As Disney prepares to release the eagerly anticipated Frozen 2, the cast and crew reflected on how real-world issues helped inform the film, as the fan-favorite characters continue to find their place in the world.
The Ice Queen Elsa and her long-lost sister Anna set out to discover the true origins to her ice powers, with the character facing the reality of climate change and how her abilities may give her a purpose to set things right. The issue was one taken into consideration as returning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her husband, Robert Lopez, crafted the lyrics for the upcoming sequel.
"It’s something that the filmmakers and the storytellers all really talked about, that climate change in particular is a big serious issue," Anderson-Lopez explained in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "Climate change and nature out of balance is something that might give Elsa real purpose. Could that be why she has this power? That was something that we talk about, and it could be maybe something else we talk about in the future, I hope."
Returning voice actor Jonathan Groff revealed Elsa won't be the only character facing the realities of a changing climate as Kristoff, a young man working with ice, handles alterations to the environment and its natural resources.
"A huge theme of the movie is that water has memory, and the idea of not trying to force the environment into your world, but try to respect the environment around you, which we have the ability to do every day," Groff observed. "Every sort of character...is connected to this idea of taking care of the world around you and not taking things for granted, and also respecting the power of the environment.”
Arriving Nov. 22, Disney's Frozen 2 reunites directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck and producer Del Vecho with voice actors Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad. Returning musical talents include Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.