In the first Frozen, “Let it Go” was the big moment that transformed Elsa into the Snow Queen, and in Frozen 2, she undergoes another story-altering moment with “Into the Unknown”. One of the biggest new songs in Frozen 2, “Into the Unknown” occurs relatively early on in the film and it allows Elsa to engage with the magical spirit calling to her from the north.

First revealed at D23 Expo 2019, the full “Into the Unknown” sequence was showcased to Screen Rant and other outlets during an early press day for Frozen 2 at Walt Disney Animation Studios. It showed the before, during, and after of the song, which included quite a bit of destruction in Arendelle and beyond.

Brittney Lee (Visual Development Artist), Normand Lemay (Head of Story), Tom MacDougall (Executive Music Producer), Dale Mayeda (Co-head of Effects Animation), Justin Sklar (Animation Supervisor), and Michael Woodside (Animation Supervisor) discussed “Into the Unknown” in a dedicated presentation, and they answered just a few questions afterward in a brief Q&A session.

What language might you use to describe a cohesive style of the Frozen score. Like, when I think of Hercules which is very gospel, or Princess and the Frog, which is the New Orleans jazz element, what makes Frozen come alive and with that motif?

This is very technical, but when we heard the demo and then saw the final performance, those three swirls - there was a musical cue for each one of them taking off. What happens first? Do they decide that they want a little bit more instrumental in the song, or did you guys animate those and then tie the music in?

Tom MacDougall (Executive Music Producer) : I don’t think there’s anything particularly musically about it, but I think it’s really the way that we’re able to find a different language for each character. You know, sometimes, like, Moana had the Pacific Islands sort of veneer over the whole show, or Hercules, like you said, the gospel, but for this movie, Elsa kinda lives in her own domain of singing and performance, and then you’ve got Olaf who’s almost got this soft-shoe thing, and he’s kind of a throwback to something else. And then Anna has a sweeter, more earnest sense, so I would probably put it in those terms of really just embracing the specifics of the characters and then, in various subtle ways, nuancing the musical approach to them.

Next: Frozen 2: New Story Details & 20 Cool Behind The Scenes Facts

Justin Sklar (Animation Supervisor): They went in and sort of pre-scored, so we got the score much earlier than we would on a typical film, and so, Jackie Koehler, the animator for that shot, was working with Dan Lund at that time, but they got the score, so they were able to work together to make that one musical moment.

Michael Woodside (Animation Supervisor): Yeah, one of the things that was interesting, typically things go from layout to animation to effects, and it’s kind of linear, but because this was a musical sequence and we wanted everything to be so cohesive, we were actually all in the room together; and it was talking about it and working on it together and saying - let’s, you know, at this moment she’ll gesture and react to that, and we’ll put a little spiral to represent something, and then eventually they’ll be really pretty sparkles added and things like that. So, kind of listening to the music after it was scored and just making sure that we’re hearing every little beat really helped us to get every little detail.

  • Frozen 2 Release Date: 2019-11-22