I could compose my synopsis from memory.

In this case, however, I needed to consult the Internet to remember the movie’s plot. Even then, I found myself semi-befuddled, as the story barely rang a bell.

When I can’t remember anything about a movie’s narrative two months later, that seems like a bad sign. My sole memory of Frozen II is that my theatrical screening left me unenthused.

I hoped that perhaps my additional screenings on home video would alter my opinion. Perhaps I’d see something charming or clever or exciting about Frozen II that I missed on the big screen.

Nope – I got it right the first time. Even compared with the mediocre original, Frozen II delivers a bland, muddled effort.

Not that it lacks any fun. Olaf seems more amusing this time, and a few of the songs stand out as enjoyable.

In particular, Kristoff’s “Lost in the Woods” offers a pitch-perfect homage to 1980s ballads by Chicago. That musical scene might be worth the price of admission alone.

Otherwise, though, the film largely feels rudderless. After the fairly compelling plot of the first movie, Frozen II boasts a story that comes across as little more than a reason to send the gang on an adventure.

Granted, I feel happy Frozen II doesn’t simply remake the original. Nonetheless, the narrative lacks much bite, and for the most part, various new characters bring little to the table.

Honestly, I simply find it tough to locate a reason this movie needs to exist. Sure, I get that most sequels emerge mainly as a path to profits, but good ones develop worthwhile, fresh stories and character paths.

That doesn’t happen with Frozen II. Again, I’m glad the story manages some variations from the original, but that doesn’t mean it becomes especially creative or fresh.

As I noted, I just sense that the plot exists solely to send our old friends on a new adventure. I don’t feel we get anything that develops the roles or situations in a memorable way otherwise.

I don’t want to come down too hard on Frozen II, as even with its flaws, it musters a perfectly watchable 103 minutes of animation. However, it feels uninspired and forgettable too much of the time.

Footnote: a brief tag pops up at the conclusion of the end credits.

Frozen II appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. As expected, the movie delivered strong visuals.

At all times, the film showed fine delineation. No instances of softness arose, so the image remained tight and well-defined.

I witnessed no jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes were absent. Of course, no print flaws popped up, so this remained a clean presentation.

Colors worked well. As expected, a chilly blue tint dominated, but we also got a mix of other hues, and these seemed nicely rendered.

Blacks appeared dark and deep, and shadows seemed smooth and concise. Everything about the image satisfied.

I also felt pleased with the film’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack. Parts of the audio stayed with general sense of the various situations, but more than a few action scenes resulted.

The livelier sequences displayed nice range and involvement, and the rest of the material also managed to place us in the locations well. The track used the different channels to convey a lot of subtle but engaging information.

Audio quality satisfied. Speech remained natural and distinctive, while music appeared peppy and clear.

Effects showed nice dynamics, with crisp highs and warm lows. I thought the soundtrack added zest to the proceedings.

This set includes both 2D and 3D versions of Frozen II. The picture quality comments above reflected the 2D edition – how did the 3D compare?

In terms of picture quality, the 3D edition could veer a little softer than the 2D at times and it also felt slightly darker. I didn’t think the visuals offered a problematic decline but the 3D did come across as a bit weaker than its 2D counterpart.

Because the 3D Frozen brought dazzling stereo effects, I expected Frozen II to follow suit. Alas, it made less impressive use of those elements.

Not that Frozen II never popped to life in this regard. With various environmental elements – snow, fire, wind – and some magic, the 3D presentation occasionally delivered impressive visual activity, and it came with a consistently positive sense of depth.

However, the 3D Frozen II simply felt more restrained than I anticipated. I think the 3D presentation made the movie more involving but it didn’t bring a great visual impression.

Note that Frozen II also can be found in a 4K UHD version. It added Atmos sound and improved visuals compared to both 2D and 3D Blu-rays.

This made the Frozen II 4K the most impressive rendition in terms of both picture and audio and probably the one I’d pick as the best option. If the 3D effects of Frozen II fared as well as those for Frozen, I’d select it, as the first film’s immersiveness actively improved the film.

I didn’t get the same vibe from the 3D of Frozen II. For anyone who can watch 3D Blu-rays but not 4K UHD discs, I’d opt for this 3D version but if 4K UHD exists as an option, that’s the best choice.

Given the movie’s success, the roster of extras feels skimpy. A collection of Outtakes spans two minutes, 26 seconds and shows silliness with the actors during the recording sessions. It’s typical blooper stuff, though the studio setting offers a twist.

A few featurettes follow, and Did You Know??? brings a four-minute, 27-second reel. Here we find trivia tidbits about Frozen II. Expect a brisk and fairly informative little piece.

The Spirits of Frozen II lasts 12 minutes, two seconds and provides comments from director/screenwriter Jennifer Lee, director Chris Buck, animation supervisor Trent Corey, character art director Bill Schwab, heads of effects animation Marlon West and Dale Mayeda, and actors Kristen Bell, Evan Rachel Wood, Sterling K. Brown, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, and Idina Menzel.

“Spirits” looks at new characters, animation and related elements. This doesn’t become a deep program, but it adds some good information.

Next comes Scoring a Sequel, a three-minute, 49-second clip with executive music producer Tom MacDougall and composer Christophe Beck. They give us a quick look at the movie’s music. Expect some decent insights, but “Scoring” is way too short to tell us much.

Five Deleted Scenes fill a total of 17 minutes, 58 seconds, including intros from Lee and Buck. They provide notes about the sequences, though they don’t always let us know why the material didn’t make the final cut.

As for the scenes themselves, they add a little to character elements. Outside of one in which Kristoff reveals his feelings, none of them seem especially memorable or significant, though.

We also locate two Deleted Songs: “Home” (4:22) and “I Wanna Get This Right” (6:24). Those running times also contain intros from Lee and Buck. They give us useful details.

“Home” offers Elsa’s ode to Arendelle, while “Right” shows another attempt by Kristoff to deal with his proposal. “Home” feels superfluous, and “Lost in the Woods” provides a better Kristoff tune.

Under Gale Tests, we see two clips: “Gale Test” (3:01) and “Hand Drawn Gale Test” (0:55). Along with more intros from Lee and Buck, we see early attempts to depict wind on screen. This turns into a fun examination.

A multilanguage reel presents ”Into the Unknown” in 29 Languages. This runs three minutes, seven seconds, and indeed lets us hear a line or two of 29 different renditions of the song. While interesting, why not use additional tracks to allow us to screen the entire song in each language?

We also get two Music Videos. We discover “Into the Unknown” from Panic! At the Disco and “Lost in the Woods” from Weezer.

I always expect Disney music videos to feature pretty teen Disney Channel stars, so these choices seem quirky, to say the least – and welcome. Both bands manage their own spins on the songs.

As for the videos, “Unknown” sticks with a pretty standard movie clip/lip-synch format, but “Woods” becomes more creative. It also features Kristen Bell, so it works much better than most.

If desired, one can view Frozen II via Sing Along with the Movie mode activated. This simply displays song lyrics at the appropriate times. Yawn.

The disc opens with ads for Onward and Mulan (2020). No trailer for Frozen II appears here.

Though the first film left me unenthusiastic, I hoped Frozen II would improve on the formula. Alas, it didn’t, as the sequel seemed generic and uninspired. The Blu-ray brings strong picture and audio but it lacks substantial bonus materials. Maybe Frozen III will enchant me but this one leaves me cold, even with some sporadically lively 3D visuals on this disc.