So in walks the incomparable Lin-Manuel Miranda and he looks at the table of 25 women staring back at him and says, “This is like a really nice version of that scene in The Godfather. You’re all just so happy and smiling.” How is that for an ice breaker?

Seriously, interviewing Lin-Manuel Miranda is definitely something I will remember always. What a kind, funny and extremely humble man. I think everyone in the room was in quiet awe of him, just take a look for yourself and see why.
Okay, so you’re such a huge Disney fan. What is it like to be a part of the Disney family now?
It’s pretty dope. I’m waiting ‘til my son gets a little older to cash in on the one-time, here’s your guided tour, go to the front of the lines, at Disneyland thing. But, no, it’s amazing! I think the most exciting part, for a Disney geek like me, was the story meetings. I’ve had a little Hollywood experience, and there’s nothing like the Disney story experience. You sit at a table, a lot like this, except it’s perfectly round, and the notes are not from execs, the notes are from Jen Lee, the co-director of Frozen, from Pete Docter, who’s working on Inside Out, and did Big Hero 6.
Like, everyone who actually makes the thing, are the ones who are kicking the tires on your story, and making it better. That was my favorite part of the process. Getting to meekly raise my hand, and being like, I think a song could do that better, you know, that was my way into the room. So it’s been a real joy.

So what was the timeline as far as working on Hamilton, and Moana? Were you working on them at the same time?
Yeah. This is the weird day that changed my life. I woke up one Wednesday, and my wife’s a lawyer, she was off to get on a plane to go to a business meeting somewhere else, and she said, I think you might be a father. I have to go to the airport. It was like, six in the morning, and I was like, that’s great — what? Um, I called her at noon once her flight landed, to confirm that I hadn’t dreamt the thing she told me, and then I got the offer — ‘cause I interviewed for the job.
I got the Moana offer that afternoon. Then that offer came with a plane ticket to New Zealand, where the rest of the creative team was already doing music research at this specific music conference in New Zealand. So I got on a plane to New Zealand, and I’m sitting with this secret that we’re five weeks pregnant. It was one of those really insane, life-changing weeks. That was two years and seven months ago. I can remember it, because my son turned two last week. He’s been the marker of time for me.
During the writing of Hamilton, anytime I was sick of the founders, I’d go sail across the sea over to Maui and Moana. And then, we just built it into my crazy schedule. Like, Tuesdays and Thursdays, I didn’t do any press, I didn’t do any meetings, I just wrote all day, ‘cause I meet via Skype with the creative team, at five p.m. Then I would have my seven o’clock curtain. I did a lot of writing in the theater. A lot of the early demos are Phillipa Soo and Chris Jackson singing Maui and Moana, ‘cause they were my in-house band. So it was sort of all hands on deck to help me demonstrate these songs.
I think (when) I turned in my first demo, and I would just sing into my headphones. Then the next day, a representative from Disney sent me a better microphone. They’re like, this cannot stand. That was the process and it was happening concurrently. Then weirdly, my work finished just about the time my run ended, so I was having Tuesday and Thursday meetings all the way up to my last show.
So we saw the movie last night. Had I not known that you’d written those songs, I could’ve said, hey, that sounds like a lot like Lin-Manuel Miranda, that’s amazing. So what was your favorite song to write?
Well isn’t that crazy, first of all? I feel like, like, style is like accent. Like, you don’t hear it on yourself, and then everyone’s like, man, you got a strong accent. I think there’s a couple of songs. I’m really proud of How Far I’ll Go. I literally locked myself up in my childhood bedroom at my parents’ house to write those lyrics. I wanted to get to my angstiest possible place.
Along those lines, what was your inspiration for writing Moana’s song?
A lot of the template was set by our creative team. I think the first thing they animated, and they showed us, was that water test, when Baby Moana interacts with the water, and it’s playing with her. To me that’s so reflective of Pacific culture, that really treats the ocean as a living thing. Two, I think it taps into a really primal chord of any little kid who goes to the beach, who punches back at the waves, or builds a moat to protect their castle. You’re talking to the water. It feels that individual. That’s a thing we forget, when we grow up, that we had this relationship with the water when we were kids. That sequence is such a powerful reminder of it.
I think to that end, when I’m writing Moana’s tunes, and that song in particular, it’s a calling. It’s a calling, the way I felt a calling to write music. It’s a calling to see what’s on the other side of that horizon line. Looking around it, everyone content where they are, and being like, how are you content? Look what’s out there, and we don’t know what’s there. I very much related to that and so that’s sort of what I just tried to imbue Moana with.

Is there anyone that you look up to (musically), or is there a written lyric that is your favorite?
So many. If I were to limit it just to Disney, I could talk to you for three hours about it. I think that’s how you figure out who you are, is you chase your heroes. I chased Ashman and Menken, I chased Sondheim. I chased Jonathan Larson, I chased Biggie, I chased Tupac. And in falling short of all of those, I end up with that style that is an accent I can’t hear. Disney in particular, for me, Howard Ashman is sort of the master of the lyric that is both iconic and conversational.
You know, I think of A Part of Your World, and look at this stuff, as she’s stumbling, and trying to find the words, you know? Dancing around on those, what do you call ‘em? Feet. Or Belle in, in Beauty and the Beast, saying, it’s my favorite part because you’ll see — you know, interrupting her thought to say something else because she’s so excited. Those are the moments you chase, as a songwriter, because they’re the ones that really feel real. I chase that in Hamilton, when, pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir, that depends who’s asking — oh, well, sure.
You know, it just feels like the way people talk. That’s always what I’m chasing in a really good lyric, because it just feels like the way people actually speak. It helps you bridge that divide of these people bursting into song. That’s an impossible leap for a lot of people. People who don’t like musicals are like, why are they singing? Why aren’t they just talking? If you make the lyric feel really conversational, it’s much easier for them to bridge that gap.

What’s next for you? I know you’re working on, um, Mary Poppins Returns but what motivates you? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
My kid gets me out of bed in the morning, and before that, my dog got me out of bed in the morning. Honestly, I think for me, it’s always been like this. I think you balance the things you’ve been dying to do all your life and the opportunities that come along, that you didn’t maybe think of, that are so amazing, that you’d kick yourself if you didn’t try to be a part of them.
So, to that end, is Mary Poppins Returns. You know, who would have dreamed that there’d be a sequel to Mary Poppins, much less, you get to go and sing and dance with Mary Poppins all day. Then there’s the ideas that are still in my head, that were around before Hamilton, that was like, hey, we were here before you were cool. Don’t forget to write us!
I will continue to sort of balance those things. But I also want to stay open. I think every writer’s had the experience of having a really good idea, waiting to write it, and then once you write it, you’re like, oh, I like, kind of got past the sell by date, on this. I’m not connected to the initial spark that was the idea. So just staying open to changing the plan. Who knows what that will inspire? I very much subscribe to the Moana feeling of listening to that voice inside you. Like, if you’re thinking about the idea in the shower. If you’re thinking about the idea while you’re walking your dog, there’s probably something to it. I take the same approach to criticism. I’ll read reviews, I’m not going to lie to y’all. I’ll read ‘em, but then, the next day I’m able to sort of shrug them off. But if something sort of sticks the next day, there’s probably something to it. I just sort of really try to trust my gut on all that stuff.
Exactly that fun. There were only two vocalists that I knew who I was writing for when I was writing. We did a worldwide search for Auli’i so those songs were pretty much in place by the time, uh, she came aboard. I knew The Rock was involved, and I knew when he had the meeting he said, oh, Lin’s writing it, can I rap? So that was fun and it allows us to get a lot of information in about Maui. Maui plays a different role in almost every island. In some, he’s more of a trickster god, in some, he’s a really super-serious demigod. In some, he’s Bugs Bunny. So we got to write our version of him. Also, who else can pull off the lyric, you’re welcome, and still have you like him? You know what I mean? You know, you cast the wrong actor, it’s that guy’s a jerk! But he sings it, and he arches his eyebrow, and he grins, and you’re like, I love this guy!

You’ve mentioned a lot of Disney lyrics throughout this morning, this interview. What was your favorite Disney movie or character, growing up?
The Little Mermaid is number one. That movie came out when I was nine years old. I saw it when I was on a play date with my friend. It was not with my family. It was my friend, Alex. This crab starts singing a Caribbean calypso tune and I was never the same again. I used to get up on my desk in fourth grade and sing it. I remember calling in sick from school, on March 19th, because that was the day it came out on VHS, and I didn’t want to wait ‘til school ended. I wanted to go to the drug store that morning, ‘cause remember the soft covers with the white border? I wanted to get it that day, and I wasn’t going to wait. So I was sick, and I had a stomach ache! And I saw Little Mermaid at ten a.m.
I remember getting the Disney sing-a-long songs, which came out before the movie where they just had “Kiss The Girl” and “Under The Sea”. And then like, nautical themed Disney movies throughout time. So I know all the words to “Whale of a Tale” from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea cause it was on my Little Mermaid sing-a-long songs. It’s sort of that level obsession. Really, I think because of that Sebastian the Crab, that song was unlike any other Disney tune I heard. I was like, that has a Caribbean rhythm to it. I’m from the Caribbean and it just felt like, oh, you can go anywhere. I think, probably, my desire to start writing stuff, I think, began with that movie.

So is your son’s name an homage to that?
It is a nod to that. It’s not the only reason. I don’t think my wife would let that fly. But, it’s mainly my son’s name, because Sebastian’s one of the great bilingual names. Like, Sebastian, en Español,is a bad ass name. It helps that I already had great affection for the name since my youth.
Thanks, guys. I gotta take a picture of this, ‘cause it’s really — this is like, just too much love in one room. Alright, say hi to Twitter……..
and then this happened!
Ahhhh!
See MOANA in theaters November, 23rd.
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Disclosure: I was provided with an all-expense trip to LA by Walt Disney Studios to attend the Red Carpet Premiere of MOANA, as well as visit ABC televisions sets and attend the BFG brunch. All opinions are 100% my own.