Kristen Bell surprises fans at 'Frozen Sing-Along' in Hollywood

Fans at opening night of the Frozen Sing-Along at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood got more than they wished for when the movie’s star Kristen Bell came out to introduce the special screening. “There is no way to foresee a movie’s success or how much it would touch people,” Bell exclusively told EW before taking the stage. “You strive to make the best movie possible and I felt like we did that.”

Bell was joined by her film counterpart Princess Anna, her sister, Queen Elsa, and even snow, a rare sight in California. The snow of course was fake, but the joy was real for the hundreds of fans present, some even dressed for bed to celebrate a pajama-themed night.

(You may be surprised by the number of Frozen-themed pajamas out there, but the highest-grossing animated film of all time has created a mini empire that includes branded costumes and dolls, many of which were proudly on display Friday night).

“I don’t even know how to digest any of that,” Bell says of the film’s financial success. “I don’t know if it will seem normal in my lifetime.”

Normal for Bell these days is getting ready to welcome her second child with husband Dax Sheperd (daughter Lincoln was born last March). “I couldn’t imagine not changing diapers 24 hours a day last summer,” she says. Though she may still be best known as Veronica Mars, Bell got her start performing on stage, and began studying opera at the age of 11. “I sang only in Italian till I was 13 or 14,” she says.

After making her Broadway debut in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a return to a musical role is a dream come true for the self-proclaimed Disney fanatic. “It’s especially invigorating because music is what brought me to performing and acting in general,” Bell says. “From doing so much non-singing work and being satisfied with that to have it then be able to reincorporate music into what you do as a performer — which is hopefully tell a good story — it feels weirdly full circle. To be able to do it is one thing, to be hired to do it is really lucky.”

Disney’s Frozen Sing-Along is playing at the El Capitan through September 7th and special edition DVD will be released November 18.