Frozen 2 completely smashed its predecessor's box office records and upped the animation quality. However, it was a worse movie than Frozen when it came to its actual plot. Frozen 2 continues the adventures of Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven in a story that is essentially an extension of Elsa's journey from the first movie to find herself.
Frozen 2 features a number of independent storylines, such as the mysterious backstory of Elsa and Anna's family, Elsa's journey to find the fifth spirit, and Kristoff building up the courage to propose to Anna. The movie's gorgeous animation made the hodgepodge of storylines a visual spectacle, but the movie still felt disjointed in comparison to the first, and the lack of a cohesive plot kept Frozen 2 from reaching the same heights as Frozen's sweet story of sisterly and self-love.
For better or worse, Frozen 2's story seems to have been built around its big visual setpieces. The sequel came six years after the original, and animation software made major strides in the interim. New and improved tools allowed animators to up the quality of small details; in Frozen 2, 3D jewels, stitching, and threads were visible on the sisters' dresses. Frozen 2's animators also borrowed from advancements made in conjunction with Moana's release that allowed for improvements in characters' hair and movement. The Frozen 2 team also made new strides in animation when they created their own tools to get some challenging new characters right.
The challenge paid off, as Elsa's search for the truth about her powers brought about some of the most stunning animation Disney has produced to date. A combination of new detail-oriented animation software and months of studying real-life elements allowed the team to produce the breathtaking ethereal characters of Nokk and Gale. The colors, details, and the way the magical spirits interact with Elsa are near hypnotic - but not enough to distract from the flat story. Software advances rapidly, so there was undoubtedly some pressure for the Frozen 2 team to top the animation in Frozen. The team succeeded, but the story suffered.
At its core, Frozen is a focused story about sisterly love and self-discovery. Frozen 2 went big with its animation, and tried to go too big with its story, pulling together restless forest spirits, the troubles history of Arendelle, and the mystery of what happened to Elsa and Anna's parents (poor Kristoff's big song comes across like a meta-comment on how the story doesn't have room for him). Because of this, Frozen 2 lost the grounded plot that Frozen had, ultimately making Frozen 2 a disappointment. Frozen 2's animation definitely deserves praise, but ultimately Frozen is still the better movie.