Did you ever struggle to make friends at school?
Kristen Bell: If I’m being honest, no. I was always really outgoing, but I was a weird type of outgoing. My family embraced uniqueness on all levels. That’s another reason I’m proud of this film. Part of the message is embrace who you are, even if you’re different and unique. Individuality makes us special. I always had pretty decent social skills. But I also liked to be alone and talk to my dogs.
Who would you say is your favorite Disney princess?
Kristen Bell: Ariel. I mean, Jasmine, great, nothing against her. (laughs) But I liked Aladdin because I went through a tomboy phase, and I liked his adventures spirit. I identified more with Aladdin than I did with Jasmine. I also liked Abu.
Having grown up in Detroit, do you have any favorite winter memories?
Kristen Bell: I’m a huge fan of winter, much more than summer. I’m the only person who lives in California that doesn’t appreciate the weather, or sushi. (laughs) I don’t really care for either.
But I love cold weather, and I’m always trying to get back to the snow, as opposed to the beach. I always had dogs growing up, so seeing the dogs run through the snow always made me laugh.
You just had a baby girl. How does it make you feel that she’ll eventually watch this film when she’s older?
Kristen Bell: It makes me nervous. I hope she likes it. What if she’s like, “This is crap.” (laughs) I would just melt. I hope she would like it as much as I loved Disney movies growing up. But if she doesn’t, and she’s super into off-roading like her dad (Bell’s husband, Dax Shepard), which I already feel like she’s showing signs of, then great.
But I’ll still show it to her, and hope that she’ll be proud of her mom. If she only wants to see it once, and says, “I don’t need to see it again,” I won’t be offended.
What do you think makes Frozen different from other Disney movies?
Kristen Bell: Everything is unique in this one. The love story is unique because it’s really about siblings, and the love of family. A lot of the movies have an adventure component, but I think this one has a bigger adventure. The antagonist is also really the protagonist, as Elsa is not evil. The lines are blurred between the protagonist and the antagonist.
I think my character, in being one of the heroines, isn’t as nearly put together as any other sweet Disney heroine. I wanted her to be out of her element, and she was. Every time she would snort, or trip, I would ask them to add it, and they would. It was great.
The whole scene where she wakes up in the beginning with saliva all over the face, I wanted her to also have hair in her mouth. The scene just said that she wakes up, and I just started snoring. When (directors) Chris (Buck) and Jen (Lee) were in the room, they would just say, “Let’s just let her do it, and see how far she takes it.” (laughs)
Sometimes I wake up like that, which is gross! Then you have hair in your mouth, and you start coughing. The animators totally got what I was trying to do. It’s cool, and way more fun when stuff is realistic like that, instead of the perfection of waking up with mascara on.
