Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time logo
Status	In moratorium
Opening date	9 April 2017
Closing date	28 May 2017
Theme	Stories
Designer	Soleurs Second Star Creative Entertainment
Duration	18 minutes, 30 seconds
Host	Mrs. Potts and Chip
Sponsor	Ilirea Airlines

Once Upon a Time is a fireworks show that was presented at the Lillian Disney Amphitheatre in Konawa. Hosted by Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast, Once Upon a Time is a retelling of Disney stories using music from classic Disney movies as a bedtime story for Chip, the young teacup from Beauty and the Beast. Once Upon a Time was the first full-length show created especially for the MRT Server and was the first show to contain subtitles due to its bilingual nature. The show was sponsored by Ilirea Airlines.

The original run of the show opened on April 9, 2017, and closed on May 28, 2017. The show was scheduled to be retooled and return in the summer of 2018; however, it did not come to fruition due to Soleurs' inactivity.

Background

Once Upon a Time is the nighttime show from Tokyo Disneyland. It is presented nightly as a projection show following a seasonally changing fireworks show and premiered on May 26, 2014, to critical acclaim. The show filled a hole in Tokyo Disneyland's nighttime entertainment schedule. The show was designed by Steve Davison.

Plot summary

Once Upon a Time opens to a fanfare followed by the theme of the show, declaring that you can make your own story and that "Once upon a time is up to you". The hosts enter with Mrs. Potts telling Chip it's time to go to bed, but Chip protests and asks for a story before bed. Mrs. Potts declares that "once upon a time" is how the best stories begin and how you can discover how stories take you anywhere. (presented in English)

The music segues to an Alice in Wonderland segment. Alice finds herself in Wonderland as she runs after the White Rabbit. Then, she is chased by the Card Soldiers of the Queen of Hearts and meets the Mad Hatter and his pals at a whimsical tea party before the segment fades out (presented in Japanese).

Following this, the music changes to a slow guitar as Chip asks what the story is now. Mrs. Potts responds by informing him of Rapunzel and how she found her love. "I See the Light" from Tangled plays as fireworks and lanterns light up the amphitheatre (presented in English).

The music returns as Mrs. Potts introduces Cinderella's story. The Fairy Godmother enters to tell Cinderella that she can believe if she wants and that she will make the magic work with the words "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo", which then begins to play as fireworks reappear over the amphitheatre. Following the conclusion of this segment, the music slows down as "So This is Love" plays for a slow finale, with the tolling of the midnight bells closing out the segment. (presented in Japanese for the introduction and in English for "So This is Love"

With the tolling of the midnight bell, Peter Pan enters and startles Mrs. Potts and Chip, telling Wendy that Neverland is the second star to the right. "You Can Fly!" builds up to close out the act. (presented in English)

With the opening of the third act, Mrs. Potts declares that the adventure to Neverland was fun. Chip asks "What's next?", and Mrs. Potts responds with an explanation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The music then segues into "The Silly Song" as the music builds up before Sneezy sneezes and causes the whole scene to fall down (presented in English).

The music then bounces right into Winnie the Pooh who sings "Rumbly in My Tumbly" before falling asleep and having a nightmare about "Heffalumps and Woozles" to close out the act. (presented in Japanese for "Rumbly in my Tumbly" and English for "Heffalumps and Woozles")

Mrs. Potts tells Chip it's finally time to go to bed before he says that she hasn't told his favorite story yet. A narrator comes in and introduces the story of Beauty and the Beast. Following the introduction, "Beauty and the Beast" plays to show the redemption of the Beast. The sound cracks as the glass mirror is broken and Gaston comes in, rallying the townspeople together to kill the Beast. He then proceeds to battle the Beast in the sky before falling to his death. Belle begs the Beast to stay alive, declaring that she loves him, which breaks the curse. (presented in English for the introduction and finale, and in Japanese for "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Mob Song (Kill the Beast!)")

The finale begins as the Beast transforms back into a man, and Mrs. Potts and Chip declare that stories end the best way with "And they all lived happily ever after". The finale builds to a reprise of the show's theme "Once Upon a Time", which closes the show.

In the postshow, Mrs. Potts and Chip with everyone goodnight while "Once Upon a Time" makes a final reprise.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the show is reliant on classic Disney movie songs.

• "Once Upon a Time" (Gregory Smith)
• Alice in Wonderland segment:
  • "Alice in Wonderland" (Sammy Fein)
  • "I'm Late!" (Mack David / Al Hoffman / Jerry Livingston)
  • "March of the Cards" (Oliver Wallace)
  • "The Unbirthday Song" (David / Hoffman / Livingston)
• "I See the Light" (from Tangled) (Alan Menken / Glenn Slater)
• Cinderella segment:
  • "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (David / Hoffman / Livingston)
  • "So This is Love" (David / Hoffman / Livingston)
• "You Can Fly!" (from Peter Pan) (Sammy Cahn / Fein)
• Enchanted Places segment:
  • "The Dwarfs' Yodel Song (The Silly Song) (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (Frank Churchill / Larry Morey / Leigh Harline)
  • "Rumbly in My Tumbly" (from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree) (Richard Sherman / Robert Sherman)
  • "Heffalumps and Woozles" (from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day) (Sherman / Sherman)
• Beauty and the Beast segment:
  • "Prologue" (Menken)
  • "Beauty and the Beast" (Menken / Howard Ashman)
  • "The Mob Song (Kill the Beast) (Menken / Ashman)
  • "Battle on the Tower" (Menken)
• Once Upon a Time (reprise) (Smith)

Voices

• Mrs. Potts - Angela Lansbury (English), Kimiko Fukuda (Japanese)
• Chip - Tress MacNeille (English), Sone Yosuke (Japanese)
• Alice - Mika Doi
• Cheshire Cat - Tokio Seki
• White Rabbit - Shigeru Ushiyama
• Mad Hatter - Hiroyuki Nishimoto
• March Hare - Hidemi Osaka
• Rapunzel - Mandy Moore
• Flynn Rider - Zachary Levi
• Cinderella - Yoriko Suzuki
• Fairy Godmother - Naoko Kyoda
• Peter Pan - Bobby Driscoll
• Winnie the Pooh - Shun Yashiro
• Gaston - Shoji Matsumoto
• Belle - Paige O'Hara