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  • - 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.

  • 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]

- Time to warm up, Jenny.

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