Frozen 2 is one of the best sequels Disney has ever made. I’ll just build that hill right now, climb it, sit on top, and die on it. It continues the subverting of tropes started in the first movie, flipping traditional gender norms around and offering things subtle and new. Beyond that, it’s a tale filled with deep magic, a story of fairy tales vs. myths, and there is more of the fantastical this time around.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with the cast of Frozen 2 during the junket weekend in Los Angeles and get a little bit of face time with each of them. We talked about plenty of things, but I made sure to ask them all the one question I wanted to know: If anyone in the cast were to actually secretly have magical powers, who would it be – and what power would they have? They were game to talk about it, with some delightful answers.
First, Kristen Bell is convinced Josh Gad is the one hiding magical powers:
“Josh has the power of persuasion – he can convince us to do everything.”
“That’s what he said about you,” I pointed out.
“He DID?!” Bell demanded. “Okay…maybe,” she conceded after a second. “I’m good at convincing people of things, but so is Josh.”
Frozen III tiebreaker, anyone?
Score so far: Josh – 1
Josh Gad, as it turns out, thinks the same exact thing of Bell – but first, he had to gush over Jonathan Groff’s baby blues:
“I think that Jonathan Groff has the power to just woo any human being alive. I think he just gives you one look and you just fall into those baby blues where you’re just like, ‘Wh-what? What is this power that you have over me?’ It’s astounding to watch. And Kristen Bell also has the power of influence. She can just get people to do whatever she wills them to do! Everybody’s pretty powerful except for me, I would say.”
Score so far: Josh – 1, Jonathan – 1, Kristen – 1
For her part, Idina Menzel marvels at Jonathan Groff’s level of chill:
“Jonathan Groff has the power of letting things just roll off his back. He’s just one of these people that has a light about him – not that the other cast members don’t! I could go on about everyone. But there’s just this sweetness about him and this ability to walk in a room and kind of make everyone feel chill. That would be my superpower, if I could just feel chill whenever I needed to.”
Score so far: Jonathan – 2, Josh – 1, Kristen – 1
Current leader Jonathan Groff unknowingly handed Kristen the tie thanks to her powers of planning:
“I feel like Kristen Bell has the ability to see into the future. I feel like she might actually have that – because she’s so on it, she’s so intelligent and she really knows how to run the show. So I feel like her power of foresight and planning goes onto, like, superhero level planning.”
“That’s interesting,” I revealed, “because Josh said you’d have the powers of persuasion, and Idina said she would love to have your ability to just let things roll off you.”
“Oh my God, really? That’s so sweet!”
Score so far: Jonathan – 2, Kristen – 2, Josh – 1
Last but not least, cast newcomers Sterling K. Brown and Evan Rachel Wood threw a brand-new contender into the mix:
“I mean, Josh has the ability to be the funniest person in the room always,” said Wood.
“He’s very funny,” agreed Brown, before serving up his own choice: “I would say, Idina may not be human.” Wood nodded in agreement.
Brown explained, “Her voice is…like, we’re saying she’s human for the time being, just not to start any controversy, but…”
“She’s gotta be from Venus or some mythical land,” laughed Wood. “Definitely something crazy,” Brown agreed.
Final score: Kristen – 2, Jonathan – 2, Josh – 2, Idina – 1
Frozen 2 is in theaters this weekend. Get your tickets here.
