Today’s the day! Frozen 2 is finally here on Blu-ray! While the sequel is on par with the original, do the bonus features likewise stack up? This Frozen 2 Blu-ray review breaks it all down!
Bonus Features ★★★1/2
The Frozen 2 Blu-ray release shows up with all the standard features you would expect–deleted scenes, deleted songs, outtakes, music videos, a mini making-of documentary, and outtakes, to name a few. All the bonus features included on the Blu-ray are included in the Digital HD release; however, the digital release does have two extra bonuses, which tip the scales in the digital’s favor.
It is a shame (but no surprise) that the feature-length documentary ‘Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen II‘ isn’t included in this release, but it seems obvious that Disney is saving it as an exclusive release for when Frozen 2 eventually hits its streaming service Disney+.
Most notably missing is the coveted director/filmmakers’ commentary, which seems to have been phased out in recent years. It’s a shame because they’re fairly straightforward to put together (sit down, watch movie, talk about the making of said movie). We know the directors, Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, were brought back together to record the introductions to many of the bonus features, so it’s a head scratcher why they couldn’t carve out a few more hours to record the director’s commentary. Whatever the reason, the Frozen 2 director’s commentary is missed and would have been a real treat.
Blu-ray & Digital
- Sing-Along Version of the Movie: Since the film was re-released in theaters in sing-along form, it only makes sense to include it as a bonus feature since all the heavy lifting was already done. And since we know every little girl, boy, and (let’s be honest) adult already belts the lyrics to all the songs every time they watch, this bonus feature turns the movie turns your living room into a bonafide karaoke bar.
- Song Selection: If you have a favorite song sequence that you want to watch over and over, this feature allows you to skip directly to your favorite songs. Songs include “Into The Unknown,” “All Is Found,” “Some Things Never Change,” “When I Am Older,” “Lost in the Woods,” “Show Yourself,” and “The Next Right Thing”.
- Outtakes: Rapid fire outtakes from the Frozen 2 recording sessions. Watch Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad as they flub or take liberties with their lines.
- Deleted Scenes: Introduced by directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, we learn about some of their favorite scenes that didn’t make the final cut of the film. ‘Prologue’ shows one of the “5000” prologue variations they explored, of the many different prologues; in the ‘Secret Room’, the sisters discover a secret room and discover shocking information about their mother and father; ‘Elsa’s Dream’ is a predecessor to “Into the Unknown”; ‘Hard Nokks’ lets us see if Kristoff can handle riding the Nokk; and in ‘A Place of Our Own’, Elsa Elsa uses her magic to relieve Anna’s lingering doubts about their parents’ faith in her.
- Deleted Songs: The music of Frozen, brought to life by the songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, is arguably the best part of the franchise. So these deleted songs, introduced by the directors and complete with animatic (storyboards in motion) are a real treat. The Anna ballad “Home” is good but was ultimately replaced by “Some Things Never Change”, which incorporated more characters. However, it’s the Kristoff/Anna duet, “I Wanna Get This Right” that steals the show. It’s rare when the deleted songs are better than the ones left in the film, but this song is definitely one of them.
- The Spirits of “Frozen 2”: This 12-minute featurette includes interviews from various the directors and voice actors and explores the the Scandinavian and Nordic mythology that inspired the spirits inhabiting the enchanted forest of Frozen 2. We dig deep into each of the four spirits, which is needed since there were a lot of unanswered questions about these elements.
- Did You Know???: Learn a bunch of fun facts, Easter eggs, and tidbits about the making of the film as Olaf asks us the question “Did You Know”.
- Scoring a Sequel: Composer Christophe Beck combines a 91-piece orchestra with 30 choral voices to create the compelling score for Frozen 2. He discusses how he used woodwinds to reflect the wind elements or how he was able to use the instruments to create a raindrop effect.
- Gale Tests: Introduced by directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, we learn about the challenge the wind spirit Gale presented, specifically how to visualize the wind. The “Gale Test” may look familiar to many keen-eyed Frozen fans, as it’s fully rendered CGI footage of young King Agnar and Queen Iduna playing with Gale was included in the film’s promotional material, but was never in the final film. We also get a brief 2D animation test of Gale that brings the wind spirit to life.
- Multi-Language Reel: A bonus feature that was popular for the first Frozen release is brought back for the sequel. Watch Elsa sing “Into the Unknown” in 29 languages, complete with the film visuals.
- Music Videos: The music video bonus features are always throwaway for me; however, this time, they actually piqued my interest. Panic At The Disco’s “Into the Unknown” isn’t anything special (other than Brendon Urie’s incredible vocals) and contrasts shots of Elsa attempting to cross the Dark Sea with Urie singing on stage. But it’s Weezer’s “Lost in the Woods”, which steals the show! The music video recreates Kristoff’s epic power ballad scene by scene and is hilarious to witness this already over-the-top scene in real life.
Digital Exclusives
- Meet the Lopezes: The husband-and-wife songwriting duo, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, walk us through their songwriting process. The way this featurette is put together is interesting, as it features voiceovers from the two and is accompanied by photos, videos, and storyboards from production, along with a few newly created storyboards of the Lopezes, which is a fun way to visualize their Frozen 2 journey. You also learn the fun fact that Robert Lopez does a killer Josh Gad/Olaf impression and serves as the snowman’s temp voice until Josh Gad comes in.
- Deleted Song – “Unmeltable Me”: – Turns out the Olaf’s flurry from the end of the first film was such a pain for the animating team, so this song was meant for Olaf to explain his new permafrost, but ultimately wasn’t needed.
Final Thoughts
Frozen 2 is the highest grossing animated film of all time so you would think Disney would pull out all the stops for its Blu-ray release. However, like its predecessor, Frozen, it seems that Disney has kept the status quo for the Frozen 2 Blu-ray and the bonus features are good, but not out-of-this-world great.
Purchase Frozen 2 Blu-ray
- Amazon: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD | Digital HD | Rent
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An advance copy of the Frozen 2 Blu-ray was provided by Disney.
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