At the end of Frozen, the sisters Anna and Elsa had finally joined forces to take back their home of Arendelle, preparing to live their happily ever after. But what happens next?
This is the question that Frozen 2 asks, as we follow Anna and Elsa when Arrendelle is destroyed and the sisters find themselves journeying into an enchanted forest alongside Anna’s love interest Kristoff, Kristoff’s beloved reindeer Sven, and the walking and talking snowman Olaf. The sisters discover the deeper mythology of Arendelle and answer some of the biggest questions of Frozen. How does Elsa have powers? Do other people? Will Kristoff and Anna stay together? And many many more.
In anticipation of Frozen 2, Blackfilm.com, among other journalists, visited with the filmmakers at the Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, and we learned quite a lot about the upcoming sequel. There, we learned some of the answers to these questions, as well as providing an amazing look at the world of Frozen 2. From people in specific departments to filmmakers Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, we spoke with many of the people behind Arendelle’s newest story.
25 THINGS WE LEARNED:
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Three Years Have Passed Since Frozen
A lot has changed since the first Frozen, including that Kristoff and Anna are far further along in their relationship, and that Elsa is officially the queen of Arendelle. But of course, that doesn’t mean that everything is great for the people of Arendelle, and Elsa quickly discovers some small strange things happening in the town, such as a singing voice she can’t get out of her head.
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A Research Trip to Norway Inspired Most of the Film’s Look
Throughout the day we learned about how influential the trips to Norway taken by the crew of the film were to designing the look of Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest. Not only is the look inspired by Scandinavia, though. The mythology of the film is also taken from the history and background of those nations.
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There are SEVEN New Songs
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez have returned to the Frozen world with seven new songs. These include songs for Jonathan Groff (“Kristoff”) and two new songs for Idina Menzel, one of which we got a chance to hear. Needless to say, getting the team behind “Let It Go” together again is going to result in some new songs for everyone to love.
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Evan Rachel Wood Takes On the Role of Anna and Elsa’s Mother
Evan Rachel Wood enters the world of Frozen as the girls’ mother and the former queen of Arendelle. The question is raised about what happened to the parents of Anna and Elsa in the first movie, and we are promised a number of new stories. We even got to hear Wood sing a lullaby to a young Anna and Elsa. Fun fact: Evan Rachel Wood replaces another actress from the first film in the role: Director Jennifer Lee herself!
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Sterling K. Brown Joins the Film as Matthias, a Soldier Trapped in the Enchanted Forest
The great Sterling K. Brown co-stars as a man who is trapped in the forest when Elsa and Anna arrive. We didn’t learn much more about Matthias, but needless to say, we’re excited.
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The Four Elements are Key to the Story
When Elsa realizes that something is happening to Arendelle, she discovers it ties into the elements of water, earth, fire, and air. That includes specific creatures that are a part of each of these elements, and some very cool special effects as well.
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Olaf Can Survive in the Summer Now
Considering how enough years have passed between Frozen and Frozen 2, Olaf clearly can live outside of the snow. He does that with a coat of permafrost that Elsa has made for him, giving him a new design overall. He also is matured more from the first movie, a lot smarter… kind of.
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What Happened to Elsa and Anna’s Parents, anyways?
We learned that the origin of the Enchanted Forest reaches back to the origins of Arendelle, as Elsa and Anna’s father tells them a story about his time in the forest in an opening flashback. After Evan Rachel Wood as the girl’s mother sings a lullaby, we continue on, left with the curiosity over just what happened on that boat at the start of Frozen.
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Love Is in the Air
While Elsa doesn’t have any love interests in the film, Anna and Kristoff are still going strong. In fact, we see that Kristoff has a ring that he is prepared to give Anna… if he can find the right moment.
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Elsa’s Song “Into the Unknown” Will Live Forever
Elsa gets distracted after a family game night between Olaf, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff. But when the voice in her head doesn’t go away, she starts to track it out of her home, singing the song “Into the Unknown” all the while. It is an amazing song, and you can bet that people will be singing it for years to come.
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What’s Happened to Arendelle?
After Elsa sings her song, she seems to accidentally activate something magical, resulting in Arendelle being nearly destroyed. But what is this magic and why does it seem to exist before even Elsa arrives?
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Olaf Gets Another Song
In the Enchanted Forest, we got our third and final song of the day, with Olaf singing about how he has grown up enough… but maybe he is allowed to be scared of the spooky things in the middle of the forest.
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Anna and Elsa’s Relationship is Still the Core of the Film
Anna and Elsa’s relationship was the center of Frozen, and that is how Frozen 2 seems to be looking as well. What is the bond between Anna and Elsa, and what makes them similar and different? These are the questions that are brought up throughout Frozen 2, and as the women have grown older it has become clear just how much has changed.
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Redesigning Anna and Elsa
After three years within the film have passed, what has changed for the two women at the film’s center? For one, they have new costumes and styles. Elsa keeps most of her look, but Anna now has a much more autumnal and mature in her appearance.
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Borrowing from Modern Dance for Elsa’s Design
For both her movements when creating ice and snow to the costumes that she wears, Elsa is designed in Frozen 2 to look like a graceful modern dancer, with direct inspiration from the choreography of Martha Graham. They also looked at characters like Frozone from The Incredibles and decided to do a completely different design of how the characters move.
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The Enchanted Forest Is Inspired by Real Norwegian Forestry
All of the vegetation in the Enchanted Forest is inspired by real Norwegian trees and plants, to the point that the team hired a Norwegian botanist to check the work of the filmmakers.
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There Is a VR Arendelle and Enchanted Forest to Explore
Only for the use of people at Disney Animation Studios, there is a complete VR world that can be explored that was designed by the set designers of Frozen 2. It allowed for understanding how to place visual angles, to make sure that everything fits, and more.
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The Earth Giants Are Coming
To represent the element of earth, giant rock monsters have been designed to look as realistic as possible. Borrowing from the design of the trolls in Frozen, they are massive creatures that seem designed to scare.
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Prepare to Meet Bruni the Salamander!
A cute little salamander, we saw Bruni in tests as he crawls around and stares with his googly-eyes. We didn’t learn much more about it, but needless to say, something this adorable won’t be forgettable.
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Gale, the Wind Spirit, Was the Hardest Character to Design
How do you design a character without a body? That was the problem with making Gale, a character that is the wind incarnate. She is represented by wisps of air flying around the characters, able to interact with the leaves on trees and the clothing on the characters. It is a wonder to see, but it certainly is easy to imagine how hard designing Gale was.
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The Dark Sea…
One of the scariest looks of the film comes from the design of the Dark Sea, which is where we find Elsa as she attempts to use her ice powers against the elements. The waves look massive and powerful, and it is a thrilling and almost scary scene. You can see clips of it in the trailer, but there is more to the Dark Sea than we might realize…
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Nokk, the Water Horse
Nokk is the watery equivalent of Gale and the Earth Giants, a horse made of water that flies through the ocean at a massive speed. As Nokk confronts a submerged Elsa in the dark sea, there is a real sense of tension. But Nokk is one of the best-designed new characters we saw in the footage.
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Learning How to Make a Horse
To design Nokk, they used real horses in order to examine the motion of what Nokk should look like. And it pays off because you will be amazed at just how good Nokk looks. He moves and acts like a real horse, and even the lighting is amazing on how the water flows
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How the Songs Fit into the Movie
“Into the Unknown” is likely to be one of the biggest songs in the film, and for good reason. We learned about how Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez write the songs for the film, and how their recording sessions go.
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Choreographing the Music
From the effects to the character design, the music and the motion gets perfectly choreographed onto the film. It looks just great, and Elsa’s movement during “Into the Unknown” is fully beautiful.
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