In Arendelle it's hard to get bored
No matter how hard the internet gossips try, Arendelle is not Hallstatt. Nor does he need. It is obvious that the fictional kingdom and the Austrian people are similar, but, of course, the comparisons are odious and Arendelle, it is not only that it is located in a fjord and not in a lake, it is that, in addition, it has a queen with powers. And that, whether you like the monarchy or not, game is going to give.
As if this wasn't enough, Its cobblestone streets house everything one asks of the place one would choose to escape from the world: colored wooden houses, cute shops, party banners, some adorable neighbors, who smile at you the same as they mark a musical performance; and, of course, the castle from the Disney movies, with large halls and fireplaces always ready to warm up a winter day.
We don't know if we like the kingdom of Arendelle better dressed in summer or winter
In this case, the home of Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) is **a mix of the crude medieval fortress of Akershus, in Oslo, and the royal palace of Stiftsgården, **which was built in 1778 in Trondheim .
And it is that the world of fantasy with which it is shaped Frozen. The ice kingdom, the first of the two films that can be seen in Disney+ , takes as a reference the Scandinavian landscapes that one presupposes The queen of the snow (Hans Christian Andersen) and ends with be inspired by Norway. In its architecture, in its culture, in its traditions and, especially, in its nature. And if not, look for images of Sogn and Geiranger fjords.
Therefore, if we had to place Arendelle on the map, it would represent a dot surrounded by nature, drawn in the image and likeness of a winning trio of aces in terms of landscapes: the already mentioned Norway to which Finland and Iceland are added for Frozen II.
Whether it was with the colors of a day with good weather, autumn dresses or a pristine white when Elsa's powers go out of her hands and Arendelle freezes, landscapes had to be imposing. Not in vain, the protagonists are very given to doing what we often dream of so much: drop everything and walk away.
The North Mountain is still home to the ice palace that Elsa built
So much so that in the first film, Elsa not only leaves without looking back, but she chooses the top of the North Mountain to, through powers, create ice and snow with her hands, erect an ice palace that we don't think even Idealist is capable of appraising.
Inspired by the Quebec Ice Hotel, We don't know if she used the 15,000 tons of snow and 500,000 tons of ice that the Canadian needs each year. What we do know is that the construction plans were so complex that 30 hours of work were spent on a single frame. In fact, the scene where Elsa steps out onto the balcony of her newly built palace It has 218 frames and includes the one that required the most time: 132 hours.
The sunrise seen at that moment is well worth it and has a lot of the fairy tale vibe that the Norwegian and Finnish environments inspired. director Chris Buck and director and screenwriter Jennifer Lee, responsible for both films. The part of the myth was provided by Iceland and how small and overwhelmed nature makes her feel.
So one look at Enchanted Forest, in which much of the plot of Frozen II takes place, involves transporting to the beautiful autumn foliage of the landscapes of northern Norway, with its incredibly tall trees, with its brightly colored floors and even with the native plants of the Tromsø botanical gardens.
The landscapes of northern Norway and Finland inspired the creation of the Enchanted Forest
The tranquility, the stillness and that feeling that there is always someone watching you were born from the walk through the forests of Finland to the Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church and the visit to Lake Inari and the Sami Island of Ukonkivi that the Disney team made in September 2016.
From Iceland they brought the unpredictability of nature. Also, images on the retina of Reynisfjara, a beach of black sand and cliffs of basalt columns, with which they would create the scene in which Elsa enters the Dark Sea; and the excursion to Solheimajökull Glacier, ideas to bring Ahtohallan to life.
Enchanted forests and furious seas as a way of venerating and valuing nature and the need to understand that it cannot be dominated. “We only trust nature. When nature speaks, we listen." This spirit is summed up in this phrase pronounced by Yelana, the leader of the Northuldra, the people who inhabit the Enchanted Forest and who are inspired by the Sami.
If in the first film we already saw references to the Sami culture with Kristoff's character (Jonathan Groff) and, among other things, his love for reindeer reflected in Sven; in the second, Walt Disney's creatives enter a level of detail in which not even the way they sit escapes them.
They traveled to document themselves on the ground, counted during the creation of the film on the advice of a Sami working group, the Verddet, and they came to meet jokers, the artists who interpret the songs of this town. Hence, the musical number in canon that are marked.
But of course, who wouldn't want to travel to Arendelle when you know that the soundtrack of your adventure would be composed by Christophe Beck and the songs Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez? Which would you be: team Let It Go or team Show Yourself?
The first one has an Oscar, it serves for an escape, to mark a point and separate in your life and tell the world that now you are going to do what you want, like building an ice palace with two swipes. It also has a spectacular change of clothing and look. So important was the point at which Elsa throws the crown that animators at the Burbank studios They had the advice of the celebrity hairdresser Danilo. If he has styled actresses like Rooney Mara, Scarlett Johansson or Penelope Cruz, why wouldn't he help define Elsa's new style?
The second accompanies Elsa in her search for answers. After raising pillars of ice and merging with the elements of nature, the truth comes to her with a musical number that could well serve to represent her kingdom in Eurovision: minimalist show as far as people are concerned, but full of special effects, in the purest style of the Nordic countries at the festival. And of course, Arendelle: 12 points.
It would not be for less if we take into account the display of details that the four years of work invested in Frozen II. If it was the first Disney movie to feature Beast, a software designed to simulate hair solutions, what wouldn't they do with landscapes. For now cause Kristen Bell wondered, excitedly, when seeing the first trailer if what was on the screen was really animation.
You see, Olaf, adults don't have all the answers, even if you dream of growing up so that everything makes sense. And it is that the 'cuddly' snowman that Josh Gad brings to life also appears in Frozen II. He continues to adore summer and warm hugs, a permafrost accompanies his steps to prevent him from melting, his optimism is unwavering, he has phrases to write down and manages to summarize in 30 glorious and comical seconds the hour and 42 minutes that Frozen lasts. The ice kingdom. It has merit: I'm already going for 7 minutes.
Innocence made a snowman is called Olaf