The Next Right Thing

At the darkest moment of the film, Anna is faced with uncertainty about what to do next after apparently losing both her beloved sister Elsa as well as Olaf, a snowman created by Elsa's magic. In her song "The Next Right Thing," she expresses her feelings of depression. As the song progresses, she reaches the realization that when faced with uncertainty, one must simply focus on doing "The Next Right Thing."[2][3]

Bell told director Jennifer Lee she wanted to see Anna "face her codependency head-on" and "a song about what she's going to do when she doesn't know what to do".[4] Anderson-Lopez and Lopez drew inspiration from personal tragedy in the lives of two people that worked on Frozen and Frozen II; co-director Chris Buck lost a son, and Andrew Page, a central figure in the music production of both films, lost a daughter. Buck's son died around the time when Buck needed to begin the interviews and press tours to promote Frozen; the Lopezes witnessed how Buck insisted on going through that highly public process and the subsequent awards season even though he was dealing with such a terrible personal tragedy at the same time. Anderson-Lopez stated when writing the lyrics, she "really just thought about them, and wrote it for them."[5] Bell said she drew inspiration from her own mental health.[6]

A lot of people feel that feeling: What do I do when I don't know what to do? My personal mantra is you just do the next right thing. It also stems from when I am experiencing anxiety and depression. What do I do when I don't want to get out of bed in the morning? You just do the next right thing, and that's stepping out of bed. The next right thing is brushing your teeth. The next right thing is eating your breakfast. The next right thing is looking at your calendar and going to work. This idea of having an intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation is something that as a parent I know is incredibly important to show kids and to help them cope. I really wanted Anna to be representative of that.[7]

In the English version, Kristen Bell sings "The Next Right Thing"

As it happened in Moana with a Tahitian,[8] Māori[9] and Hawaiian version,[10] the Sami version was an exceptional dubbing made specifically for the movie, given the inspiration it took from Sami culture.[11][12]

Multiple critics have praised "The Next Right Thing" for its meaning and message. MEAWW argues the song provides "one of the movie's most inspiring messages about dealing with pressure".[44] The Los Angeles Times deemed it the best song of Frozen II.[45] Hypable stated that the song was the "most valuable thing Frozen 2 has to offer".[46] Jonathan Groff, who voices Kristoff in the film, said hearing the song "brought [him] to tears".[47]