The Disney Treasure is shaping up to be an incredible ship. The Disney Wish just launched back in 2022, and I was incredibly impressed with everything about it, but the next brand new Disney Cruise Line ship, the Treasure, is set to launch later this year, and it’s going to have an incredible stage show that may outdo anything we’ve seen before. And it'll have even more Lin-Manuel Miranda music.
Today Disney Cruise Line released some brand new details about Disney’s The Tale of Moana, a brand new Broadway-style stage show that will debut when the Disney Treasure launches in December. It will be an adaptation of Moana the animated movie, but it will include at least one thing the movie never had. “Warrior Face” a song written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the film, that was ultimately never used, will be included in the new show.
What Is “Warrior Face?”
An outtake of “Warrior Face” was included on the Moana soundtrack and a rough animation sketch with music, from Hamilton's Christopher Jackson and Phillipa Soo, can be found on the Blu-ray and Disney+, so we know a bit about the unused song. It appears to have taken place just before the attempt to get Maui’s hook back, and it sees Maui try to inspire Moana to be more like a warrior. Lin-Manuel Miranda says in the Blu-ray extra that it was inspired by the haka, a Maori warrior dance.
Speaking with CinemaBlend back in 2016, director John Musker said that “Warrior Face” was cut because it was a bit too similar to other songs in the film, and that the song, which is ultimately Maui and Moana’s bonding moment, came too early in the story. It’s a good song, so it’s wonderful that it will finally get some time to shine. Hearing the song is certainly one reason that the new Moana show will be worth watching, but it’s not the only one.
The Tale Of Moana Will Include A Massive Te Ka Puppet
The other big piece of information regarding The Tale of Moana is that it will include some incredible puppetry. Michael Curry, who created some of the puppets for The Lion King on Broadway, teamed with Jeff Conover of Disney Live Entertainment to create the puppets, which include a Te Kā puppet that will be “of a scale Disney Cruise Line has never before produced.” Now I need to see this show.
If you’ve seen The Lion King on stage or even been to a Broadway-level show at Disneyland or Walt Disney World that used puppets, you’ve seen some of the creative work that Disney can do. Some of these creations are huge, and seeing them on a cruise ship sounds incredible. A piece of concept art revealed today shows the puppet work on a much smaller scale, as Moana as a toddler will be portrayed by a puppet.
The Tale of Moana is just one of dozens of new offerings that will be on board the Disney Treasure. From a lounge modeled after the Haunted Mansion to a new Worlds of Marvel restaurant show, perhaps with an equally impressive director. the ship is really taking shape. Its maiden voyage is scheduled for December, and bookings for the Disney Treasure are already available.
