'Frozen 2' Filmmakers Reveal New Details About The Sequel [Set Visit]

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Walt Disney Animation in Burbank to take an early look at some footage from Frozen II, the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2013 mega-hit. Returning directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck and their team spent the last four years making this film, which is only the fourth sequel in Disney Animation history (not counting direct-to-video movies). Read on to discover what we learned about the film's story, its new characters, the changes to Arendelle since the original movie, and much, much more.

As producer Peter Del Vecho was traveling the world, he kept hearing the same question over and over: Where did Elsa get her icy powers? In an early morning presentation, Buck told us that he and the other filmmakers realized there were many other questions left unanswered by the first film: How have Elsa's powers grown? Why was Anna born the way she was? Where were their parents going when their ship went down? Is there really such a thing as happily ever after?

On the first Frozen, Lee, Buck, and Del Vecho were so busy breaking the story that they didn't have time to go on the artist research trip to Norway. But for this film, they (and several artists) visited Norway, Finland, and Iceland and were inspired by the natural beauty of those places. Not only did the trip result in more distinct details being worked into the locations in this movie, but it inspired a key story element as well: providing a stark difference between Anna and Elsa. "Anna felt at home in Norway with its fairy tale settings, but Elsa felt strangely at home in the stark, mythic Iceland," Buck explained.

Lee elaborated:

"I think that concept for us, of the fairy tale and the myth, became very strong. Anna is the perfect fairy tale character: she is non-magical, human in a non-magical world. She's very optimistic and courageous. Whereas Elsa is the perfect mythic character. Mythic characters are often magical in a world they are different from, and they take on the weight of the world on their own shoulders and they do what others can't. But in fact, mythic characters' fates are often tragic...But there's something for Anna that she will always fear and always want to do, to protect her sister from that mythic side of herself."

The filmmakers again collaborated with Oscar-winning songwriters Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who crafted seven new songs for this movie, and while the core voice cast from the first film is also back, they brought in some new talent as well. Evan Rachel Wood plays Queen Iduna, the girls' parents, taking over the role from Jennifer Lee herself, who performed that character's single line in the first movie. ("She's ice cold.") And Sterling K. Brown is also on board as Lt. Mattias, "a soldier who's been trapped in an enchanted forest since a fierce battle broke out over thirty years ago when Anna and Elsa's grandfather was actually king."

During small group presentations with some of the film's animation supervisors, they revealed several new characters who will be added into this sequel. The one most people are going to be super excited about is Bruni, a salamander who was specifically made to be "as adorable as possible." If you've seen Tangled (and you should, because it's very good) and remember her chameleon pal Pascal, Bruni has a similar kind of vibe – although he seems to be way speedier. The filmmakers were all very tight-lipped about the role Bruni plays in the movie, but you can see him briefly in the latest trailer.

Then there are the Earth Giants, a massive race made of rock who live in the enchanted forest. They're huge creatures who kind of look like a cross between the trolls from the first movie and the massive Rockbiter from The NeverEnding Story, and the animators showed us how the rocks that make up the characters' bodies slide on top of one another to simulate breathing. You can see a good example of them in action at the 1:29 mark of the trailer.

There's also Gale, an invisible wind spirit who provided quite the challenge for the animators. After all, how do you draw something that isn't actually there? The solution was to use debris and the surrounding environment to indicate how Gale was moving, and by controlling the speed and direction of her movements, they could imbue her with a sense of personality. (At one point in the movie, this invisible wind spirit gives Elsa a hug.) The animation team had to collaborate with colleagues across multiple departments – effects, tech animation, lighting, etc. – many of which normally pick up the baton much later in the process, to ensure that there were enough leaves and pieces of environment for Gale to traverse, making it clear where she was at all times. Gale's ultimate role in the story wasn't shared with us, so it's unclear if Gale might actually be a spirit of one of Elsa's loved ones or a wholly separate character.

We also heard a bit about the Nokk. In Nordic mythology and folklore, the Nokk is a shapeshifter, but in this movie, the directors decided to keep it in the shape of a horse made of water who inhabits the Dark Sea, where Elsa jumps into the waves in that first teaser trailer. "Our horse, our Nokk, is actually a warrior and protector of the Dark Sea," said animation supervisor Svetla Radivoeva. "We thought of it as a wild stallion that just hasn't been yet tamed." As you might expect, the team had to figure out how much definition needed to be visible for audiences to be able to track a character who is completely made of water, so noticeable parts like the tail and mane became especially important in drawing the eye and crafting the design. Plus, they had to make sure that its emotions could translate properly, so they keyed in on its ear movements to hint at the creature's mood.

Effects Supervisor Erin Ramos also explained the big differences between how the water worked in Disney Animation's Moana versus how it's being used here:

"We had to make these huge, breaking waves that are fully simulated. So, it was definitely a step above where we were with Moana. I think Moana, the challenge was just getting the water to feel very gentle. It's actually pretty hard to tame simulations. But then for [Frozen II], just getting the right size of these waves, getting the scale actually, nailing that was the big challenge here. And also, honestly, the interaction with [the] animation [department], just the back and forth that we had to do that was the biggest challenge for this movie...like, when a boat's cutting through the water, it's one thing. But when [Elsa's] feet have to register on the surface of the water, on a surface that's simulated...you don't know what you're gonna get. You run a simulation, and it comes out like, 'All right, that looks cool.' And you run it again, you might get something completely different. Her footstep could've worked with one time, and then the next time it didn't work."

So as you can see, we learned about the spirits of Earth (the giants), air (Gale), and water (the Nokk), but the filmmakers were quiet about whether or not there is a spirit of fire that we might see in the movie, which seems like a distinct possibility.