Here’s the Alabama connection to a Disney blockbuster that has already grossed $225 million

Head over to “Wicked.” There’s a new blockbuster in town.

“Moana 2,” Walt Disney’s animated fantasy musical, broke box office records over Thanksgiving weekend, grossing $225 million in five days. According to Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other media outlets, this is the biggest five-day debut in box office history and the best Thanksgiving opening ever.

The film, a sequel to 2016’s “Moana,” actually broke several box office records, according to The Hollywood Reporter, surpassing previous holiday behemoths like “Frozen,” “Frozen II” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” . In Alabama and elsewhere, families go to the movies ready to see a new adventure starring the brave Polynesian heroine Moana (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) and the tattooed demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson).

But here’s the best part – for Alabama film lovers, anyway. The songs in “Moana 2” were created by former Birmingham native Abigail Barlow, who teamed up with her partner Emily Bear on tracks such as “Beyond,” “We’re Back,” “Get Lost” and “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” “joined together. ” and “What could be better than this?”

“I can’t believe this,” Barlow said in a February post on Instagram. “@mlebear and I have been working on this project for two years and now the cat is out of the bag…or should I say…the chicken…Your favorite wayfinder sets sail for another journey and we have all the songs written!! … See you in the theaters!”

Barlow, who grew up in Birmingham, is a graduate of Red Mountain Theater. According to an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to “pursue the songwriting dream.” Through a mutual friend in California, Barlow met Bear, a pianist and composer from Rockford, Illinois, and a songwriting partnership was formed.

The two women, known professionally as Barlow & Bear, replaced Lin-Manuel Miranda as songwriters for the Moana sequel – no small feat considering Miranda’s catchy and clever melodies were touted as an integral part of the original film’s success. Miranda’s “How Far I’ll Go,” for example, was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and won a Grammy Award in 2018 for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Barlow & Bear aren’t new to the music world, but until the release of “Moana 2,” they weren’t considered high-profile songwriters in Hollywood. The duo first rose to fame in 2021-2022 after writing songs for an imaginary stage musical based on the Netflix series “Bridgerton.” Videos of the project went viral on TikTok and attracted numerous fans.

Barlow & Bear released The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical in September via Amazon Music and won a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. A copyright dispute arose with Netflix, with the streamer saying the duo’s music “expanded ‘fan fiction’ far beyond its limits.” According to Variety, the lawsuit was later settled.

READ: Abigail Barlow from Alabama wins the 2022 Grammy for “Unofficial Bridgerton Musical”

When Barlow & Bear signed a deal with Disney for “Moana 2,” the songwriting partners knew it would be a challenge. But they received a vote of confidence from Miranda, who offered advice and tips.

“He gave me a stack of books about how to structure a text so that it not only meets narrative accuracy, but also flies off the tongue and penetrates people’s minds and hearts,” Barlow said in an interview with Billboard.

Barlow & Bear also worked with composers Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi, who wrote songs with Miranda for the first film.

Barlow, 26, and Bear, 23, are the youngest (and only all-female) songwriting duo to create a full soundtrack for a Disney animated film, according to Billboard. “Two of their songs – ‘Beyond,’ a show-stopping performance for star Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), and ‘Can I Get a Chee Hoo?’ for Dwayne “The Rock”; Johnson (Maui) – will be nominated for an Oscar, Disney reveals,” the report said.

“Beyond” and “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” were among the nominees for this year’s Hollywood Music In Media Awards, competing for best song in an animated film. (The winner, announced November 20, was “Kiss the Sky” from “The Wild Robot.”)

Barlow & Bear are already booked for several other projects, including a biopic about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. They are also collaborating for a stage musical, the title of which is yet to be announced. The two also work separately on music. Bear, for example, toured as a pianist on Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour in 2023. She also composed the music for two films, “K-Pops” and “Our Little Secret.”

Barlow has released pop singles and posted videos to YouTube as a solo artist, including “Strike Out,” “Please Me” and “Modern Day Madonna.” She continues to showcase her music to 2.3 million followers on TikTok.