When the director Barry Jenkins approached Lin-Manuel Miranda about writing the songs for “Mufasa,” Disney’s new photorealistic prequel to the 2019 remake of “The Lion King,” he was, to say the least, a little busy.
It was the summer of 2021, and Miranda had just finished writing the soundtrack for “Encanto,” also from Disney. He was editing his feature directorial debut, the Jonathan Larson biopic “Tick, Tick … Boom!” He was doing press — or about to — for those two movies, along with two more: “In the Heights” (the adaptation of his Tony Award-winning musical) and “Vivo.”
But Miranda, a longtime “Lion King” fan, knew that if he turned down Jenkins on “Mufasa,” he would regret it.
“I basically said to him, ‘I am in serious need of a nap, and I need to finish this movie. And if you can wait like six months for me, I think I can help you,’” said Miranda, 44.
Jenkins could wait, it turned out. The resulting film (in theaters) includes seven songs written by Miranda, who is best known as the creator of the musical “Hamilton.” The movie tells the story of how Mufasa grew up and came to power before Simba was born.
Miranda wrote a romantic ballad, the Mufasa/Sarabi duet “Tell Me It’s You”; he crafted a villain song for Mads Mikkelsen’s white lion (“Bye Bye”); and dreamed up a rollicking number for Mufasa and his surrogate brother Taka that was inspired by the relationship between his own young sons (“I Always Wanted a Brother”).
In a video call last week from Austin, where Miranda — shorn of his famous goatee — was filming a cameo for a friend’s upcoming indie film, he discussed why he didn’t return for “Moana 2” and shared a peek into his songwriting process, including the life hack he learned from the longtime Disney lyricist Howard Ashman. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Take me back to the moment in 2014 when you learned you’d landed the gig for your first Disney film, “Moana.”
I had to audition for it — this was pre-“Hamilton.” I met with the directors Ron [Clements] and John [Musker], who directed “The Little Mermaid,” and I said, “You guys are the reason I’m even sitting here talking to you, because Sebastian the crab sang a Caribbean calypso number, and it blew my tiny 9-year-old mind.” The day I got the gig was also the same day I found out I was going to be a father — I will never forget that Wednesday.
Had you written for film before?
No. But Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were my heroes.
Were you intimidated?
The first thing I did when I went to Disney Animation Studios in Burbank was to ask for any footage of Howard Ashman talking to the animators, because he taught them how Broadway songwriting works. They gave me a great DVD of him holding this master class, and explaining what each song in “The Little Mermaid” did and the purposes it served. That was incredibly humanizing and helpful.
What was the process like?
Disney has these famous meetings where they’ll do a screening of the storyboards, and then they have this square table with all the people who are working on anything in the pipeline. Before my first meeting started, someone there said to me, “Everyone here is an animator. You’re the only composer here, so stand up for what songwriting can do.” And that was very empowering.
What did you learn?
The first draft I wrote for “How Far I’ll Go” was a song called “More,” and it was just not specific enough. The thing Howard Ashman was so good at was writing lyrics that were so specific that they became universal. The song “Part of Your World” works because Ariel’s looking for the human words the whole time. That’s the goal we’re chasing — the actual feeling of a train of thought.
So when I figured out “How Far I’ll Go,” any time she sings about the island, any time she spaces out for even a second, she’s back on the shore. She cannot help it; it’s like a compulsion. It’s not that she hates it and she has to leave, it’s that she loves it and still she leaves, which was just a little more nuanced.
Do you suggest places to put songs, or are there moments already carved out in the script?
It’s not like there’s a Disney handbook where they go, “Write us an ‘I want’ song; write us a villain song.” You take your cues from the script and see where you, as a songwriter, can help move the ball down the field.
With “Mufasa,” the animators had taken care to find some of the song moments, and then other ones were just me pitching Barry, or Barry pitching me.
Tell me about the inspiration for some of the songs for “Mufasa.”
When I read the script, the first lump in my throat I got was in that moment where Taka throws the race with Mufasa, and he’s like, “I have a secret. I always wanted a brother.” That’s one where the title jumped out from the dialogue.
On “Brother Betrayed,” I’d never seen a song like that in a Disney musical before. It’s not a villain song. It’s like a “my whole life is being undone” song. This character is becoming the character we know in real time. So that was really exciting.
How did you come up with the idea for the villain song, “Bye Bye”?
We had Mads Mikkelsen as a terrifying white lion. I really wanted to write a villain song, so I pitched Barry that tune.
It was a game of how much fun I could have with it — just like when I wrote “You’re Welcome” for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, I Googled “Mads Mikkelsen singing.” I found this crazy video of him in his 20s doing, like, a Fosse number on television — like, red, skintight dancing. And I was like, “Oh, great, he can sing.”
With really great villain songs, the villains have their reason; it’s just the opposite of the hero’s reasons. And so to get to write a lyric like “The circle of life is a lie” felt scary and fun and treacherous.
What is your songwriting setup like?
I write at home. I have a pretty open-door policy. My kids wander in and out while I’m writing; they hear Daddy singing to himself or yelling at himself as Taka. My boys were a great source of inspiration for “I Always Wanted a Brother.” They’re constantly bouncing off the walls and driving each other crazy, but also would beat up anybody who ever threatened either of them. So that song was very easy to write.
Do you test songs out on your family?
They’re the first audience for everything. So when I heard my 6-year-old singing, “I always wanted a brother,” I was like, “Great, we’re good.”
My secret weapon has always been my wife, who’s a lawyer. Her superpower is that she asks the questions that probe at the thing: “Well, why did they say that?” “Why did it end like that?” “Are you trying to say this, because that’s not what I’m getting.” She’s my best first audience because she’s very dispassionate about what she hears.
You’ve said you didn’t return for “Moana 2” because Disney already had songwriters — the TikTok duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear — attached to the project, which had originally been developed as a TV series. How do you feel about writing for sequels in general?
I don’t know. It would have to be really compelling. I honestly haven’t even thought about it. We haven’t talked about any “Encanto” sequels.
What did you think of the “Moana 2” music?
Those girls are so insanely talented, and I was really proud of them. My kids came home singing “Beyond,” like, on loop. It was wonderful to see their work.
What’s next for you?
We released the album for “Warriors” in October, and people really like it, but because we’re such a visual culture, everyone said to me and Eisa [Davis, with whom he wrote the music], “OK, when can we see it?” So I think at the top of the year, Eisa and I will just start having conversations about how to adapt that to the stage.
And then I’m going to do “All In,” the new Simon Rich show, on Broadway for five weeks. I have not performed in a very long time. That will be really fun, and I’ll be surrounded by people a lot funnier than me. I’ll learn a lot.
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