Updated Finding Nemo stage show opens at Disney's Animal Kingdom

WondersOfLifeSep 26, 2023

I think this guy's review sums up the new show.

JustAFanJun 20, 2023

"All dis work I have done wit dem only to hear you say dat day sing off key."

WondersOfLifeJun 12, 2023

They do in a Sesame Street kind of sense. Which is literally what it parodies. With that in mind, it is an excellent score. There is only so much you can do with that.

CompedJun 12, 2023

Musically most of those songs were good enough to be mid-tier, forgettable, Disney songs... But the show overall lacks a certain sense of refinement and capability that some of Lopez's later work, Book of Mormon in particular, shows. Compare many of his songs to even some of those from lesser entertainment offerings at the parks throughout history, and arguably they don't have that quality...

networkproJun 12, 2023

Haha, I dont think any would have qualified. Just a few examples What Do You Do with a B.A. in English? It Sucks to Be Me I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today The Internet Is for Porn

CompedJun 12, 2023

I know - but that doesn't mean every song was good enough for Disney standards...

WondersOfLifeJun 12, 2023

Pretty sure Avenue Q won a tony award for best musical, book, and score. :)

CompedJun 12, 2023

I have never been able to find a single piece of information on it except for that one time my friend mentioned he had seen it years ago, after I brought up the rumor that I had once heard years before. I don't even know when they did it, but I can assume it was sometime in 2006 before the show officially was cut down and put in preview. Back then Disney Theatrical was juggling a whole bunch of projects, including some notable failures, and I I really don't think they had the creative or financial ability to put on what would have been a very expensive show if it would have been a scaled up and lengthened version of what was at AK pre-pandemic. Large cast with puppets, although cheaper puppets than Lion King. Not to mention that it would have been Disney's first serious adaption of a film that didn't have any music originally.... I think it never made it to Broadway because from what I heard the show was bloated and the songs weren't all that amazing - given Rob Lopez was essentially just coming off of Avenue Q while writing this, and that show had it's fair share of stinkers I can tell you from seeing that off Broadway myself probably close to a decade ago now at this point, I expect that may have been why the show was cut. I do know the show was over 2 hours long, but that's about it... Probably not good enough for Broadway or not financially sound enough.

Phil12Jun 11, 2023

Everyone knows that fish always sing horribly off key. So, the shorter the better.

WondersOfLifeJun 09, 2023

I seriously wouldn't doubt a full length Nemo Musical that would have also potentially gone onto Broadway... ...Especially since Finding Nemo Jr. literally just came out for schools to perform. Makes total sense. I would have been curious to see how that would have worked.

CompedJun 09, 2023

Entertainment has not been a priority at the parks since Walt Disney Entertainment was neutered post-2001 (and eventually replaced by Disney Live Entertainment in what was readily described to me as a way to "break up a fiefdom"). At least outside of Tokyo. Putting ops in charge of funding and pushing forward entertainment, instead of giving control to a centralized body who can make it the central part of the Disney parks experience was it was for 40+ years, is why we have shows that are cut and under-cast, or allowed to hang around decades back their sell-by date (looking at most shows at DHS for example). Actors are paid more than normal Disney CMs under the parks' Equity agreement - the last one publicly available without being a SAG member gave a wage of, at minimum, $16.82 an hour for principals in 2016, or over $21 today at the current rate of inflation, which tracks nicely with historical pay increases from previous contracts). Given the last agreement was made post-pandemic in fall 2022, they may have deferred the pay increases a bit, but I doubt they cut back on the ancillary benefits costs or other matters. And that was before the unions got an increase in non-actor CM pay... (Can you tell I studied theme park entertainment in college?) Suffice to say when you add in the crew, director, choreographer, and everyone else involved in a show - they're bloody expensive and make Disney almost no money unlike fireworks or large spectaculars (Nemo really only has the cast album, which I own a copy of, at least that I've seen). Easy way to save money is to restructure the show to use less actors, and make it shorter. If you make it shorter, per the Equity agreement, you can do more shows. I believe the cuts allowed Nemo to go from 4-6 shows per day or something similar. More shows mean more people out of the lines and park paths, but also degrades the experiences for CMs working the shows. And arguably the shorter show (which I've yet to see) degrades the experience for the guests as well because it's rushed and clearly lower effort. But I digress... Also - I have it confirmed by an old CM friend of mine, who went to a preview, that Nemo was supposed to be a 2-hour long musical at one point. Was supposed to be a premium hard ticket experience, not unlike Shanghai has among others, but that fell apart due to logistics issues (and possibly the Cirque contract). I have been trying to track down the cut material for years, but nobody seems to know it exists, and anyone who does know isn't talking.

WondersOfLifeJun 09, 2023

It's too late now! Stinky!!!!

disneyC97Jun 08, 2023

Awww...I'll give it another try! Also recognize that not everyone has to like everything. I hate closed venues more!

WondersOfLifeJun 08, 2023

NO!