Frozen II’s Evan Rachel Wood Might Actually Be A Disney Princess In Real Life

For years, Frozen fans have thought they’d figured out the mystery of what happened to Anna and Elsa’s (Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell) parents. Some thought that perhaps the King and Queen of Arendelle wrecked their ship on the very same island where Tarzan (star of another Disney cartoon) grew up, making him the long lost son of the Scandinavian kingdom. Another popular one suggested that the duo were on their way to the wedding of Rapunzel from Tangled, which could suggest that Mandy Moore’s character is Elsa and Anna’s cousin. But, as the new sequel reveals, the Frozen sisters’ mother and father actually have a much more complicated history. And we get to hear some of it from Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood) herself, via a new song, “All Is Found.” 

Wood, whose tune is the first big musical number of the sequel, is almost too aware of how monumental her role in the new film is. Luckily, she was extremely prepared.

“I've been training for this my whole life,” she tells Refinery29, one early November afternoon.  “I've been singing Disney as long as I can remember; it taught me how to sing.” 

Wood has also stepped into the literal shoes of every Disney princess  — for Halloween, but still. Her first starring role was in a kindergarten play as The Little Mermaid’s Ariel: “I had a little Flounder stuffed animal and a scarf wrapped around my legs. It was literally the best day of my life.” She had all the requisite royally-themed nightgowns as a kid. Her favorite princesses (besides her onscreen daughters) are Sleeping Beauty, Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, and Mulan. 

“Jasmine was not having it. She was like, No, I'm going to have my own life. I don't care if I have to climb this wall,” she explains, adding that Mulan, with her combat skills and love of menswear, “had me written all over it.” 

She’s got tips for the Disney parks (bring your headphones to Disneyland — “‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ on It’s A Small World brings a whole other layer”) and Disney-themed workout suggestions (“I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” from Mulan is her favorite song to run to). 

And now, she’s passing her fandom on: “When my son was born, I sang him Disney lullabies every night.”

It’s that last part that really makes Frozen II personal for Wood. While preparing to record her scenes and her brand new song, she sang “All Is Found” to her son as a bedtime routine — with the little nose boop (you’ll know it when you see it), and everything. 

“By the time he watched it, he just thought they were animating our bedtime routine. He was like, This is what we do. You sing this, you do the [nose] thing. He was so happy,” she says with a wide grin. “I feel like I'm a cool mom right now for this brief moment. I'm nailing it.”

Beyond her own love of the Disney realm, Wood says she’s just happy to be part of a fandom that her son can also enjoy. “He still thinks Westworld's called Cowboyland and it’s a comedy, so that's going to be a rude awakening.”