Frozen 2 not only reunited the same cast of characters, it also brought back the award-winning creative team from the first film. Considering the smash hit that was Frozen back in 2013, and specifically the runaway success of “Let It Go,” it’s no wonder that songwriting duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez were included in that number.
Husband and wife collaborated with screenwriter Jennifer Lee and the whole Frozen 2 crew to craft songs that weren’t just catchy, but also integral to the character arcs of the story. And judging by the Best Song Oscar nomination for “Into The Unknown,” it looks like they succeeded.
During a press event celebrating the film’s home release, which will be on February 11 for digital viewing and on February 25 for Blu-ray, songwriter Robert Lopez sat down with Screen Rant to share more of his and Kristen’s process. He discussed how they say goodbye to cut songs, how they find big musical moments, and which special features he’s most excited for.
Congratulations on another Oscar nomination. I loved Frozen 2. I just wanted to know, because we watched a little snippet of Anna and Kristoff’s duet, which was so wonderful. How do you say goodbye to songs like that?
Speaking of making the movie better, we heard about how Kristen kind of discovered the lyrics to “When I’m Older” at the skating rink. Do you have any particularly memorable song discovery moment?
Robert Lopez: You know, part of the thing that makes that process easier is saying, “Well, it’ll be on the DVD.” So, this is the moment for that song to have it today.
But you know what? Anything that makes the movie better ends up being fine, emotionally. You don’t really have any huge regrets.
On the flip side, I believe that “Show Yourself” had maybe one of the longer gestation processes. What was it like finding that song, which is such an important part of Elsa’s journey?
Robert Lopez: I can’t beat that one. That was pretty cool. And I don’t skate. I mean, I do, but I’m so terrified of falling that it’s almost Parkinsonian. I just can’t do it.
I was in the office, and I was so happy when Kristen came back with that whole thing basically done. And I got to just sort of set it. That makes my job a lot easier, when Kristen does all the hard work.
I’m glad that you guys did too. It’s a wonderful song. I love how much character work clearly went into finding songs for all the leads protagonists, but there’s also some great new characters we meet this time around. Do you have any songs in your heart that you could write for them in the future?
Robert Lopez: “Show Yourself” is the destination; “Show Yourself” is the arrival. There’s a lot of plot that’s wrapped up in it, and we didn’t know exactly what the content of that ending was.
We didn’t know who that voice was that was calling her, and we we did a first pass that had a different energy at the beginning and had a different middle and it had a different ending. It wasn’t the mother. It was sort of a version of Elsa; it was sort of the spirit Elsa that she becomes, and the two of them kind of merged together. And it was very cool, but it was confusing. And it didn’t have the emotional depth that it needed to have.
So, it took a lot of going back and forth; a lot of moments where we thought, “Maybe this isn’t the song. Maybe we need to throw it out and start again.” But it was a journey, and I’m glad we went on it.
And kind of for Sven.
Robert: Oh, you know, it all depends on the story. If we ever got another story, and it needed to be told, then that story would be bursting with song.
I do wish that we had had another character to write for. We did get to write for Kristoff, which was kind of a new thing, sort of.
Frozen is still doing incredibly well on Broadway. But is there any possibility of Frozen 2 on Broadway, and would you be part of that?
Robert Lopez: And kind of for Sven. We got to write for Iduna, who was basically a new character for this one. So, we got to scratch that itch. And then the voice too. It was it was nice to have the voice to give Elsa something to shoot for that was a positive journey, because she’s the main character of this one.
Finally, is there any special feature that you’re most excited for fans to see?
Robert Lopez: Not that I’ve heard, but I’d be kind of curious to hear the songs done live. We were on the Disney Fantasy, ironically, over Christmas break. We do a little show and we ride on the cruises and perform “Show Yourself” with some of the talent that was on the boat, and it was the most fun I’ve had. It was the best part of Christmas.
Hopefully we can all play it on the ukulele soon.
Robert Lopez: You know, “Home” was sort of our favorite song that got cut. It was a lot of fun. It’s a very folksy kind of song. It’s a ukulele. My daughter, Katie, has become really good at the ukulele and I wanted to write something that she could maybe even learn. So, it’s four chords on the ukulele. And it just felt like a great song.
It didn’t do what it needed to do; it made the movie too slow to start. So, we had to write a different one there.
More: The Real Meaning Behind Frozen 2’s Theme Song
Robert Lopez: I invite everyone to try. It’s not too hard. I can do it.
Disney’s Frozen 2 arrives on Digital on February 11, and is out on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 25.