The following contains minor spoilers for Frozen II**.**
The first Frozen was a remarkable movie for a lot of reasons, but the killer soundtrack was a big one. In addition to the forever-on-repeat tune that was "Let it Go," every other song in the film was also a worthy one to become somebody's favorite. However, while nearly every character gets a great song in the movie, one character got left out.
Kristoff, voiced by Jonathan Groff, is only given a brief moment to sing his "Reindeers are Better than People" ditty in the first Frozen, and that's it. The actor is finally given time to show off his powerful voice in Frozen II, but it seems Groff was worried that his big chance might get away from him, because he thought his song in the new movie "Lost in the Woods" had a good chance of being cut.
If you've seen Frozen II then you probably understand exactly why Jonathan Groff wasn't sure the song would make it. It's not exactly your traditional Disney musical number. It's a soft rock love song right out of the middle of the 1980s. Groff thought the wild idea would eventually be too wild for Frozen II. According to the actor...
I honestly couldn’t believe that they were going to take such a left turn. I thought, ‘Oh, I can’t imagine that an ’80s slow jam is going to not get cut from the final product of Frozen 2,’ because it was so shocking and surprising and jarring. And I think that’s part of what makes it so brilliant in the movie. It’s also really kind of a gift for the adults watching the movie because, you know, I’ve seen it three times, and the adults in the crowd are the ones that are getting all of the kind of ’80s references in the animation and the sort of execution of the song. The kids are laughing too, but the adults are the ones that are really in on the joke, and I’m thrilled that it made it into the final cut.
As Jonathan Groff points out to EW, it isn't just the song itself that's a bit outside the norm. Within the film, the song is given the full 80s music video treatment. The song turns completely into the skid and embraces what it is. Younger viewers won't get the joke, but their parents will.
Animated movies go through a lot more change than live-action films during their production. Frequently, songs end up getting cut simply because they no longer fit in the movie after the plot has taken a drastic change, as happened with at least one song in the movie.
You can listen to the song below, though if you haven't seen Frozen II, I'd recommend waiting until you see the film, seeing and hearing the song cold in context is extra special.
Frozen II easily won the weekend box office, and with the long Thanksgiving weekend still on the way, the film will only be adding to that total. This means a lot more people will be getting "Lost in the Woods" themselves with Jonathan Groff. Then, during the closing credits, you can hear the song again, as performed by Weezer.
