Act I: Gifts of Light Before the show begins, four
lotus floats gradually drift onto the Discovery
River Lagoon while
fireflies awaken and the shadows of the four
Animal Spirit Guides can be seen moving through the
trees. The fireflies function as a visual element throughout the show, seemingly illuminating
barges and occasionally accenting visual elements projected on water screens. The show begins with the arrival of two teams of mystical storytellers on their respective lantern sailboats, playing a musical fanfare accompanied by the cries of animals. On the
Asia side of the lagoon are
Shaman Aditya (whose instrument is a
horn) and
Acolyte Ketu. On the
Dinoland side of the lagoon are Shaman Aseema (whose instrument is a
flute) and her Acolyte Ambu. These characters are silent and communicate only through
pantomime,
dance,
shadow puppetry, and
music; leaving a narrator to explain what we are about to see. These performers were removed on September 29, 2018, as the result of budget cuts.
Act II: Parade of the Animal Spirits As the narration ends, the storytellers introduce us to the four Animal Spirit guides, each representing one of the four elements. Taking the form of large sculpted
lantern barges, they consist of a
Bengal Tiger (representing
Fire), an
African Bush Elephant and her calf (representing
Earth), a
Sea Turtle and its child (representing
Water), and a
Great Horned Owl with her owlets (representing
Air). Moving across the lagoon and changing colour to the music, the Animal Spirits begin to leave their lanterns one by one and take to the sky in an
astral form, bringing the lotuses to life and heralding the arrival of the
Temple Lotus.
Act III: Dance of the Lotus After the animal spirits have left their lanterns, the lotuses take center stage, flanking the central Temple Lotus barge. Aseema conducts the lotuses in their
fountain ballet and has the shadow puppet-like figures of the turtle and owls dance amongst them on the water while the storytellers provide percussion.
Act IV: We Are One After the Dance of the Lotus ends, Aditya plays his horn to call the Tiger spirit into action, who proceeds to leapfrog across the lotuses and begin a journey through the different realms of the Animal Spirits. Accompanied by the original song "We Are One" and utilizing footage taken from the
Disneynature documentary series, we travel through the Tiger's
South Asian
jungles, the Sea Turtle's
ocean, and the
African
savannah of the Elephant. The song is interrupted by a scene taken from
African Cats, where an
African lion chases after a mother
cheetah on his territory, who manages to make a narrow escape and get her cubs to safety. Aseema and her boat reappear and she sends the Owl up from her boat to take us to the
snowy regions of
Alaska seen in
Bears and the song resumes with a montage of animal families, ending on a flock of
flamingos and the sounds of Aseema and Aditya's instruments as the two boats go back to center stage.
Act V: Rivers of Light In a scene inspired visually and musically by the "Transformation" sequence in
Brother Bear, the storytellers call upon the
aurora borealis (the titular "Rivers of Light"), which starts to appear over the lagoon. Spirits of countless animals begin rushing and marching through the lights as the storytellers bask in the beautiful glow. The aurora fades on an image of a
humpback whale breach and gives way to the
night sky and animals in the
constellations. As the Animal Spirit Guides return to their lantern barges, the narrator returns for concluding remarks. The Temple Lotus opens up to reveal a tower of fire that blasts to the beat of a grand finale reprise of We Are One. The animals return and the fireflies emerge from the Tree of Life in the form of spotlights. ==Music==