With only a few hours to go before her big premiere night, Kristen Bell graciously sat down with us to let us in on what making Frozen was like from her perspective. With 25 bloggers in the room, we had SO many questions from: How does it feel to be an animated character, to whom are you wearing to the premiere? She was genuinely a pleasure to interview.
How did you get involved in the project?
Kristen Bell: I’ve always wanted to be in a Disney animated feature, since I was four or five years old. It was the first goal I had ever set for myself. The reality is that I had auditioned for Tangled and after my audition the casting director pulled me aside and she said, oh, that was great and if we go another way, which I think she knew they were, but I want you to meet Chris Buck because he’s directing a project that’s a few years down the line called The Snow Queen, and I think you’d be right for it.
What’s funny is that she said, and he said, because I had lunch with him in the Disney commissary that afternoon and he said, it’s a much more traditional Disney musical. That was the pitch, and obviously I said yes when he actually offered me the part, and did a series of readings. I think this is the most nontraditional musical they’ve ever done, which is kind of funny because that was his original intention.
Did the idea of singing frighten you?
Kristen Bell : No, that was what incited me to want to do it, because I studied music in college and I trained operatically when I was a little girl. I love musical theater so, so, so much. I’d done a couple Broadway musicals and I try to keep music as relevant as possible and it puts me in a mental state of happiness like nothing else. I was so eager to get my hands on being a part of a musical again. Especially for the two people who I think have modernized musical theater – Bobby and Kristen Lopez, because I think as, even as much of a musical theater freak as I am, it did hit a plateau of becoming a little oh, I’ve seen that kind of musical. I hadn’t seen a musical I had liked in a really long time, and then I saw Book of Mormon and my head exploded, you know, it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.
From Gossip Girl to animation, how is that different?
Kristen Bell : I can pull myself out of it when I watch this animation, because I like it so much. I’m a huge fan of animation. I’m swept away by this story, because I like it so much. When I watched Gossip Girl, it was a tiny bit like playing your own answering machine over and over and over again, like that automated voice on your answering machine that everybody has, right. That’s kind of what it felt like to me because I don’t love the sound of my own voice. I got to do a lot of voice-over work. So it’s much nicer to be able to pay attention to a story line as well and not go, wow, I sound so screechy.
Do you have a favorite scene?
Kristen Bell: The scene that I connect to the most and maybe it’s not necessarily because of a personal experience, but it’s because I appreciate the story that’s being told, is not actually my scene, it’s Elsa’s scene. She has a song called Let It Go which is done vibrato. Have you guys heard it? It’s so good. Idina obviously is a powerhouse and she just blows it out of the water.
But the song, happens at a point in the movie where the movie’s whole theme is this idea of fear versus love, and the one character that’s driven completely out of love and blind naivete and everything is great, and we’re going to be friends. Then you have this other character that’s absolutely paralyzed by fear. She shouldn’t be and she does it wrong, and she’s not the norm. The movie is really about her embracing what makes her different, because that’s what makes her unique, and learning how to not let her fear paralyze her.
She’s finally singing all about herself, and it’s just so overwhelming to me to hear the lyrics and know the emotion is just going, you know what? I am who I am, and that’s me, and I’m going to love myself, and I don’t care. I don’t care what anyone else has to say about it, and this is the time where I’m going to let it go. It’s the moment when she loves herself, and every time I watch it, I do that, because I just think it’s so beautiful. So singing and seeing her sing Let It Go is awesome
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
What are you wearing this evening?
Kristen Bell: Sachin + Babi
Kristen spent a few minutes telling us about a project she’s working on with some friends called This Bar Saves Lives. It’s a delicious treat, and for each bar sold, a packet of food is sent to a child in dire need. I’ll be telling you more about this company soon.
After the interview she took a few minutes to take a picture with our group before getting ready for her big night. Thank you to Disney for this opportunity and to Ms. Bell for taking the time out of her very tight schedule to sit down with us.
FROZEN opens November 27, 2013
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I was a guest of Disney for a few days to facilitate these reviews. I was not compensated and all opinions are strictly my own
tipsonshoppings says
wow she looking very beautiful
Tiipsonshoppings