For Frozen, we had created these two characters, these sisters.
I get caught up in them and emotional because they feel... they feel real to me.
They feel like family. That's part of what drives us.
It was such a complicated process to make Frozen,
and we were so thrilled and surprised about the reception.
So now for Frozen II, there's a sense of responsibility
and a lot of pressure and a lot of high expectations.
The funny thing about this is it was not scary to dive back in.
It got scarier and scarier and scarier as you go along.
I guess you can say we're going into the unknown.
[Lee] "It was the first snow of the season.
As soon as night fell, I made an excuse to go to bed early
and slipped out into the fjords.
Nature's snow is more beautiful than mine could ever be."
This is long before a screenplay.
I was trying to ground myself in Elsa, and so I started to write
as her, um, a journal.
And then Chris would read it and be inspired, and he would do drawings.
Chris Buck is my directing partner on Frozen I, and we're back together again.
He's an incredible director and has been, in some ways, a mentor to me.
She comes from a writing background.
I come from drawing and animation and that background.
So we have very different skill sets, but I think it helps.
You kind of see Chris Buck as Elsa, and me as Elsa.
One's words and one is drawings.
[Lee] We've been working on this film for over three years.
There is still so much to do.
It's probably the toughest time of production, is a year out.
It's when all the balls are up in the air, and the balls start falling.
[chuckles, imitates crashing]
Every three months or so, we screen the film for our fellow directors.
People who are not on our movie,
but they have directed Oscar-winning animated films,
like Big Hero 6 and Zootopia.
And they give us notes and feedback, and they don't hold back on hard notes.
Sort of feels like you're getting punched,
but it makes you think smarter each time.
-Good to see you. -Good to see you.
[Lee] Bobby and Kristen Lopez are the songwriters for Frozen I.
Yes, they did "Let It Go." Oscar winners.
They're an incredible team. They're husband and wife.
We could not have done Frozen I without them,
and we can't do Frozen II without them. So they're back.
The screening cycles are basically like building giant cities out of Legos.
And then they take baseball bats to each building,
and then you rebuild it in another three months.
So you have to be open and careful and resilient.
Yeah. All right.
Just remember,
by this afternoon it'll feel like the whole movie's been thrown out.
By Thursday, Friday, we'll realize it's not as bad, and things will be great.
[Lee] Peter Del Vecho is our producer. He produced Frozen I.
And what he does, he keeps us moving forward creatively,
and makes sure that we meet our deadlines
and actually get this film out on time and on budget.
I don't think there's been more pressure on any Disney animated film than this one.
[audience cheering, applause]
So just basically where we're at. When we come back in the new year,
we'll have about six months left in animation,
about nine months until we're done.
As if there weren't enough pressure on ourselves today,
we've also started to do a docuseries.
There will be an individual camera on each one of you.
-[audience laughs] -So there's one.
So we're gonna catch all of that.
If you wanna make the final cut, please laugh or cry appropriately.
[audience laughs]
-Thank you. Enjoy. -Here you go. Thank you.
[Buck] A lot of the times, you're showing a screening that is really, sort of,
piecemeal and patchwork of all these different styles.
[Elsa] ♪ Into the unknown... ♪
[Buck] Sometimes we'll still have just storyboards.
Sometimes there will be rough animation in it.
And then we have this meeting after called the Story Trust,
which is all the directors and actual writers who are with us at the time.
-Our first screening, right? -Yeah.
-That was cool. -[Lee] The Story Trust is
one of the most important things to us.
It can be pretty intense, the feedback, but everyone's here to help the film.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Today is about, we just wanna hear your reactions and your thoughts.
Everything seemed to be building to really amazing, fantastic, compelling answers.
I just, uh, just wanted some clarity on the answers.
[Lee] What normally happens in the earlier stages
is everything is just what's not working.
We were watching her spiral into a darkness that we couldn't even comprehend.
In the end, Elsa is-- What is she actually becoming?
[Lee] And you feel like your film's torn apart.
I found it strange Elsa didn't reveal to Anna she's hearing this voice calling.
I was confused, and there were just things that didn't quite land to me.
I felt like I had to take notes to understand what was going on.
[Lee] You feel very exposed and very vulnerable,
and you're left with it in pieces going, "How am I gonna pick this up?"
We have to make a decision, uh, about whether it's a magical river,
-or there's a magical person calling her. -[Buck] Right.
I think when the song will be glorious to me, it's a glorious song,
but when we've earned it is when we're scared out of our mind,
but we can't help but be seduced with her.
The takeaway is that we still have a lot of work left.
It's confusing, sometimes too dark,
and some of the songs, especially "Show Yourself,"
still needs a lot of work.
There is a lot of other work that needs to be done.
I think we're out of time.
-Any more notes... -It's gonna be so fun.
...you can send me would be great. Thanks.
[Lee] Not too long ago,
I took on the role of Chief Creative Officer for Disney Animation,
as well as being one of the directors and writers of Frozen.
I oversee the creative for all of the films we're working on.
So what happened is now my time gets divided a little bit,
and as I'm supporting the other films,
-I'm still finishing a film. -So, more of a squeak, right?
-It was a squeak before. -Yeah.
It went-- It went-- It went [whoosh] and then...
This is definitely the moment of just hang in there.
Maybe we have one song left to write or maybe we have five.
It's still a question of whether this movie works.
It's getting tighter every day.
[Olaf] Anna, does everything always have to change?
[Lopez] So we write a song called, "Some Things Never Change,"
where Olaf brings up the idea of is everything gonna change.
[Anna] ♪ Some things never change ♪
♪ Like the feel of your hand in mine ♪
[Lopez] The way we had the song ending
was we imagined that Anna would bring everyone home,
get everyone into the castle, and the last shot would be her closing the door.
She's doing-- You know, the secondary hook of the song is,
"I'm holding on tight to you," and that's how it ends with them.
[Elsa, Kristoff] ♪ Some things never change ♪
[Anna] ♪ And I'm holding on tight to you ♪
That's Anna.
[Elsa] ♪ Holding on tight... ♪
[Lopez] Elsa. Olaf.
Kristoff. Everyone goes in,
and then she lingers by the door for a second and goes...
[Anna] ♪ I'm holding on tight to you ♪
Closing the door and starting the next scene.
So, this morning, I was sitting at the piano
wondering what a good ending for it would be,
and right now I'm going to play the last chord.
[Anna] ♪ I'm holding on tight to you ♪
[playing melody on piano]
-I'm gonna do it one more time. -I figured out what I'm reacting to.
-It comes in a little too late. -I also think Anna is returning the--
My take was supposed to be when she was all alone and looking wistful.
-Right. -So I think we need to go up.
We need to take the tempo up and go,
♪ I'm holding on tight to you ♪
And then it's in time.
♪ Do do do do do ♪
I usually stand right here.
Are you thinking that it would be like this, like...
[Elsa] ♪ Some things never change ♪
[Anna] ♪ And I'm holding on tight to you ♪
[Elsa, Kristoff] ♪ Holding on tight to you ♪
[Olaf] ♪ Holding on tight to you ♪
[Kristoff] ♪ Holding on tight to you Holding on tight to you ♪
-No? What would you put? -No. A little bit more of a--
I would just make her not quite as wistful, but the same kind of timing.
[Anna] ♪ Some things never change ♪
♪ And I'm holding on tight to you ♪
[Elsa, Kristoff] ♪ Holding on tight to you ♪
[Olaf] ♪ Holding on tight to you ♪
[Kristoff] ♪ Holding on tight to you ♪
♪ I'm holding on tight to you ♪
Bobby and Kristen, they understand music in an emotional way that I--
It's not what I do. And I know filmmaking and I know structure, story structure.
It's almost like they're two different languages
that when they speak together, it's beautiful.
But to get them to speak together takes an extraordinary amount of work.
Last night, Bobby and Kristen, our songwriters,
came into town for a recording session.
-Hi, everybody. -Hi!
[Del Vecho] And they're gonna be actually recording "Some Things Never Change."
Bringing in Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell and also Josh Gad.
We'll also be recording Jonathan from New York.
And let's do it. Let's go in.
Today is sort of the fun part,
where we get the magic to come alive by watching what the cast brings to the song.
Yeah. Rock on!
We didn't know what we had with "Let It Go."
We didn't know what we had with Frozen.
I mean, I knew I was part of a Disney musical, animated movie,
which for me was a huge milestone.
But we didn't know that it would resonate on such a level that it did.
Oh, she can't hear.
[Menzel] ♪ Na, na, na, na, na, na... ♪
Oh, there we go.
♪ Time's moving Time's moving fast, it's true ♪
♪ May, may, may, may, may, may, may ♪
[Kriger] Now, nod your head "Yes," like you're saying, "Yes."
♪ May, may, may, may, may, may, may ♪
♪ Some things are always true ♪
When we get back to this, it straightens out again.
♪ Some things are always-- ♪ ♪ Some things are always true... ♪
♪ Some things are always... ♪
I think some of the best projects
are the ones that have this, sort of, creative pixie dust on it.
I think that's part of the magic of Frozen I.
So getting to have the same team back together again was just so joyful.
Hey, Kristen. How are your headphones sounding?
Good, I just found my-- I just wanted the, uh, background up and I found it.
[Andrew] All set?
-[Anderson-Lopez] The difference between, -[Lee] Stop it.
"Like how we get along just fine, like an old stone wall."
Can you really hit, "Never fall"? Like that wall is never gonna fall.
Yeah.
"Some things are always true." Your beautiful high note,
and then a different energy on, "Some things."
Like, bring it down again to an intimate place.
♪ Some things Some things never change ♪
♪ Like how I'm holding on tight to-- ♪
♪ Like how I'm holding on tight to you ♪
♪ But for all the world is changing There are certain certainties ♪
♪ Yes, some things never change ♪
♪ Like the feel of your hand in mine ♪
♪ Some things stay the same ♪
♪ Like how we get along just fine ♪
♪ Like an old stone wall That'll never fall ♪
♪ Some things are always true ♪
♪ Some things never change ♪
♪ Like how I'm holding on tight to you ♪
-Nice. -That's the take to use, you guys.
-That was great. -That's the take. That was gorgeous.
That was it.
♪ I don't want a thing to change at all At all ♪
♪ I don't want a thing to change at all ♪
♪ These days are precious ♪
-You good with that, Idina? -Yeah.
All right. Here it comes.
♪ The winds are changing ♪
♪ Could that be why I'm hearing this call? ♪
♪ Is something coming? ♪
♪ 'Cause I do not want things To change at all ♪
♪ These days are precious ♪
♪ Can't let them slip away ♪
♪ I can't freeze this moment ♪
♪ But I can still go out And seize this day ♪
Can I punch that "day?"
It's a little under, which is-- I just need to get a better "day." But the rest--
-We have so many good "days" though. -Okay.
What I loved that you found was,
"Seize this." You've solved that problem.
-Andrew, are we covered for everything? -Yeah.
-Great. -We are covered.
Let's move on to the chorus.
I'm not gonna lie that doing the stupid dance helps feel the swing.
♪ Some things never change ♪
♪ Turn around and the time has flown ♪
♪ Some things stay the same ♪
♪ Though the future remains unknown ♪
♪ May our good luck last May our past be past ♪
♪ Time's moving fast it's-- ♪
♪ It's true ♪
♪ Some things never change ♪
♪ And I'm holding on tight to you ♪
♪ Holding on tight to you ♪
-Really nice. Really nice. -[Lee] Beautiful.
[Anna] ♪ I'm holding on tight to you ♪
[door squeaks]
It's the mouth we've-- Like you were saying, like the--
If you could modulate within that,
-you know, so... -Mm-hmm.
♪ Ah ♪
[man] Mm-hmm.
I am an animation supervisor on Frozen.
The animators are like the actors, and we move around a digital puppet.
And each of those characters, they have hundreds of controls in them,
and the animators give the life to the character in the performance.
And that's like a magic trick.
Wha--
Like, she's reacting to this with the eyes.
And how's it's kinda this slow thing, like, "Oh, it's beautiful."
The supervising animator kinda shepherd that character.
You know, helping guide the animators on who the character is
and how the character would move.
Okay. Right. Well, let's do it.
There's maybe 70 animators, you know, all animating the one character.
So we wanna make sure that it feels consistent.
[Walters] It was just a hard angle
-to sell that movement. -Yeah.
All of the animation supervisors have a character that they are in charge of.
So Wayne is the lead on Elsa.
He was also the lead on Elsa in the first movie,
so he knows who she is as a character.
The look, where she's looking here and there.
[Walters] His attention to detail is incredible.
The reason why Elsa looks so beautiful in every frame
is because he knows her so well.
[Unten] We get to focus on this.
He's there to help me see the bigger picture
and help the directors also see where I'm coming from too if I have a concern.
[Lee] Animators, they're often shy people who shine through their art.
And so the best thing for me is how we, together,
talk about the characters, and you see them take ownership of the characters
the way an actor does.
And then they bring you back, uh, this living, breathing character.
-Good morning. Thanks. -All set.
-All right. Have a good day. -Good day.
[Walters] So Jenn is absolutely a role model to me.
I mean, it takes a really long time for change to happen, in any industry,
and I think Jenn is one of the pioneers of the industry,
when it comes to women in leadership.
I'm working on the finale of Elsa's first song in the movie.
It's called "Into the Unknown."
It's nerve-racking. I've never animated Elsa before.
Well, you caught me submitting to dailies.
Now I get to head out.
Dailies is when we show our shots to the directors.
And some water. [chuckles]
-[Buck] She made it. -[groans]
-Hello. -[woman] Hi, welcome to dailies.
[man 2] Next up, we've got Malerie. "Into the Unknown."
Hello. Hi.
All right. So we have, uh, first look for this one.
♪ How do I follow you ♪
♪ Into the unknown ♪
[Buck] Cool. I'm struggling a little bit with the jump,
the little leap in the middle of the...
-[Lee] The run. -[Buck] ...the run.
-[Walters] Mm-hmm. -[Buck] Um...
I'm not sure about the little steps at the end. [imitates climbing]
[Walters] Yeah.
The run feels, because of being broken up, it feels like there's a--
It makes it more timid and, um, fumbly.
I think the instinct's right, but I wonder if you could treat it like
she's gonna run off that, leap off that cliff.
The amount of work and time and care and love that goes into building a character
that is believable in that way to where you don't question it, is insane.
And it's those little things that make a difference.
Could she run and then... [whooshes]
-That would be cool. -You know, do a reach.
That would help me a lot 'cause then that slide,
at least I would feel like her making the ice is motivated.
-Yeah. -I think it's worth trying.
I think it's going to be tricky sliding on an incline that--
Yeah? Try it. Try it and see.
[Walters] Chris is super fun to work with.
And him and Jenn together, as a team, are just super thoughtful
and make you feel really comfortable around them.
[Lee] So that's why we gave you the easy shots.
I was just gonna say
-I have all the faith in you. -[laughs]
-[Lee] Thanks, Malerie. -Thank you so much.
[Lee] I think the concept of our characters all journeying into the unknown
was important to us. And that feeling in life where,
like, um, you have to dare to step out of your comfort zone and into the unknown.
For Elsa, that something is disrupting this happy world
that her sister helped her earn,
and she's trying to ignore it, like we all do.
And this song represents that tug-of-war.
[Walters] It's really cool to be working on something like this
where I maybe, almost, am putting too much pressure on myself
because I'm like, "I have to get it right.
I have to get it right. I have to get it right."
Because it's one of Elsa's songs,
and I know people are gonna be watching this sequence over and over again,
and kids are gonna be mimicking the actions that I do.
Jenn's overall note was that it was feeling a little too clumsy.
I actually had my boyfriend--
He was on a skateboard next to me, like, videotaping me
as I was running.
And then I animated her based on my reference.
So, you know, an average person probably couldn't be as graceful as Elsa.
So Jenn asked if, instead of leaping up onto this ledge,
if we could have her jump and slide up the edge.
I was like, "Wow. Okay, yeah. That could be really cool."
But then there's also the thought in your head of,
"I have no idea how I'm gonna make that work."
And I think that's where I kinda felt like this shh thing was cool
because if she was ice-skating up that ledge,
the way she would have to stop is by kinda doing that.
And so, thinking of her as being like an ice-skater in that moment helps.
It's actually crazy that,
you know, we work on these movies for like a year or two years,
and we finish the movie with only about a minute to two minutes of work
on the actual film to show for it.
So, we're in the theater with our family
and I had to smack my boyfriend's hand when my shot's on.
Like, "That was mine. Okay, it's gone." [laughs]
It's [chuckles] that quick, you know?
[laughs]
Sometimes, if the casts have time, they can come in,
and we get to ask them questions about how they see the character.
You know, it might be fun to actually just go to people's desks,
so you can see what they're actually working on right now.
Let's-- Yes.
They don't know.
Hi.
-Hello, guys. -[Walters] Hi.
-I have a special guest here. -[Menzel] Hi, guys.
-Oh, my gosh. -Good morning. Sorry to barge in on you.
-Hi. -Hi. How are you?
How are you?
-Good to see you. -Oh, my gosh.
It's so good to see you. Holy cow!
Malerie had done some work in "Into the Unknown."
Do you wanna show the...
Yes. Okay.
[Elsa] ♪ How... ♪
Sorry.
♪ How do I follow you ♪
♪ Into the unknown ♪
The shot was, like Wayne said, like an amalgamation of
-so many different people's ideas... -[Unten] Yeah.
...coming together to make this moment what it was.
Everyone was helping each other out. It was this really cool...
-Chicken and egg kind of thing. -...collaboration.
-It is beautiful. I'm very proud of it. -I feel very honored.
I'm very proud of your work.
-I'm very proud of-- I mean, come on. -[laughing]
It wouldn't even be possible without you, so...
-Teamwork, baby. -Right?
[Menzel] No, but I could never do what you're doing.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
-Have fun with the rest of your day. -Okay.
I am actually laying my voice down for a doll today, I think.
[laughs]
[imitates doll] "Hi, my name is Elsa."
[laughs]
[imitates doll] "Press my belly." I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing.
Something like that. See you later.
-Thanks, guys. -Bye, guys. Thanks.
[Walters] That's, like, a once in a lifetime thing right there.
-That was sweet. -[man laughs]
[laughs]
[man] Ms. Idina Menzel. Wow.
Oh, I love her so much.
I'm in awe of the animation process.
I mean, it's a talent and a skill I don't have,
and I love when they allow me to be a fly on the wall.
Gus, could you pull up-- I think it's in the "Into the Unknown" folder.
-The reference video. -[Gus] Yeah. Sure. Yeah.
-We have all the video of the reference. -Oh, God.
And this is so helpful. Some of the shapes you're hitting in there,
it's so awesome to see.
[Menzel] I use my hands to point my notes.
Yeah, if I don't want something to go flat,
-I do my hands the opposite direction... -Yeah.
-...of down. Yeah, it's just silly things. -[Unten] That's cool.
Yeah. I always forget
-that you have that camera rolling. -[Unten laughs]
But it is-- It's really inspiring to see some of the singing stuff,
like "Into the Unknown" or "Show Yourself".
To see what you're doing like, "Oh, okay. She's taking a breath here."
Or, "Oh, that's the mouth shape that she's doing."
Sometimes we have to adjust for the acting that has to happen in the moment.
Like, does it feel like the voice is coming from the body?
Is it coming from inside out?
Or is it, you know, does it feel late?
Yeah. No, I find that this time in Frozen II, especially,
with the acting stuff and the direction with Jenn,
we've gone back in a couple times and made Elsa less apologetic.
There are moments of vulnerability, but then she has this power to her.
Yeah. That's why I relate to the character so much.
It's just 'cause in my life I feel very vulnerable and insecure a lot of times,
but when I find my voice and when I sing,
that's where I find my... my power and, sort of, my identity.
A lot of people love the character, and a lot of it is, you know,
-is what you bring to it. -Oh.
-It's a really g-- -Thank you. That's nice,
but it means you're the one creating what she looks like,
and I'll say it's a nice marriage.
It's true. It's a--
-Of the both of us. -Yeah.
[both laughing]
[French horn playing]
[flute playing]
[drums beating]
This is the glorious day of all glorious days of orchestration
because this is the day where we record over everything synthesizer
and replace it with real instruments.
And played by the best instruments in the world.
These are the top players and to get them to bring our songs to life
is like a dream come true.
But I also think of it, today, as a day that we're adding another 100 people
to support the actors who are adding to the story.
And it's just 100 musicians also telling the story.
And we talk him through what the characters are feeling
and how each little line is bringing the story forward.
And so you'll also hear us when Stephen is standing up there and saying,
"It's really fragile. This is grief."
[Oremus] Yeah, so now the smaller string section, 48 through to 51.
Really, really vulnerable.
This point in the process,
they've recorded the vocals, most of the vocals, for the songs
and just demo versions of the orchestrations.
We then come into the studio and have a 90-piece orchestra play.
-We can do... -Right.
-Like, really link to... -Catch to-- He's got it.
He only has ten, so we can have...
My one note is wanting a few more of those,
-a few more of those French horns. -Got 'em. Yeah.
-The thing that I had you take out -[laughs]
and maybe you should,
-maybe we should put them there, is... -Yep.
♪ Are you out there? Do you know me? ♪
-Right. -I miss that. I miss that.
Idina's on her way over.
-Oh, good. -Oh, good.
-She should definitely experience this. -[Oremus] Yeah.
[Oremus] Getting to bring their music to life
in the moment is just so thrilling,
and especially with a huge orchestra like this.
Okay. Ready to go.
-[Lopez] This is so cool. -[Anderson-Lopez] It's so cool.
[orchestra playing "Into the Unknown"]
[angelic voice vocalizing]
[vocalizing continues]
[Elsa] ♪ I can hear you ♪
♪ But I won't ♪
♪ Some look for trouble ♪
♪ While others don't ♪
♪ There's a thousand reasons I should go about my day ♪
♪ And ignore your whispers Which I wish would go away, oh ♪
[angelic voice] ♪ Oh ♪
[Elsa] ♪ Oh ♪
[angelic voice] ♪ Oh ♪
♪ You're not a voice ♪
♪ You're just a ringing in my ear ♪
♪ And if I heard you ♪
♪ Which I don't ♪
♪ I'm spoken for, I fear ♪
♪ Everyone I've ever loved Is here within these walls ♪
♪ I'm sorry, secret siren, But I'm blocking out your calls ♪
♪ I've had my adventure I don't need something new ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what I'm risking If I follow you ♪
♪ Into the unknown ♪
[angelic voice] ♪ Oh ♪
[laughs]
[Elsa] ♪ What do you want? ♪
♪ 'Cause you've been keeping me awake ♪
♪ Are you here to distract me So I make a big mistake? ♪
♪ Or are you someone out there Who's a little bit like me ♪
♪ Who knows deep down ♪
♪ I'm not where I'm meant to be? ♪
♪ Every day's a little harder As I feel my power grow ♪
♪ Don't you know there's part of me That longs to go ♪
♪ Into the unknown? ♪
♪ Into the unknown! ♪
[angelic voice] ♪ Oh Oh ♪
[Elsa] ♪ Whoa-oh-oh ♪
♪ Are you out there? Do you know me? ♪
♪ Can you feel me? Can you show me? ♪
♪ Whoa-oh-oh ♪
[angelic voice] ♪ Oh ♪
[Elsa] ♪ Whoa-oh-oh ♪
[angelic voice] ♪ Oh ♪
♪ Whoa-oh-oh ♪
♪ Where are you going? Don't leave me alone ♪
-♪ How do I follow you ♪ -[angelic voice] ♪ Oh ♪
♪ Into the unknown? ♪
[cheering]
[laughs]
[Buck laughs]
This is when you go, "Oh, it's coming together."
So, it fills you up because we go right back into animation dailies
and into all of the story fixes.
But you run over here, and then you just feel what it can be.
So, I'm still, kind of, reeling a little bit. [chuckles]
So, I don't know if you've seen this part of the building before.
Sometimes we work pretty late nights and stuff, and it's kinda, you know.
Things get stressful when, especially, you're working really hard on your shots.
You know, you wanna show the directors, put your best foot forward,
and it can be stressful.
But this is really cool.
These are some letters that people have written to the studio,
saying how they appreciate the films that we make.
And there's some of these that are...
ones that I get choked up a little.
Yeah, this is one of them that really gets to me.
"My name is Rachel. I'm 15 years old, and I believe I am Frozen's biggest fan.
The reason I say this
is because the song 'Let It Go' literally saved my life last year.
I was in the ninth grade, and high school just wasn't what I expected it to be.
It eventually got worse and worse.
My grandpa died and my dad went to jail, so I was suicidal.
But I went to go see Frozen with my older sister and friends."
♪ Let it go Let it go ♪
♪ Can't hold it back anymore ♪
[Unten] "As soon as 'Let It Go' played, I just had hope and happiness.
I got chills and was nearly in tears.
Every word described my situation perfectly.
Bravo to whoever wrote that song. Beautiful.
I have a heart-shaped necklace that I got for my 15th birthday
that says 'Let It Go' on it, and I wear it everyday.
So, whenever things get hard,
I know that song is right next to my heart,
and I try to be strong like Elsa."
To be working on a new movie with these characters that people love,
this is a special time, and I feel like you just want to savor every moment of it.
Chris and I had decided we wanted to do Frozen II
just based on these conversations of, "There is more."
Something about Elsa's journey and "Let It Go" was very freeing.
And there were people who felt burdened.
They felt like they couldn't be themselves.
They felt like the outside world was bearing down, and she let them free.
And it was interesting, this Elsa,
as I started to sit with her and write these moments,
was someone who will never fully let go.
It helped me to want her to be free.
[Elsa] ♪ Show yourself ♪
♪ I'm dying to meet you ♪
♪ Show yourself ♪
[Lee] "Show Yourself" not only is carrying
the entire story line of Frozen II.
It's carrying Frozen I with it.
Everything we know about Elsa and her life to that moment, all has to line up.
[Elsa] ♪ Show yourself ♪
♪ I'm ready to learn ♪
♪ Ah ah ah ah ♪
We work every day with a team of storyboard artists,
who are not just hands that draw.
They are storytellers, and they are deep thinkers about story,
and they know these characters as well as we do.
And we depend on them to keep pushing the story to new places
and to take ownership and help us make it strong.
The leader of that group is Marc Smith.
We storyboard the film, between six and 12 times.
The job is basically to get the directors' vision up on the screen.
[Lee] If you can feel it in boards, we always say,
then you know you have something.
[Smith] You don't want to let anybody down.
You don't want to betray the audience.
You don't want to betray the characters.
You need them to be the same characters that were in the first movie,
but you want them to go deeper.
And I think that's our big challenge on Frozen II.
[Smith] We will board the sequence, time it out,
and then we'll show it to Bobby and Kristen.
Beep, beep, beep. Blast off!
-[Lee] Hi, Bobby! -[Buck] Hey, Bobby!
-Hello, Bobby. -Good morning.
[Lopez] Hey.
-[Buck] Kristen, show yourself. -Hello.
-[Buck] Thank you. -How's everybody?
-That's an entrance. Stylish. -Oh, yes.
What are we gonna do?
Well, we're pitching "Show Yourself" to you.
Very, very, very, very rough.
Yeah, he's still working.
There's some big chunks in here where you'll see
are completely under construction. You'll see writing on the drawings.
And I'm just gonna play.
[Elsa] ♪ Every inch of me is tingling ♪
♪ To be here with you, friend... ♪
[Smith] Elsa, you know, she was following this shadow, basically, that she--
This is the voice that's been calling her from the very beginning.
In this version, she sees the mirror reflection of herself,
and she said, "It's been me."
And she actually walks into this spirit,
and, as she does, she transforms and takes her full shape as the Snow Queen.
Okay.
Whoo!
That's a lot in there.
[Smith] Yep. It's a lot of stuff.
I didn't understand the jump into song.
I don't understand who she's talking to or that part of it,
and I think it's very important that we connect it
to whatever the drive is to find the voice.
I wonder if it's too "not Elsa" for her to say,
"You are the one I've been looking for all of my life," in the first verse.
Would it make a difference just to turn it into a question?
"Are you the one I've been looking for all my life?"
-Yeah. That's-- -Like would that do it?
The whole thing feels like not-- not--
I never felt it land once story wise for me.
I feel like this whole thing is falling apart.
We're overcomplicating it again.
I would say that what we're sensing is,
is making us ask some important specifying questions.
That was the biggest question, "What is happening?"
Well, for the longest time, she was seeing a version of herself
as she was meant to be.
And that's the part that was confusing a lot of people.
[Lee] We'd been playing with this voice.
Is it, sort of, Elsa's destiny, her magic?
Is it Ahtohallan itself? Is it the memory of her mother?
And we all have different opinions, so we have to make a choice.
Then maybe it needs to be about the energy of this place.
Like, "I feel like I've been here before.
I feel like I was meant to be here. I feel the energy of me all around here,
and you're here too. Show yourself." Like that.
I love that 'cause it's celebrating this feeling,
and she's not-- but she's not to the charge right away.
But this is a top to tail rewrite of, at least, the first--
The beginning of the song.
I've got no problem reboarding and reboarding. That's what we do.
I just wanna be--
I'm not opposed to the idea of taking a step backwards
'cause to be honest, Bobby, I felt like,
I felt it slipping away from me a little bit too.
Wait, what's so important is for this to be the song. It has to be right.
This is much more complicated, and that's okay.
The first step is to take a breath.
-[Del Vecho] Yeah. -Yes. Take a breath.
We just don't have the right song here, so we'll make it right.
[Smith] Here I am, back at the drawing tablet.
[Elsa] ♪ Ah ♪
"Show Yourself" is still that, sort of, looming beast
that needs to be wrangled to the ground.
[Del Vecho] That is the big showstopping number.
And it still isn't quite there yet, still needs the extra work.
There's no let up on the gas at this stage.
[Del Vecho] We're aware that it's a big franchise.
We're aware of that pressure, but it comes down to just being passionate
about the actual story you're trying to tell.
But it also makes you never rest,
'cause if you can do better by the film, you have to do it.