Brand New Musical Aboard Disney Cruise Line

[AVP]

Brand New Musical Aboard Disney Cruise Line
Brings DisneyPixars Toy Story to the Stage for the First Time

CELEBRATION, Fla. Disney Cruise Line will transform one of the most beloved animated features of all time into a stage spectacular aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship when Toy Story-The Musical makes its debut at the Walt Disney Theatre this spring. This is the first time the popular DisneyPixar classic has been adapted for the stage.
Preserving the humor and heart of the original Toy Story film from Pixar Animation Studios, Toy Story-The Musical explores the true meaning of friendship as Buzz Lightyear and Woody transform from jealous adversaries to best friends with an unbreakable bond. The shows elaborate costumes capture the vibrant colors and playfulness of the animated characters. Guests of all ages will delight in an original collection of show tunes that retell the story in a fun and energizing way.
World-class Disney entertainment is an important hallmark of Disney Cruise Line that sets us apart from the rest of the cruise industry and one of the reasons guests sail with us again and again, said Disney Cruise Line President Tom McAlpin. Toy Story-The Musical represents the next generation of staged entertainment for Disney Cruise Line and a great enhancement to our incredible array of entertainment aboard the Disney Wonder.
Following the storyline of the original DisneyPixar film, Toy Story-The Musical will give guests a toys eye-view of life in Andys room. The musical opens with an introduction to Woody, a
pull-string talking cowboy who has long been six-year-old Andys favorite toy.
But Andys birthday brings a new arrival Buzz Lightyear, the coolest action figure in the universe. Woodys jealousy gets the better of him and he schemes to get rid of his new rival, but things go dreadfully awry. Woody and Buzz find themselves outside of Andys room and in a hostile world. Working together and overcoming their differences, they find their way back to Andy along the way developing an appreciation of one another and creating a friendship.
The Toy Story film offered us a rich story and some incredible visual elements to build upon, noted Jim Urry, vice president of Entertainment for Disney Cruise Line. The team we assembled created costumes, set designs and a whole new musical score to literally transport our guests into the middle of the whimsical world of Buzz and Woody.
Taking audiences into that world was no small task. Larger-than-life props help transform the 977-seat Walt Disney Theatre into a toy-sized world of fun and adventure. A rear projection screen aids the transformation between human-sized and toy-sized scenes and takes the show from the comfort of Andys room to the frenzied world of Pizza Planet to the frightening room of Andys neighbor, Sid.
Using Randy Newmans Oscar nominated hit song Youve Got a Friend in Me as a departure point, this production has a new eight-song score that brings the story to life. New York-based Valerie Vigoda and Brendan Milburn from the band GrooveLily blended together pop, rock and folk music to create a contemporary score that truly captures the heartfelt whimsy of the animated tale.
The costumes for Toy Story-The Musical are some of the most complex ever developed for a Disney Cruise Line production. Costume designer Ann Closs-Farley created an extraordinary vision for what the characters would look like on stage. With a combination of articulated puppets and inflatable costumes, the Toy Story characters come to life including a nearly 9-foot-tall version of Rex the dinosaur and a 4-foot-round Hamm the piggybank.
In all, Toy Story-The Musical represents one of the largest productions ever developed for a cruise ship. This is just the second time a Pixar animated feature has been adapted for the stage by Disney Creative Entertainment. In early 2007, Finding Nemo-The Musical debuted at Disneys Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort and has been a tremendous success.
When we first thought of bringing Toy Story to the stage, there was a great deal of excitement about the project, said Anne Hamburger, Disney Creative Entertainment executive vice president. Everyone on our team could immediately see how the heart and comedy of these characters could come alive in a memorable way that is unique to musical theatre.
Toy Story-The Musical compliments an already stellar lineup of entertainment performed every voyage on the Disney Wonder, joining stage shows The Golden Mickeys and the award-winning Disney Dreams.
A leader in the family cruise segment, Disney Cruise Line offers three-, four- and seven-night itineraries to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Land/sea vacation packages that include a stay at Walt Disney World Resort are also available.
To learn more about Disney Cruise Line or to book a vacation, guests can contact their travel agent, visit www.disneycruise.com or call Disney Cruise Line at 888/DCL-2500. Travel agents can call Disney Cruise Line at 888/325-2500 or visit www.disneytravelagents.com.


About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is an Academy Award-winning film studio with world-renowned technical, creative and production capabilities in the art of computer animation. Creator of some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time, including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and most recently, Ratatouille. The Northern California studio has won 20 Academy Awards and its eight films have grossed more than $4 billion at the worldwide box office to date. The next film release from DisneyPixar is WALLE (June 27, 2008).

[Niwel]

So not on the Magic

[Drince88]

When is "Spring" on the ships? If it's Mother's Day or earlier, it looks like I'll get to see this!!!

[Tony]

So not on the Magic

Nope - the Magic got Twice Charmed as their replacement to Hercules. The Wonder is replacing Hercules with this.

When is "Spring" on the ships? If it's Mother's Day or earlier, it looks like I'll get to see this!!!

I don't know that I would guarantee it, but I would guess that it would probably be running in May.

[bradk]

granted i believe the initial buzz was that it was supposed to start in january (i think they started rehearsals back in november)

[AVP]

When is "Spring" on the ships? If it's Mother's Day or earlier, it looks like I'll get to see this!!!

According to my rep at Disney, "late March."

AVP

[Karin]

What are the chances they'll bring this onto the Magic for the Repo trips, since they have to have entertainment for 2 weeks, theoretically without repeating anything?

[Drince88]

According to my rep at Disney, "late March."

AVP

YEA!!! That still gives them a month to slip for me!

What are the chances they'll bring this onto the Magic for the Repo trips, since they have to have entertainment for 2 weeks, theoretically without repeating anything?

Would they have room in the theater for the extra set of sets and such? I would think that would be limiting. (Plus, I doubt if they'd have two sets of sets/costumes/props/etc, so if they put it on the Repro, there's quite a few Wonder sailings that would miss out on it, including mine )

[Disneyphile]

Dang. That actually makes me want to go on the Wonder. It'd just have to be longer than a 4-night cruise though. I'm now spoiled and can't do anything less than 7.