The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[D82]

Halle Bailey talks about auditioning for the role of Ariel in a new interview. She has also shared a couple of behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram.

[Vlad]

I saw a post on Facebook, that said that trailers for The Little Mermaid and the upcoming Willy Wonka remake will be released sometime this year. It's a bit early, innit? The Little Mermaid comes out next year in May, so a trailer coming out this early is super surprising.

[Patricier21]

I saw a post on Facebook, that said that trailers for The Little Mermaid and the upcoming Willy Wonka remake will be released sometime this year. It's a bit early, innit? The Little Mermaid comes out next year in May, so a trailer coming out this early is super surprising.

They probably more likely mean towards the end of the year; after all, dead men tell no tales had its first trailer released towards the end of September 2016 and came out May 26, 2017 [ Tentatively the same date I’ll be at a different year for the Little mermaid], plus of course Wonka is going to be out tentatively in March of next year but it’s only a little over a year away so therefore pretty much all of its trailers will already be released before the end of the actual year. The post doesn’t mean that the trailer will be released in the very near future but just sometime literally during this year

[Vlad]

Gotcha Thank you

[estefan]

The live-action Beauty and the Beast teaser was released ten months before the movie. The Mary Poppins Returns and Dumbo teasers were nine months. The Lion King remake teaser was eight months and Aladdin's and The Jungle Book's were seven months before the release. The Mulan teaser also came eight months before the original release date.

So I don't think there's an exact science to when Disney chooses to put out teasers for these movies. And nowadays with the chances of release date changes being much higher, studios appear less likely to release the first trailer so early. We only just got the first trailers for the Sonic the Hedgehog and Fantastic Beasts last month, even though they're set to open in April. In pre-covid times, they probably would have released those a little earlier.

[Redadoodles]

It is quite possible that they’re trying to hold on to the film as much as possible to make sure that it gets a theatrical release which makes sense to me.
I mean, If there’s one title that should be released in movie theatres it is The Little Mermaid for not only its scenery but also its CGI work.
Wether the rest of the film is good or not is not the point here.

Unfortunately, one should not be surprised if the film doesn’t get a release before 2024 at best.
With that said, I'm sure some of the producers are pushing hard at the moment in order to get a release as soon as possible just to get back their investment and as a Disney plus release would be better for them than waiting another year or two before a theatrical one.
It’s a tricky situation for everyone involved.

On another note, Happy New Year to everyone.

[Disney Duster]

Nice to see you Redadoodles! You are right that this should be seen in a theater and about what investors might want but I hope we do not wait any longer than the pre-announced date!

[Sotiris]

We have confirmation Triton's song is a solo and that Ariel will get a feminist update.

Bailey promises there will be some modern changes when it comes to The Little Mermaid’s themes. “I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised by some updates of the themes of the film,” she says. “More so on Ariel’s side of women empowerment and her taking her power back.”

She also confirmed there will be new songs not seen in the original movie, including a new track sung by King Triton (Javier Bardem). “There are some new songs as well. I really like them,” she says. “I know Javier let the cat out of the bag that he has a whole song. I like that one.”

Source: https://stylecaster.com/halle-bailey-th ... e-mermaid/

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't know why they want Triton to have a song. I mean, a part in a quartet made sense, but a full song to himself. I never really enjoyed Norm Lewis' portrayal of Triton and Bardem seems more in that vein. Partly because I think of Triton as being much older than the Broadway iteration--they probably aged him down because they also aged Ursula downwards. Both bad decisions, imo.

Anyway, the feminist changes to Ariel were expected and merited.

[Nandor]

Does anyone remember the rumour about the time of LM's Platinum Edition?
There was talk of an added song as with BatB and Lion King. It was supposedly called 'Sunshine Only Shines On Land', a song for Triton.
Never knew if there was any substance to it, but the discussion now reminds me of it.

[Sotiris]

I don't think it's merited. Ariel was already a very progressive and pro-active heroine. I have a hard time coming up with potential changes that don't disrupt the story. I suppose they can have her explore the human world on her own first after she becomes human instead of meeting Eric right away and have her defeat Ursula at the end, but I doubt they'll be satisfied with just that. It's probably going to be something more ham-fisted and exaggerated.

We now know that 4 out of the 5 new songs will be solos. One for Ariel, one for Eric, one for Triton, and one for Scuttle. I wonder who will get the fifth song. It won't be Ursula as Melissa said in an interview she only got to sing one song in the film and I doubt they'll give Sebastian a third one. I hope the fifth one is a love duet between Ariel and Eric.

[carolinakid]

Seems like another woke mess. My expectations aren’t very high.

[Disney's Divinity]

Does anyone remember the rumour about the time of LM's Platinum Edition?
There was talk of an added song as with BatB and Lion King. It was supposedly called 'Sunshine Only Shines On Land', a song for Triton.
Never knew if there was any substance to it, but the discussion now reminds me of it.

I remember, but I believe that rumor of a song ("The Sun Only Shines on Land"), despite turning out to be fiction altogether, was actually thought to be a song Ariel would sing after Triton has just destroyed her grotto. I could be mistaken though.

[Nandor]

Heh, you might be right there. It was indeed supposed to take place after the destruction of her grotto. I understood it to be a song where Triton tries to explain his actions, but it might've been an Ariel-song instead. If it ever existed at all

[Disney Duster]

I don't think it's merited. Ariel was already a very progressive and pro-active heroine. I have a hard time coming up with potential changes that don't disrupt the story. I suppose they can have her explore the human world on her own first after she becomes human instead of meeting Eric right away and have her defeat Ursula at the end, but I doubt they'll be satisfied with just that. It's probably going to be something more ham-fisted and exaggerated.

We now know that 4 out of the 5 new songs will be solos. One for Ariel, one for Eric, one for Triton, and one for Scuttle. I wonder who will get the fifth song. It won't be Ursula as Melissa said in an interview she only got to sing one song in the film and I doubt they'll give Sebastian a third one. I hope the fifth one is a love duet between Ariel and Eric.

Agreed and agreed.

[D82]

In the latest issue of Total Film Magazine, there's an interview with actress Jessica Alexander who talks a bit about her experience working in the film:

How was your experience of making The Little Mermaid?
I mean, obviously it was unbelievable. They gave me free rein of this character. I think I’m going to develop a reputation for being a screamer, because in all my projects I’m just screaming and being monstrous! The songs are amazing. And the costumes are just unreal. I’m very excited for the world to see it.

Source: https://twitter.com/mmdisney200/status/ ... 4995271686

It's probably going to be something more ham-fisted and exaggerated.

I'm sure of that, like they did in the Mulan remake, for example. What mostly ruined that film in my opinion were the dumb and illogical decisions the main character makes in a couple of crucial moments, which were just added to make the film more feminist, or the character of the witch, which only serves that purpose too, and doesn’t work at all in the story, in my opinion. If they cared more about the issues themselves and not just about how the public sees them, I think they'd do a better job incorporating those elements.

We now know that 4 out of the 5 new songs will be solos. One for Ariel, one for Eric, one for Triton, and one for Scuttle. I wonder who will get the fifth song. It won't be Ursula as Melissa said in an interview she only got to sing one song in the film and I doubt they'll give Sebastian a third one. I hope the fifth one is a love duet between Ariel and Eric.

Yes, Sebastian won't get any more songs. Lin-Manuel Miranda confirmed it in an interview when he was doing press for Encanto:

I actually didn’t write any new songs for Sebastian the Crab because I love his songs so much. I was like, “I can’t. Nope, not me. I can’t do it.” I did get to write for some of the other characters in that movie. Every song you love in The Little Mermaid is still in The Little Mermaid, we just found some new moments to musicalize.

Source: https://collider.com/lin-manuel-miranda ... interview/

[Sotiris]

In the latest issue of Total Film Magazine, there's an interview with actress Jessica Alexander who talks a bit about her experience working in the film.

From her comments about screaming, it seems to me she's either playing Vanessa or Ariel's rival depending on the story changes.

I'm sure of that, like they did in the Mulan remake, for example. What mostly ruined that film in my opinion were the dumb and illogical decisions the main character makes in a couple of crucial moments, which were just added to make the film more feminist, or the character of the witch, which only serves that purpose too, and doesn’t work at all in the story, in my opinion. If they cared more about the issues themselves and not just about how the public sees them, I think they'd do a better job incorporating those elements.

It's obvious they don't really care about these issues. They care about virtue signaling, avoiding bad press, and being praised for their supposed progressiveness. That's why the changes made to address criticisms levied against the original films are usually so superficial and clumsy. They are an afterthought. If they truly cared, they would make nuanced, organic changes that were tightly knit to the narrative, made sense, and complemented the characters. Mulan was the worst offender, in my opinion. They ruined the basic conceit of the character, which was actually more progressive than what they changed it into. Mulan being an average girl who with the appropriate training and education could do anything a man could and used her mind instead of solely relying on her physical strength is much more feminist than having a girl being born with special powers just out of sheer luck or randomness. Of course, there were other moronic changes such as having Mulan go into battle with her hair loose just to telegraph to the audience she's "staying true to herself" when having her hair flow in the wind would have hindered her ability to fight properly.

[Disney's Divinity]

The musical made the same mistake as far as giving songs to every character--Scuttle gets two songs, Ariel's sisters get a song, Triton gets a major role in several songs, F&J get two songs, Chef Louis gets a reprise, etc. They only did it for the actors' sake, to make everyone get something to do, but ended up adding unnecessary filler to the story / show. Who in the world wants a song from Scuttle, for example? Eric getting a song and a duet with Ariel makes complete sense. Triton having minimal singing at certain points, say, opposite Ursula at the climax (like "PUS (reprise)" or at the beginning of the ending (like "Finale Ultimo") makes sense. Ariel, Sebastian or Ursula getting an extra song or reprise makes total sense.

And it's not even a knock on the songs themselves. I adore both "Sweet Child" and its reprise, and "She's in Love" is fantastic. Scuttle's songs can grow on you. I didn't care for "The World Above," but it could've been compounded by not liking Lewis' manner of singing as the character; it was just really loud and over-the-top, putting emphasis on every other word, he way overdid it. "If Only (Quartet)" is beautiful...but Sebastian the crab singing alongside the other three just makes me burst out laughing every time. "If Only" would've been a gorgeous duet--and was one in the Live! show a year or two ago. I understand why they thought to draw Triton into that song, but that was a mistake...and including Sebastian especially felt forced onto the song because it would have been weird for Triton to be the only other character singing with Ariel and Eric. They would've been better off having Ursula singing with the other three in a sort dark play on the lyrics (similar to the cut "Her Voice (reprise)" they briefly gave the character before they hit Broadway*), or have her sing just a few lines at the very end of it in a mocking tone as she watches all their suffering from afar.

* I still wish they'd kept that song and cut "I Want the Good Times Back"'s reprise instead; I always thought the IWtGTB's reprise was weak and unnecessary. A dark reprise of "Her Voice" by Ursula would be perfect as she turns into Vanessa and appears on the beach--if Vanessa had been in either the show or this movie. (From your lips to God's ears, Sotiris, about Alexander potentially being Vanessa.) "PUS (Reprise)" is alright, although the first half could've used a little work. Oof. I love the "PUS (Reprise)" they gave Queen Latifah in the Live show--if they could somehow combine the best of the Broadway song with the Live song, it could be perfect.

[D82]

It's obvious they don't really care about these issues. They care about virtue signaling, avoiding bad press, and being praised for their supposed progressiveness. That's why the changes made to address criticisms levied against the original films are usually so superficial and clumsy. They are an afterthought. If they truly cared, they would make nuanced, organic changes that were tightly knit to the narrative, made sense, and complemented the characters.

Exactly. Apart from the reasons you mentioned, they also use it as an excuse for the remakes' existence, so they can say in interviews that there was a need for the stories to be updated for the new generations. I think that's why even the films that were already quite feminist, like Mulan, get that treatment too.

Mulan was the worst offender, in my opinion. They ruined the basic conceit of the character, which was actually more progressive than what they changed it into. Mulan being an average girl who with the appropriate training and education could do anything a man could and used her mind instead of solely relying on her physical strength is much more feminist than having a girl being born with special powers just out of sheer luck or randomness.

I had forgotten about that. That's another change they made to make the film more feminist that backfired. I agree the original was more progressive in that regard. I didn't mind they changed it into her having a special gift, but the way they executed it was really bad. They turned her into a superhero, and there wasn't much room for her to make progress or much sense of danger for her either, as she was just perfect from the start.

Of course, there were other moronic changes such as having Mulan go into battle with her hair loose just to telegraph to the audience she's "staying true to herself" when having her hair flow in the wind would have hindered her ability to fight properly.

Yeah, that's one of the dumb decisions I was referring to. The other main one to me is that she herself reveals she's a woman, which is practically like committing suicide. I don't know how nobody realized these things were a bad idea before releasing the film. It's actually strange that no matter how good the director or the writers they hire are; most of these remakes turn out to be quite disappointing.

[Disney Duster]

I liked the Broadway show how it was with the tunes that were leaked before it went to Broadway. With "Wasting Away", the "If Only" duet, "Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise)" and "All Good Things Must End" which was an amazing song. I don't remember if that version had "Her Voice (Reprise)" sung by Ursula or not, or how cool it was. Share a link?