It seems that it's not too difficult to persuade former professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to belt out showtunes. For composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, the challenge lies in getting him to stop singing.
The creator of the musical "Hamilton" laughingly recalls his first meeting with the brawny actor upon learning they will be working together in Disney's latest offering, "Moana." Miranda laughingly reveals via BBC, "As soon as 'The Rock' signed up, he was like, 'Where is my song?' That was one of his favorite parts of the Disney animated musical tradition."
In "Moana," Johnson play Maui, a legendary shape-shifting demigod whom the titular character enlists to help save her island. He accompanies Moana in her plight, and his antics play a huge part in forming the film's backdrop.
"Moana" director John Musker revealed that they made the decision to cast "The Rock" by watching clips of him playing his ukulele and singing during his stint with WWE. Miranda then took note of the wrestler's vocal register and created a song tailor-fit for "The Rock" to sing.
The result is "You're Welcome," an ear-catching tune with lines that capture the demigod's egotistical nature. Miranda further discloses that he had fun composing a song for the "The Rock," because he knew beforehand that the wrestler will be playing the role of Maui.
The two had so much working in "Moana" that they teamed up to do another project, a 15-minute mock musical that debuted on YouTube on Nov. 29, 2016. Entitled "Millennials: The Musical," it follows twenty-two-year-old Crystal as she deals with life working in a start-up company in New York. Playbill reports that similar to Miranda's previous projects, the musical pokes fun at the technology-laden millennial society.
"Moana" opened in U.S. theaters on Nov. 23, 2016 and received widespread critical and box-office acclaim to the tune of $108 million within a week of showing. Jobs & Hire reports that the film had a lucrative Thanksgiving earnings, hauling in $15.7 million in 3,875 theaters on that day alone.
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