It’s not every day that songwriters are able to return to the same characters in a new adventure. In the past, Disney did make direct-to-video sequels, but they often had completely different talent and reduced budgets. With Frozen II, they had a sizable budget and the same directors, so it made sense that they would bring back the talent that gave them the wonderful songs from the first entry.

But could they craft a worthy follow-up to “Let it Go”? Well, many would argue that “Into the Unknown” was just that, and it’s even gone on to get nominated for Best Original Song. But what went into it? I had a chance to speak with songwriters and husband-wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and they gave us some insight into how they handled nomination and how they actually crafted the song.

LRM Online: But one thing I’m sure you’re not tired or can get exhausted of talking about is about the feel of being Oscar nominated for this year, right?

Robert: Oh my gosh.

Kristen: It does feel really good, and it’s just amazing to be part of something so powerful because it’s honoring so many new voices this year. There’s 13 women nominated in directing categories, which is a record breaking thing. They’re not the best director yet, but change is happening. And I know that Oscar nomination can change a life, and it’s very exciting.

Robert: It changed ours.

Kristen: Yes.

LRM Online: So, can you share a little, I’m trying to get a little personal here, what were you doing? Were you watching the nominations? How did you get the news? Someone call you, text you? Share a little.

Robert: Oh, we were watching because we live in New York, and so it wasn’t that early for us. We were already awake. We had actually already sent our kids off to school at that point, and we flipped on the TV, and-

Kristen: We canceled our workout.

Robert: Oh my gosh, yes.

Kristen: We were like …

Robert: Don’t tell them that, honey.

LRM Online: Priorities. Priorities.

Kristen: No, we canceled our workout because if we weren’t nominated we would feel sad, and we would not want to go workout. And if we were nominated we were going to celebrate, and we wouldn’t want to workout. Either way it was a good excuse to cancel our workout.

Robert: Which we should do more often.

LRM Online: So, tell me how did you celebrate when you got the news, when you heard it live.

Kristen: Oh, I had to fly to go. My dad was getting a major operation the next day, so there was a lot of feelings that day because I had been nominated for an Oscar-

Robert: Oh, right and your stomach wasn’t feeling well, so I had to go to the supermarket to buy apple cider vinegar drinks for you.

Kristen: That’s right. I was also feeling a little bit stomach fluey, and I knew I had to fly on an airplane so I could go be with my mom while my dad had major surgery the next day.

Robert: I guess we’re confessing to you that we really didn’t celebrate properly, but later on when she flew back from Charlotte we opened a bottle of champagne and we had a toast, and we properly celebrated.

Kristen: We did. We had three days of taking care of parents, and then we got to process and drink some Dom.

Robert: I mean, it really is we’re in the thick of it. We have young kids that we’re taking care of, we have older parents that we’re taking care of, and we’re dealing with our careers being in mid-flower.

Kristen: And Frozen II.

LRM Online: Wow. You guys are juggling a lot. I mean, a lot. You have a full load. I mean …

Kristen: You would cancel your workout too is what I …

LRM Online: Well, yes.

Robert: Don’t judge us.

LRM Online: Yes, I agree. I would do the same thing. You did the right thing.

So, okay, now let’s talk about Frozen II. I mean, you’ve just become like this regular icon of having like such good hits. In this case, I mean we know, “Into the Unknown” was a full success for Frozen II, how do you go about composing these songs? Do you get the story like the plot first, or do you just kind of have like this vault saved with like these creations of yours, and then you just pull them out? How does it work?

Kristen: Oh, I wish. That would be so easy both of those options. But it all starts with no story just an idea. In this case it was an idea from Jennifer Lee. She called us and said, “Hey, guys. I know we’re working on Frozen Broadway, but we are also going to do Frozen II, and we think it’s going to be about change and maturity. And what do you say? Want to do this with us?” And then we talk and we talk and we talk. And then there’s the first draft where you write a few songs, and then that draft totally changes. And then you write a second draft, and maybe there’s one or two songs from the first draft in it. And you get seven sort of goes with seven different screenings, and every one is vastly different, and you hope by the seventh screening there are enough songs in there to make it a musical.

Robert: And by that time they’re animating it, and it’s largely out of your control. But the animators, and the effects artists, and all of the wonderful players that could apply to it really elevate the thing, and it’s just wonderful.

LRM Online: So, share that moment when you both know this is it. How do you know? What’s that feel? What’s then to know when you get it?

Robert: We’re talking about the story, and usually it brings up a moment in the story. For example, with “Into the Unknown,” a moment that resonates with us just in our lives, and if it resonates in the story and if it resonates in your life that means that it’s probably something that will resonate with other people too. So, I mean, I think Kristen really resonated with that idea of being called to a different purpose.

Kristen: By thinking that you know what your life is, and she’s in a happy place. She’s really grateful, she has her sister, she has her kingdom, but there’s that restlessness that’s like, “I’m meant for something different.”

And I really wrestled with that in my 20s because I was a musical theater actress, and living in New York and happy, but I just had this feeling like this isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing. Like how many times can I play a nun in New Hampshire? And just trying to listen to the voice of like, “I want to do something in music and theater and storytelling, but what is it?” And doing the hard work of stepping out into the unknown, and saying like, “What would it be like to do my own cabaret, and what if I wrote a song for it?” And out of that somebody said, “You’re a songwriter.” And then saying, “Well, what do I do with that?” And I went to the BMI workshop, and I wrote my first song, and it was like the sky opened. Like, “Oh my gosh, I’m not an actress I’m a writer. I’m a songwriter.” And then I met my husband three weeks later. I found my purpose and my soul mate in the same month.

LRM Online: Perfect timing.

Robert: Lucky me.

LRM Online: Okay, so to finalize a fun question: What would be the one classic film, say Casablanca or Sound of Music, that you wish you could have had a chance to work with and create a song for?

Kristen: Oh, I know what Bobby’s is.

Robert: So, Star Wars for sure. I mean, Star Wars is my very favorite thing ever, so I would love to be involved with it one day. It’s still going, if you haven’t heard.

LRM Online: Let’s put it out there in the universe. It’s out there.

Robert: Yeah, the galaxy.

Kristen: You know, I actually I love My Fair Lady. But I would love to have written a song at the end where she says, “I’m not coming back to you. I’m taking these skills that I’ve learned, and I’m going to go start a school in my neighborhood, and pass this English knowledge down.”

Robert: That song didn’t exist.

LRM Online: That sounds good. Well, you never know they might do something, a newer version for the newer generation.

Kristen: I love, love, love My Fair Lady. I adapted it and sung one time, and adapted it in fourth grade. My own version. We put it on for the whole school, and it had my own themes in it, and she called Henry Higgins a ding-a-ling. I found it recently.

Robert: You ding-a-ling. Sort of great.

LRM Online: Well, thank you so much guys for your time and sharing your experience on hearing the news. And congratulations, and I wish you all the success and luck.

Robert: Thanks so much.

Kristen: Thank you.

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SOURCE: LRM Exclusive