Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again: A Bigger Hit Than the First Mamma Mia!
October 10, 2018
By Subin Hong
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the sequel to Mamma Mia!, was released in South Korea on August 8, 2018.
The sequel has a greater reputation for its visual and composition than that of Mamma Mia! Its depiction of Donna and Sophie reminiscing of the time with her mother during the preparation of the reopening party at Donna’s hotel is widely cherished. Here are some spoilers for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
- Convergence of the past, present, and future
Several new faces appear in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. They tell stories of Donna and Sophie’s three fathers. Donna said, “Life is short and the world is wide, I want to make wonderful memories!” as she went for a world trip in her young years. Donna’s memories and secrets about Sophie’s three fathers, whom Donna met on her travel, blend well with the present main characters. Also, when Sophie gives a birth to her child, she reminisces of her mother. This scene also depicts the past. The audience experiences the past, present, and future simultaneously as Sophie journeys forward at a city where Donna’s memories and traces remain.
- Beautiful harmony between old and new songs
In the prequel, ABBA played songs with dynamic and cheerful nuance such as “Super Trouper” and “Mamma Mia.” However, in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the songs from the first film are instrumentalized to show more flux of emotions. Examples are “Andante, Andante,” “One of Us,” and “My Love, My Life.” The vigor of young Donna is exceptionally expressed through “When I Kissed the Teacher,” which is played in the beginning of the film. When ABBA’s hit song “Dancing Queen” plays at the scene in which everyone dances and sings, the audience recalls a similar setting from the prequel.
- Life lessons
Sophie, who is now the same age as her mother Donna in younger years, understands her mother’s perspective. Donna’s death leads Sophie to mature and get used to experiencing pain. This scene probably helped many mother-and-daughter viewers to be empathetic towards each other. Furthermore, when Sophie and Donna’s friends sing I’ve been waiting for you, the audience sees Sophie remembering her mother.
Meryl Strip has little screen time in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. However, she definitely was a character. “Super Trouper,” the last song at the curtain call, featured young actors, former actors, and Meryl Strip. The audience smiled at the sparkling visuals and the singing of actors.
Mamma Mia! was released on September 3, 2018. The cast includes Alexander Meryl Strip as Donna, Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael, Colin Firth as Harry Bright, Stellan Skarsgard as Bill Andersons, and Amanda Seyfried as Sophie.
ABBA, pop group, created the song, Mamma Mia!, at London in 1999. The world crowns this musical nowadays. Mamma Mia! is about a story of Sophie who lives with her mother, Donna, in a small island in Greece. Right before Sophie’s wedding, she finds out about her three fathers from her mother’s diary and invites them to her wedding. The film ends with Sophie connecting with her fathers and moving on to the world to find the true happiness.
