King Louie’s Still Got the Beat!

Extremely recently, I posted about the upcoming show ‘Mickey and the Magical Map,’ coming to Disneyland’s Fantasyland Theater.  In fact, said post had a title basically the same as this one’s (find the difference?).

In that post, I shared with you a clip of a backstage rehearsal of The Jungle Book number “I Wanna Be Like You” used in the show.

Well, literally two days ago, InsidetheMagic.net (get used to see them mentioned a lot around here!) shared even more exclusive sneak peeks at the show.  One of the videos they posted shows a preview of a dress rehearsal for the show, including the King Louie piece, now complete with costumes and set!

And, sorry Dewey, but the stilted dancers aren’t giraffes.

Video form YouTube. Check out the InsidetheMagic.net article for another cool behind-the-scenes video! Random, but in the thumbnail, Flynn looks like he’s just seen a ghost!

The screen (er, I mean, the magical map) looks great.  However, Yen Sid did look a bit…unfinished?  Something just seemed off with him.

I really really love the “I Wanna Be Like You” number, especially with the colorful jungle set!  I thought it was interesting that the trumpet player wasn’t the same guy from before -- and yet the article has a picture with the original guy.  And did some of the dance moves for Louie change?  Well, I still love it anyway.



Love this set so much!
Video screencapture by THE Disney Freak and
taken from the included video.

And the ending scene (of the video) with Flynn and Rapunzel, Pocahontas, and Mulan almost gives me chills.  It’s very well-done.  I had a hard time understanding what Pocahontas was singing – “I See the Light” with our Tangled stars or “Just Around the Riverbend”?  I’m not sure.



Such a great scene.
Video screencapture by THE Disney Freak and
taken from the included video.

All in all, I am really excited to see this show – online, of course, and hopefully someday at Disneyland.  While I don’t expect it to replace Fantasmic! as my absolute favorite show (really, anything Disney), I do think Mickey and his magical map will become a new favorite of mine.

See ya all real soon!

King Louie’s Got the Beat!

There’s a new show coming to Disneyland Park’s Fantasyland Theater: Mickey and the Magical Map!

Opening later this month (May 25th, to be exact), the show will be about (who else?) Mickey Mouse who through the powers of a (I’ll let you guess) magical map, travels to different worlds and meets up with some favorite Disney characters.

Many popular Disney sites, such as InsidetheMagic.net and the Disney Parks Blog, have shared this short clip of a rehearsal of the The Jungle Book segment, featuring an awesome articulated King Louie!

Video from YouTube.

InsidetheMagic.net (one of my new favorite sources) has a great article detailing some more sneak peeks to the show.  As the article states, “[Disney’s] trying to put a modern twist on some Disney classics. This one infused a slight Bollywood feel into the swingin’ tune. Don’t be alarmed. They’re not ruining the classics. This was a really good arrangement.”  I totally agree.  This is a great version of an old Disney classic.

Finally, just wanted to point out that the trumpet player is indeed really playing.  I also love the fact that even just watching the dancers instead of King Louie is entertaining.  Great dance moves for this song.

I’m really curious what the dancers on stilts are supposed to be in the final show.  Guess I’m gonna have to wait and see in ten days!



Video screencapture by THE Disney Freak and taken from the included video.

ttfn!