How Lin-Manuel Miranda Channeled Disney Legend Howard Ashman for the ‘Encanto’ Animated Musical

With Disney’s “Encanto”, Lin-Manuel Miranda finally got to work on his first animated musical from the ground up after getting a taste with Disney’s “Moana” (featuring his Oscar-nominated song “How Far I’ll Go”) and Sony/Netflix’s “Vivo.” In fact, it’s the latest milestone in what has been an incredible year for the very hot Miranda, following the release of “Vivo,” as well as the adaptation of his Broadway musical, “In the Heights,” and his directorial debut about “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson, “Tick Tick Boom.”“I remember saying to Tom Macdougall [president of Disney Music], I want to be in on the ground floor for the next one, and if you guys are ever making a Latino-themed animated musical, I’m your guy,” Miranda said.

“And so to work with the dream team — [directors] Byron Howard and Jared Bush and [co-director] Charise Castro Smith — and really start to work together with an

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