Life

Marie Louise McConville: Fantastic Frozen II brings magic, fun and excitement

Frozen II, which was released last week, took more than £270 million in the worldwide box office over its opening three days. Picture: PA Photo/Disney
Frozen II, which was released last week, took more than £270 million in the worldwide box office over its opening three days. Picture: PA Photo/Disney Frozen II, which was released last week, took more than £270 million in the worldwide box office over its opening three days. Picture: PA Photo/Disney

It had been a long time coming - six years in fact - but my goodness, it was worth the wait and more.

Unless you have been living on the moon, you will all be aware that Frozen II arrived in cinemas last weekend, taking more than £270m worldwide in its opening three days at the box office - unsurprising really, given how brilliant it is.

Controversially, I'd go so far as to say I think the second instalment is better than the first.

Released in 2013, the original Frozen told the story of newly-crowned Queen Elsa who accidentally uses her special powers to turn things into ice, which curses her home kingdom sending it into infinite winter. In a bid to save her and save Arendelle, her sister Princess Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to try and change the weather back.

The film also featured the popular song `Let It Go', which now dements millions of parents around the world

Frozen II, which is set three years later, transports us back to beautiful Arendelle where we find Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf embarking on a treacherous journey far beyond their kingdom to discover the origin of Elsa's magical powers.

As a mother of a four-year-old daughter who is Frozen mad, we had pre-booked our seats for the sequel along with her two best friends and us three mummies.

With our trio of very excited little girls dressed up in their Elsa costumes, we arrived at the cinema to a Frozen frenzy and on taking our seats, a silence fell around the packed cinema as the opening credits appeared and immediately, Abbie, Eden and Rose were engrossed in the magic.

The new song `Into The Unknown' is a real belter and the movie was packed with so much drama.

There were also some real life lessons for our little ones too including the importance of always being yourself and how sometimes that can mean being brave despite our fears.

Abbie, Eden and Rose left the cinema singing the song - despite only knowing three words - and the happiness and smiles on their faces spoke volumes.

I've read some negative reviews of the movie oover the last few days, saying it isn't a patch on the first.

I've also noted that these have been written by middle aged men - who are not the target audience, let's face it.

If you're debating whether to take the kids to see Frozen II, debate no more, just do it.

It is full of excitement, fun, fantasy and most of all, magic.

Great job Disney. Now, any chance of a third?

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The festive countdown is officially on and as we all know, tis the season to think of others so why not support the NSPCC, which has launched a fantastic Christmas initiative this year.

The charity can help you tailor a fantastic personalised letter from Santa to your child and there are eight fun designs to choose from including Reindeer Flying Practice, Christmas Disco and Elves are Ready to Go.

For every Letter from Santa, a donation of £5 is suggested and all funds will go towards funding the work of the NSPCC.

Check out the details at www.nspcc.org.uk

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Competition

The party season is in full swing so how to do fancy winning a trip to the panto?

Irish singing legend Rose Marie is set to lead a stellar cast from Apollo Arts in The Crescent’s first ever panto, Aladdin,

The internationally acclaimed singer and actress, who will play `The Genie’, will be joined by award-winning TV and radio host Robin Elliott and Downtown stalwart Kevin McAllister.

Gail Jones, marketing officer for The Crescent, located at University Road in Belfast, said: "We are confident that Apollo Arts, whom we have worked with on numerous occasions, will pull out all stops to put on an awe-inspiring production that will get the whole family in the Christmas mood.”.

Tickets for Aladdin, which runs from December 17 to December 22, are available from The Crescent online at www.crescentarts.org or by calling 028 90242338.

I have one family pass – for up to six people – for Aladdin at The Crescent to give away.

If you fancy winning the pass, simply email your name, address and telephone number – along with the answer to the question below – to competitions@irishnews.com

Closing date for entries is 12Noon on Tuesday, December 3, 2019

(Q) Name the singer who plays `The Genie’ in the upcoming Aladdin panto at The Crescent

Normal Irish News Rules Apply

The winner of the Fitzwilliam Hotel competition is Michael Deighan, from Belfast