First look at 'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!' as previews begin

Jun 10, 2022 in "Finding Nemo The Big Blue and Beyond"

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'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

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Posted: Friday June 10, 2022 1:51pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Cast member previews begin today for 'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!' and Disney has shared more pictures from the reworked show at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

Watch the video below for a quick look at the Finding Nemo show from the previews.

The freshly reimagined return of this popular stage show on June 13 2022 invites guests into the undersea setting that charmed audiences around the world in the Disney and Pixar smash-hit animated film, “Finding Nemo.”

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

The fully updated, 25-minute show immerses audiences in the story of Marlin and Nemo – an overprotective clownfish father and his curious son – through a production that combines music, puppets, dancers and animated backdrops. “This show incorporates many of the songs from the original musical, as well as amazing puppetry and live performers that fill the stage,” said show director James Silson, Disney Live Entertainment.

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

This underwater adventure is a reimagined retelling of Disney and Pixar’s “Finding Nemo: The Musical,” which debuted at the theme park in 2007 and ran for more than 13 years. As in the original production, Marlin and Nemo each go on a separate journey that ultimately teaches them how to love and understand each other better. Except in this algae-friendly adaptation of that beloved tale, the storytellers are a group of fish living at the Marine Life Institute.

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

The 1,500-seat Theater in the Wild transports guests to an undersea world through innovative special effects, sound and lighting, and the theatrical puppetry of Michael Curry, who co-designed the richly detailed character puppets seen in the Broadway version of Disney’s “The Lion King.” Main characters such as Marlin, Nemo and Dory are represented by live performers operating animated puppets. Some puppets are larger-than-life – such as Crush, the cool sea turtle, who is nearly the size of a car.

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

In addition to a new script, the show features new set pieces and a custom LED video wall that visually extends the physical sets on stage – including a 32-foot-long sunken submarine. “We’ve taken a new approach to the set for ‘Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!’,” said art director Matt Fiuza, Disney Live Entertainment. “We were inspired by 3D cut paper art and sculptures as we developed the scenic in the show. Our team had such an exciting time looking at our tank set through this brand-new lens of this watercolor sculpture aesthetic.”

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

The current schedule lists six shows per day, with two in the morning and four in the afternoon.

Morning performances:

10:30am
11:30am

Afternoon performances:

12:30pm
2:30pm
3:30pm
4:30pm

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! preview

'Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!' offer Lightning Lane access and is included with Genie+.

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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.