The long-awaited arrival of Disney’s newest blockbuster film Frozen 2 has finally come. The film was released in theaters across the country Friday, Nov. 22, and it was an instant success. Through the first day of the release, the film grossed around $100 million worldwide with about $42 million coming from the U.S. and Canada.

Cade Pestrue shared, “It was honestly the greatest movie I’ve ever seen in my life.”

The movie takes place three years after the events of the prequel Frozen, which came out in 2013. The film opens with a scene depicting Anna and Elsa as children as their parents tell them a story about a mystical forest and the kingdom inside. It then turns to present-day where Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven are happily residing in their kingdom of Arendelle. Then it’s revealed that Elsa has been hearing a mysterious voice call out to her from far away, and she accidentally awakens some sort of elemental spirit. This causes the whole kingdom to evacuate. 

Elsa decides she must go on a journey to discover the meaning of the call, and the group, (primarily Anna), refuses to let her go by herself into the unknown forest with strange spirits. The movie is filled with lots of action and comedy along with beautiful animation. Frozen 2 is an incredible story of Elsa and Anna finding out more about their family’s past, and it is definitely a success of a sequel.

Carter Murphy stated, “I thought the movie was great overall. It tied very well to the first movie and had many amazing features. My favorite part about it was all the crazy animations when Elsa was going ‘super saiyan.’”

The film has a fairly positive reception from fans and critics alike. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an approval rating of 75%, while CinemaScore gave it an “A-” based on audience polls. Additionally, PostTrak handed Frozen 2 an average score of 4.5/5. The film has an overwhelmingly happy response from audiences but also had a good response from critics.

Logan Abell shared, “Frozen 2 was a life-altering movie experience. It opened my eyes to what the true beauty of nature can be and the importance of nature in our very own world. Overall, [it was] an 11/10 movie, and I would recommend all ages to go watch this incredible work of film.”

A group of St. Louis students, including Pestrue, Murphy, and Abell, went on opening night to see the movie as well. One of the participants, Luke Maxwell, said, “It was kind of weird at first standing in line for a Disney princess movie with a bunch of high school guys, but it was definitely a high school experience I will always remember.”

Overall, Frozen 2 was a monumental hit in theaters worldwide, and it broke barriers for the success of sequels. Audience and critic response was positive, and it is definitely a movie worth watching.