From coy revelations about the soundtrack to why Ariel's casting caused such an uproar,
here's everything you need to know to dive into 2023's The Little Mermaid.
There have been many incarnations of The Little Mermaid over the years, from the mature original
story written by Hans Christian Andersen to Disney's more upbeat interpretation. So
there are clearly many different directions the plot of the new film could go. However,
judging by Lin-Manuel Miranda's involvement, it's safe to say that the newest version of
The Little Mermaid will stick close to the original 1989 animated film.
Plot details have yet to be revealed, but Miranda has given some interesting tidbits about the
upcoming movie. In Variety's "Awards Circuit" podcast, the Tony Award-winner indicated that
the plot is largely focused on Ariel trading her voice for a pair of legs. He told the podcast:
"We wrote some music [for] her time on land. She experiences a lot of firsts,
as someone with legs for the first time, so we got to lean into all of that musically."
In terms of who will be starring in The Little Mermaid, the film struck gold. Ariel will be
portrayed by Grammy winner Halle Bailey, who is part of the duo, Chloe x Halle. Bailey has
exploded in recent years for both her singing and her acting. In addition to her new role as Ariel,
Vanity Fair announced she has also joined the big screen adaptation of the Broadway production of
The Color Purple. In an interview with Variety, Bailey had this to say about playing Ariel:
"I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who
are watching to know that they're special, and that they should be a
princess in every single way. There's no reason that they shouldn't be."
"I'm just grateful that I've been able to take the essence of me and kind of mix the two."
Bailey will not be the only notable actor in the film, however. Other cast members
include Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian,
and Awkwafina as Scuttle. Like many highly anticipated films of
the past few years, The Little Mermaid had some obstacles along the way. Casting began in 2019,
with the film going into production the following year. Then, in 2020,
Entertainment Weekly reported that The Little Mermaid was one of many films whose productions
were suddenly halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,
Nightmare Alley, and The Last Duel were also impacted by the pandemic. Luckily, all of these
films have been released, and it looks as if The Little Mermaid will be the next to hit theaters.
The film's release date is May 26, 2023. Wherever Lin-Manuel Miranda goes, it seems
that director Rob Marshall follows. Or maybe it's the other way around. The two collaborated on the
2018 sequel Mary Poppins Returns, with Miranda playing the part of Jack. Now, the two are
collaborating once again in The Little Mermaid, with Marshall directing and Miranda producing.
But Marshall's connection to Miranda isn't the only thing the director has going for
him. The filmmaker has plenty of experience making musicals, having previously directed
Into the Woods, Nine, and - most significantly - Chicago. Full of dazzling visuals and set pieces,
and starring both Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger, Chicago swept the 2003 Oscars,
becoming a definitive film for Rob Marshall. So, after proving himself as an accomplished
musical director, there is no telling what Rob Marshall will bring to The Little Mermaid.
"He's a human. You're a mermaid."
"That doesn't make us enemies."
Film adaptations of The Little Mermaid began with Disney's celebrated 1989
animated classic. But that's not the only "Little Mermaid" film out there. So,
if you're in a nostalgic kind of mood, you may want to peruse the rest of the catalog.
In 2000, Disney released a sequel, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. The
animated film revolves around Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody, who comes to terms with her
mermaid heritage. Other films in the "Little Mermaid" universe include The Little Mermaid:
Ariel's Beginning, which is a prequel to the original film. And for those who don't
know all the words to the songs, they can always watch The Little Mermaid Sing-Along.
For those wanting a live-action version of the film, there's that too! Released in 2019,
The Little Mermaid Live! was a stage production filmed for ABC and later televised on the network.
Stars Queen Latifah and John Stamos brought some prestige to the production, but not many
were impressed. The Little Mermaid Live! earned a dismal 36% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Still, if you're a die-hard fan of The Little Mermaid, then you'll be happy to know that all of
these films are available to stream on Disney+. So, here's a shocker: even though The Little
Mermaid takes place beneath the sea, the live-action remake wasn't filmed at the bottom
of the ocean. Weird, right? Instead, production for the 2023 remake began in London in 2020.
Principal photography took place at the famed Pinewood Studios in England,
which is best known as the shooting location for many of the James Bond movies. But Pinewood
wasn't the only location on Disney's radar. In 2021, The Little Mermaid moved its production
to Sardinia, Italy, where they shot in the village of Santa Teresa di Gallura.
A big challenge for The Little Mermaid was how to set entire dialogue-heavy scenes underwater
while filming them on land. Director Rob Marshall told The Wrap in February of 2023:
"['The Little Mermaid' is] the most challenging film I've ever
done. I don't think anybody's ever done an underwater musical before."
Marshall went on to say:
"[We were] using complicated, cutting-edge techniques to make this work. Every single
moment [...] had to be choreographed in advance so that we could have a flow to the whole piece. It's
crazy the apparatuses we worked with from wires to things called tuning forks to teeter-totters."
That said, many of the actors still had to be in water for long stretches of time
while filming their scenes. While speaking to Variety in early 2023, Halle Bailey estimated
that she spent upwards of 13 hours a day in water in some cases. She went on to add:
"I pushed myself as far as I've ever pushed myself in life. I feel like
the message from [Ariel] was to know that you've always had it in you."
Like most Disney movies, the animated Little Mermaid has several hit songs that have withstood
the test of time. Take Ariel's "Part of Your World," for instance. The song is an empowering
classic that quickly became the signature tune of Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in the original
film. Meanwhile, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is a fun and villainous tune, "Kiss The Girl" is
a romantic calypso, and "Under the Sea" ranks among the most famous Disney songs of all time.
"Under the Sea was the number for me."
Needless to say, music is key to The Little Mermaid. Not long after the remake was announced,
news broke that Alan Menken, the co-writer of the original soundtrack, would be returning.
Menken was hired to assist Lin-Manuel Miranda in writing new songs and lyrics for the remake. It
was also confirmed that many of the tracks from the animated film would return for the new film.
In talking with Vanity Fair, Menken explained that even
though popular tracks like "Kiss The Girl" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" are revered,
some of the lyrics will be changed to make the songs more accessible to
modern sensibilities. While referring to "Kiss The Girl," Menken told Vanity Fair:
"People have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would,
in any way, force himself on [Ariel]."
He added that Ursula's song was likewise reworked to avoid bad messaging, "even though Ursala is
clearly manipulating [her] to give up her voice," as Menken noted to Vanity Fair.
After Melissa McCarthy and Awkwafina were announced as cast members of The Little Mermaid,
fans anxiously awaited an announcement of who would play Ariel. Though there were initially
some rumors that Zendaya would be starring in the role, they proved to be just that — rumors. When
it was later announced that Halle Bailey would be taking on the part, people online voiced
their displeasure. Their complaint was that by casting Bailey, the look of Ariel would change.
In a statement published by Variety, director Rob Marshall said this about Bailey's casting:
"After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses
that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance - plus
a glorious singing voice - all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role."
In the age of the internet, it isn't too hard to find someone outraged online. So,
there's little surprise that some took umbrage at the film's perceived race-swapping. Detractors
cited the European location of Denmark in the original Hans Christian Andersen fairytale,
as well as Ariel's appearance in the animated film, as reasons she should
look similar to the 1989 film. Still, others just disliked the idea of a remake in general.
"Getting to put my own take on Ariel is a beautiful thing."
Likewise, the casting of McCarthy as Ursala was met with some criticism. In the original film,
the character of Ursula had clear drag queen influences,
as the character was based on Divine, a recurring actor in several of director
John Waters's films. So many assumed that a drag queen would be cast in the role.
With all the changes being made to Ariel and her supporting cast,
it would be surprising if Prince Eric was left completely un-touched by director Rob Marshall
and his crew. When speaking about Ariel's human dreamboat, Marshall confirmed that
Eric too would be undergoing some changes. The director told Entertainment Weekly:
"The role of Eric in the animated film - I'm sure the original creators would
agree with this - it's a wooden, classic prince character with not a lot going on."
In the remake, this new version of Prince Eric - played by "A Dog's
Way Home" actor Jonah Hauer-King - is a bit more "four-dimensional," as the director told
Total Film magazine. Marshall also added that the updated Prince Eric has a story
similar to Ariel in that he wants more out of life. Marshall told Entertainment Weekly:
"These two kindred spirits find each other and really teach the
world about prejudice and about breaking down barriers and walls between these two worlds."
In the 1989 feature, the wayward prince doesn't have a lot going
on outside of trying to find and marry the woman who saved his life. That said,
it remains to be seen just how different Eric will be.
"I can't wait for people to see it." There have been many live-action remakes
of iconic Disney titles in recent years. This could mean one of two things:
either the studio is out of ideas, or they're giving the audience more of what
it wants. Still, with many of these live-action remakes finding success,
there's always speculation about which animated classic should get the live-action treatment next.
Currently, Disney has a few other musical features that are in various stages of
development. The first of these is a Marc Webb-directed Snow White,
from a screenplay by Academy Award-nominee Greta Gerwig. Guy Ritchie is also reportedly
working on a remake of the 1997 animated film, Hercules. An updated version of The Hunchback
of Notre Dame is also in development — even Lilo & Stitch is getting the live-action treatment.
In addition to remakes of beloved animated films, Disney is also working on producing
sequels to many of their newly minted features. The studio plans to release
a sequel to the 2019 version of Aladdin, a new Jungle Book, and a prequel called Mufasa:
The Lion King. Needless to say, the iconic studio has clearly doubled down on the remake game.