“Show Yourself” by Idina Menzel & Evan Rachel Wood

The song “Show Yourself” comes to us via the Disney animated film “Frozen 2” (2019) and fits directly into the storyline of that film. The particular segment in which “Show Yourself” is featured has the protagonist, Elsa, interacting with an entity known as the River Full of Memory. Elsa is portrayed by Idina Menzel, and thus it is her performance which dominates this song. 

And from what we have gathered, the River Full of Memory holds the answers to many mysteries concerning Elsa’s past. And that apparently is the reason she sought it out in the first place. The desired magical properties of this water body were introduced to her via stories her mother, Queen Iduna, used to tell her. And Queen Iduna is voiced by Evan Rachel Wood. Thus some of her appearances in this song are actually flashbacks to what she had told Elsa earlier about the river. And on others she is backing up Elsa in admonishing the river to ‘show itself’. 

Or put differently, Elsa has trekked in order to finally reach this destination for the specific goal of receiving answers to her most-pressing questions. And now that she has arrived, she is demanding that this magical force indeed manifests itself and fulfill the task which her mother said it would.

Facts about “Show Yourself”

This is the first time Menzel and Wood, both actresses and singers, have teamed up on a song.

This track came out with the rest of the “Frozen 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” on 15 November 2019.

It was penned by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

Robert and Kristen also co-produced the song with D. Metzger and T. MacDougall.

“Show Yourself” samples another song from the “Frozen 2” soundtrack entitled “All Is Found”. The latter, recited solely by Wood, is based on the legend Queen Iduna tells her daughters (including Elsa) about the River Full of Memory.