- Time to warm up, Jenny.
(SINGING) Me me me me me me me me--
(VOCALIZING)
Meeeee!
If anyone is still watching, this is "What's Up, Disney+,"
where we talk all things Disney+.
Yes, if you're a Disney Music fan, this episode is no joke.
Today, we are talking with Kristen Anderson-Lopez
and Robert Lopez, the songwriters
behind "Frozen" and "Frozen 2."
We'll be checking in with DCapella.
And we'll be discussing some of Disney's
2021 award-nominated tunes.
The music is in us today, Andre.
Let's get started.
Andre, since we're entering awards season,
we have to talk about the most iconic nominated
Disney singles.
What were some of your favorites?
Well, you got to talk about "Frozen 2."
"Frozen" gave us so much good music,
and so in the second one, we've got even more.
The whole soundtrack was nominated, as well
as the song "Into the Unknown," which is a great song for Elsa.
I really loved it, even though I'm
personally a fan of "Lost in the Woods,"
because I love my '80s ballads.
But that song for Elsa was just so great.
In addition to "Frozen 2," "Onward" also had a song get
nominated: "Carry Me With You."
And this is a fun movie, with some great emotional moments,
so it's good to have a song like that be a part of it,
and also get that nomination.
It gave me many a goosebump.
You know what also gives me goosebumps?
Anything by John Williams.
Yes.
Or Johnny Williams, as Pete Docter called him.
John Williams is really good.
I mean he always brings it with "Star Wars,"
and definitely brought it again with "The Rise of Skywalker."
Definitely gets you in the mood of the movie.
And you know, just like John Williams,
where you don't need to say anything other than his name.
Yeah.
Beyoncé.
Beyoncé's gotta take it that next level.
It's one thing to get a song, or a soundtrack, nominated.
She got an entire film nominated with "Black Is King."
Which totally makes sense, because not only
do you get this great music that was
inspired by "The Lion King," -- of course,
with that Beyoncé flair --
but then you also get this movie that's a mix of "Lion King"
inspiration, Beyoncé inspiration, brand-
new elements, cameo appearances, representation
and culture, just all mixed together into one
visually stunning film.
I mean, there was "Hamilton" and "Clouds."
We had "Soul," we had "High School
Musical: The Musical: The Series" and "Holiday Special."
We had Taylor Swift, with "Folklore:
The Long Pond Studio Sessions."
There was a lot of music going on on Disney+,
and definitely a lot more to come this year, I'm sure.
Now, without further ado, please
enjoy this exclusive performance by our friends, DCapella.
Brought to you by Geico.
For bundling made easy, go to geico.com.
[MUSIC PLAYING - DCAPELLA, "BORN TO BE BRAVE"]
(SINGING) 'Cause I was born to be brave.
I know who I am inside, and I won't apologize.
Made my mistakes, and they gave me wings
to fly to my castle in the sky.
[MUSIC PLAYING - DCAPELLA, "CARRY ME WITH YOU"]
(SINGING) 'Cause you carry me with you.
Carry me with you.
From the highest of the peaks, to the darkness of the blue.
I was just too blind to see.
Like a lighthouse in a storm, you were always guiding me.
Yeah, it's true.
You carry me with you.
[MUSIC PLAYING - DCAPELLA, "COLLARD
GREENS AND CORNBREAD STRUT"]
(SCATTING)
[MUSIC PLAYING - DCAPELLA, "INTO THE UNKNOWN"]
(SINGING) Into the unknown.
Into the unknown.
Into the unknown!
Here to tell us all about their talents,
please welcome Antonio Fernandez and Morgan Keene from DCapella.
What's up, guys? - Hi!
Hey.
OK, so for people who may be discovering
DCapella for the first time, tell
us what the group is all about.
Well, we sing all Disney music with 100%
only our voices.
In our own DCapella, Disney fashion, we'll
sing some of your favorites
from way back from "Three Little Pigs,"
all the way up to "Frozen 2," "Moana,"
all the Disney stuff in between.
Tell us what it's like to be a part of DCapella.
It's a dream.
It has been such a wild ride, to be with these amazing, talented
people.
Yeah, it's been so fun.
And the project has been constantly
changing since the conception.
So it's been really, really cool to be along on the ride.
OK, so tell us who's who in the group, and everyone's role.
I'm Morgan, I'm the soprano.
I sing the highest, out of all the girls.
Kalen, who is the mezzo soprano, she's
kind of in between the soprano and the alto.
Kelly, who is our alto, so she sings all the lower
notes out of all of the girls.
RJ, he's the tenor, he sings all the fun high stuff.
Orlando, who is the baritone, so he's kind of in the middle.
Joe, who's the bass, so he sings all
the nice, low, beautiful notes.
Antonio, who is the vocal percussionist of the group,
he does all the really cool sounds.
And I'm sure he would love to show
you a little bit, right now.
Oh yeah.
(BEATBOXING)
Oh, wow!
That is so cool.
I was not expecting that.
You don't get many intros that end with a musical performance.
So that was great.
That sounded so real, like you had a drum set in your mouth.
What has been your favorite performance, so far?
Not necessarily, like, performance.
But I do have a favorite song that we do get to perform.
And that is the "Just Around the Riverbend/Colors of the Wind"
medley.
I love "Pocahontas."
I always have.
Those are two of my favorite songs.
I definitely loved when we were in Japan,
and we sang "Beauty and the Beast."
And just singing "Beauty and the Beast," in Japanese,
and seeing our Japanese audience there was so moving.
It was just one of those times where you don't worry
that you're performing at all.
You're just connecting with the audience.
And it's such a beautiful energy.
That was a beautiful moment, for me.
Who are some of your biggest Disney musical inspirations?
Oh my gosh.
It was definitely the music from "Toy Story,"
from "The Lion King."
The Disney story in so many lyrics--
"Go the Distance," "How Far I'll Go"--
has this just saturated story that's about persistence.
And to be able to live through that, with DCapella,
is such an honor.
Well, Antonio and Morgan, thank you so much for being
here and talking with us today.
Yes, and thank you so much for that
incredible musical performance.
Thank you so much for having us.
This just in, Andre.
Fresh off the press.
I'm getting real-time reports of What's New.
[NEWS SHOW MUSIC PLAYING]
On March 5, join Raya on her quest to find the Last Dragon.
See Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon"
in theaters, or order it on Disney+ with
Premier Access on March 5.
Learn more at disney.com/raya.
It's nearly showtime for February.
Next month, stream new episodes of Marvel Studios'
"WandaVision," all five seasons of "The Muppet Show,"
and the original movie "Flora & Ulysses" and more.
This season, a new team will fly together.
"The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,"
an original series, starts streaming
March 26 on Disney+.
Now, we are honored to be joined by the creative geniuses
responsible for the original songs
from Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Frozen"
and "Frozen 2."
A big Disney+ welcome to our guests, Kristen Anderson-Lopez
and Robert Lopez.
Hi, guys. - Hi.
Hey.
We absolutely loved seeing your creative process in "Into
the Unknown: Making Frozen 2."
And so tell us a little bit more about how
you two work together.
Well, it always starts with story and character.
It always-- making sure that we are
thinking the same way about what the character is feeling.
Making sure that the character is in a moment
that his or her feelings are so strong, she has to sing them
instead of speak them.
And also a decision.
A moment where that emotion will turn into a decision that
continues the story forward.
Right, and takes it to a place where it can't ever turn back.
And we do a lot of talking, finding phrases
and musical phrases that might guide us.
And then, by the end of the discussion-- which I usually
stop us from writing, until we kind of have
the song just on a notebook.
And then we just put the song together.
What was the biggest difference
between writing music for "Frozen" versus "Frozen 2"?
Writing the music for "Frozen,"
we were actually still seeking the characters.
We didn't know the personality of Elsa, or Anna, or Kristoff.
Right, there was a draft where Elsa was a villain.
And we had to just erase that, and start over.
We had written a bunch of songs for those characters.
But when we were doing "Frozen 2," which
is the sequel, the challenge-- we thought
we knew the characters, but we really had to bring
them to a different place.
To give them something new to sing about.
Because if we've done our job right for the first
one, there's nothing left to sing about.
The metaphor is-- if you do your job right,
it's like you squeezed all of the toothpaste
out of the toothpaste tube.
Knowing that we had to write a sequel, meant we had to say,
like, where is there still toothpaste?
And for "Frozen 2," the toothpaste was,
is Elsa really where she belongs?
Who is your favorite character to write songs for, and why?
I guess for me, it's Elsa.
I really-- I enjoy, kind of, having an excuse
to become uber-feminine and--
He does.
Powerful, and, you know, self, self-evolving.
I love writing for Kristoff.
We didn't get to write for Kristoff very much
in the first movie, because he wasn't
able to feel his feelings enough to really sing.
But this time around--
I loved writing an '80s ballad for that man
who was just learning to be in touch with his own feelings.
I really had a great time finding that right place,
between goofy and emotional.
So Kristin and Bobby, you have
created some iconic songs from both "Frozen" and "Frozen 2."
So we thought we would issue a little challenge.
We're going to play a small snippet from one of the songs
from "Frozen" or "Frozen 2," and you have to guess what the song
is based on that snippet.
Are you game?
Oh yeah.
We love games.
This is going to be fun.
All right, here we go.
Here's the first track.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(VOCALIZING)
That's uh, "Next Right Thing." [BELL DINGS]
- Yes! - That is right.
That is "The Next Right Thing," from "Frozen 2."
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) The next right thing.
I thought this was going to be a little
easier, because it's our stuff.
But that was very short, OK.
[GUITAR STRUMS]
(SINGING) Reindeers are better than--
"Reindeers Are Better Than People."
[BELL DINGS]
Wow. Yep.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) People smell better than reindeers.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"
Yeah, that's from the middle part.
[BELL DINGS] - Yes!
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) Do you want to build a snowman?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ah, that's (TOGETHER) "Show Yourself."
[BELL DINGS] - Yes!
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) Every inch of me is trembling.
That was me.
I was playing that. - Oh, really?
Nice.
I really loved playing a lot of piano in "Frozen 2."
All right, let's see if you can guess this one.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's "Some Things Never Change."
- Yeah, that was also me. - That was you.
Yeah. [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) Some things never change.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Yeah, that's um--
(SINGING) Far--
"For the First Time in Forever."
- Yeah. - Yeah!
[BELL DINGS] - There it is.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK] (SINGING) Far.
For the first time in forever.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- That's-- - Born of cold and winter air--
"Frozen Heart," yeah.
"Frozen Heart." - Correct.
[BELL DINGS] - Yes.
Very correct, yes.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) Frozen heart. (GRUNTS) (GRUNTS)
Watch your step.
OK, let's see if you can guess this one.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's "Into the Unknown."
Come on, we've got to know that.
[BELL DINGS] [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) Into the unknown!
OK, last track.
And I think you're going to guess this one.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
"Let It Go."
Whoa!
[BELL DINGS]
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
(SINGING) Let it go!
Let it go!
I mean, congratulations. 'Cause you
got all of them right!
Way to go!
You got all of them right.
You know your songs.
Very awesome.
We need not--
Thank you.
We need not sign off in shame.
Well, thank you so much for your time.
We really do appreciate it.
- Thank you guys. - Thank you.
- That was so much fun. - This was really fun.
This was great.
Use your ears, and eyes, to stream "Frozen"
and "Frozen 2" on Disney+.
Well Jenny, I think it's time to wrap
this episode up on a high note.
Make sure to stream all of your favorites on Disney+,
and we'll see you next time.
Yeah, I'm going to go do some "Frozen" karaoke
in my living room.
Can you show us a preview?
(SINGING) Lost in the woods, north to south.
(SPUTTERS)
What was that?
I think they got it.
[JAZZY MUSIC PLAYING]