Tag Archives: Disney Movies

Storytellers Behind “Frozen 2” Find Inspiration on Trip to Nordic Regions 

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Storytellers Behind “Frozen 2” Find Inspiration on Trip to Nordic Regions 

By Melanie Gable

*I recently attended an early press day for “Frozen 2” at Walt Disney Animation Studios. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s been nearly six years since we first met Elsa and Anna—royal sisters grappling with Elsa’s out-of-control, magical ice powers—back in 2013 when Walt Disney Animation Studios released “Frozen.” The film went on to become the highest grossing animated film of all time in worldwide box office, and the sisters became pop culture icons. With Elsa encouraging audiences to “let it go” and embrace their true identities, and quirky Anna saving the day with selflessness and familial love, both kids and adults fell in love with the characters and story.

Film still courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios

Two short films followed: “Frozen Fever” (2015), which revisited the sisters celebrating Anna’s birthday in the spring, and “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” (2017), a holiday story. Both shorts were fun and beautifully animated, but Disney felt there were still enough questions from “Frozen” left unanswered that it was worth digging deeper into Arendelle’s past to create the story for a new feature film.

By now you’ve probably seen the official trailers for “Frozen 2,” which show Queen Elsa being haunted by a recurring siren song that leads her on a journey through gorgeous autumn landscapes to find the source of the voice and, possibly, her own powers. Joining her are her sister Anna, of course, Anna’s love interest Kristoff, reindeer Sven, and magical snowman Olaf.

                   Film still courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios

What you may not know is that the filmmakers and artists behind “Frozen 2” took research trips to Norway, Finland, and Iceland and found great inspiration in both the natural surroundings and the myths of the Nordic regions, which created an important dichotomy for the story.

Marc Smith, director of story on “Frozen 2,” spoke enthusiastically about the crew’s journey overseas. “We took a trip to Finland and Norway, north of the Arctic Circle and then to Iceland, which is super fascinating and fun. And on the left here is Lake Inari in Finland and it felt like a fairytale. Like, it just got us—you understood why all of their tales are so imbued with magical spirits, forest spirits, magic. And it was really fascinating. And then on the right there, that’s Iceland and Iceland just felt mythic. It felt like nature was just trying to kill you,” Smith remarked, laughing. “Everywhere you turned you just felt like a tiny little human in the face of nature. So, we started developing these themes of fairytale and myth.”

Art courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios

Director/writer Jennifer Lee, who is now Chief Creative Officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios, shared a bit about her own experiences on the trip. “In Finland we did an 8-mile hike through a forest that was very much feeling like it was coming alive as we went,” she divulged. “You have to ask the spirits if you want to do something and they’ll answer. And the joke of it was they didn’t seem to like me in the Norwegian forest. I…ripped my pants, falling down, everything went wrong for me in Norway. [Director] Chris [Buck] was skippin’ along…”

“Oh I had a great time in Norway,” laughed Buck. “Norway and Finland feel like this very fairytale world and it’s very cozy and warm and wonderful. Of course, we were there in the fall, so it was beautiful. And then we compared our stories.”

“Frozen 2” director Chris Buck and director/writer Jennifer Lee share insight into the filmmaking process at the early press day on the animation studios lot – Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios

In Iceland, the adventurous Buck and cautious Lee reversed roles. Said Lee, “I get to Iceland, and I’m not a great flyer. I get afraid of things. And this was this incredible land that was alive. It could kill you at any turn. There were like jokes about that. Like, man is definitely not in charge. And I was like, ‘I’m home. I’m completely fine with this. I will go into the volcano. I will walk in the glacier. Yeah, I know you could slip and die if you go down that crevasse. I don’t care. I’m here.’” Confessed Buck, “I love adventurous things, but when you’re there, every second you feel like you’re gonna die. I’d rather take that cozy fairytale place.”

Art courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios

While on the trip, Lee realized that the differences between her and Buck’s experiences could be reflected in Elsa and Anna. “Iceland for me, a lot of story in terms of Elsa’s journey came out well on that trip.” Buck agreed, adding that, “It was kind of a stark contrast between Norway and Iceland that framed the concept for us. Anna felt at home in Norway with its fairytale settings, but Elsa felt strangely at home in this dark, mythic Iceland.” The push-pull dynamic of warm autumnal beauty and frigid, icy landscapes was reflected in Elsa and Anna’s struggles as very different characters occupying the same story.

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Disney’s The Lion King Roars into Theaters

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Disney’s The Lion King Roars into Theaters

By Ella Barone

The Lion King is to this day, one of my favorite Disney films. From the beautiful soundtrack to the lovable characters, everything about the film is just excellent. When I found out that they were creating a live-action for the movie I just about freaked. The beautiful animals were going to be seen on screen like never before, and the fantastic songs were going to be sung once again.

I was lucky enough to see the film a few days before the general public and develop my opinions, which we’re all amazing. The first thing I noticed about the film was the beautiful scenery. The whole movie was done using CGI and animation technology, and if you didn’t know that, you could have never guessed. Everything looked as if you could reach out and feel the textures off of the screen.

Also, the talent in the film was phenomenal. Not only were there singer/songwriters, but also amazing actors and actresses. Some of them included Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Donald Glover, Seth Rogan, and so many more. To make the film even better, there is a brand new song that is sung by Beyonce. I won’t spoil anything for you, but I can tell you that you will absolutely love it.

The songs were sung once again, and I felt my heart swell when I heard them. These songs were a part of my childhood and hearing them resung by the amazing talent that is a massive part of modern music made me feel like I could relate to the film in a more modern aspect.

The story of the Lion King is the classic original tale, but with the interpretation comes new and old. We get the same characters and the same story, but the emotions and the way it looks on the screen are entirely different.

The funniest thing in the film was the Pumbaa and Timon duo. They kept the pair of jokesters and had me laughing throughout the entire movie. There were multiple points where I couldn’t hear the dialogue because of all the laughter in the audience. The characters couldn’t have been better.

The all-new Lion King is out in theaters now. You and your family will absolutely love this new film and all it has to offer. 

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THE LION KING is in theaters everywhere NOW!

The Incredible Cast of The Lion King

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The Incredible Cast of The Lion King

By Ella Barone

All new, Disney’s The Lion King lives up to all of the hype around it. The film is beautifully composed with jaw-dropping performances from actors and singers like Donald Glover, Beyonce, Seth Rogan, Billy Eichner and more. Recently I had the opportunity to listen to some of these talented people at the 2019 press junket that took place in Los Angeles. The cast that was there included, Donald Glover (Simba), Seth Rogan (Pumba), Billy Eichner (Timon), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Alfre Woodard (Sarabi), Keegan-Michael Key (Kamari), Florence Kasumba (Shenzi),  Eric Andre (Azizi), John Kani (Rafiki), JD McCrary (Young Simba), Shahadi Wright Joseph (Young Nala), Director Jon Favreau, Composer Hans Zimmer, and Lebo M.

We were treated to a very special performance of “The Circle of Life” before the start of the junket. Once everyone took their seats on stage, the moderator opened with a question directed at Jon Favreau. She asked him what he figured out when making the movie Jungle Book and how it helped him with this film. Favreau answered by telling her and the audience that, “these are handmade films. There is animators working on every shot, every environment that you see in the film other than actually, there’s one shot that’s a real photographic shot, but everything else is built from scratch by artists.”

Every scene you see in the masterfully created film looks as if you can reach out to the screen and be in the environment with the animals. Everything seemed incredibly real as if you were watching a film that was shot in the wild with the wild animals.

The next actor to speak was Donald Glover, and he talked about how Simba was different in this adaptation and the things he wanted to bring to the table. He told us that “I really feel that it’s good to make movies that are global and metropolitan in the sense of the citizens of the world.’

With Simba, he portrayed this philosophy. Throughout the film, there is the classic tale of The Lion King, but there are also some messages that people all over the world can take out of it.

Now to talk about the epic duo between Pumba and Timon. People wanted to know what it was like and how Rogan and Eichner accomplished the perfect chemistry for the two characters. Rogan started by telling us, “I think you can really tell that we’re playing off of each other. It’s an incredibly naturalistic feeling.’ Eichner then answered to the question by joking around and telling us, ‘Yeah. I wish I was as cute in real life as I am in the movie. The Timon they designed is so adorable.’

The two continued to joke around with each other while giving us the perfect Pumba and Timon vibe. 

Next, the press conference took the direction of the authenticity of the film by asking Dr. Kani to talk about his role as Rafiki. He talked about is his relation to Rafiki, ‘We are both over 75. So we both lived. We both walked through that forest. We both created those footpaths and intertwined with the little rabbits, and the animals go through. And we’ve seen experience life.’

One of the last questions that was asked to wrap up the press conference was to the young Shahadi. She has been a part of both the Broadway performances of The Lion King and now the all-new film, so she was asked what it was like doing both. ‘It was amazing doing both. It was such an honor doing the stage play on Broadway and also doing it in the all new Lion King. And one thing that I really saw the difference was was that on Broadway, everything is a little bit more structured.’

With that closing note, the press conference ended after a few jokes made between Seth Rogan and Jon Favreau.

Be sure to check out all of the adorable merchandise for The Lion King too. You will want it all, and you can help save real lions with every special edition plush purchase!

Lots of fun and playful Lion King shirts!

Go see this incredible cast in The Lion King out in theaters July 19, 2019. This classic retold story will take your breath away and leaving you singing the traditional songs in your head for the rest of the day.

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THE LION KING arrives in theatres everywhere on July 19th!