The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[Disney Duster]

Oh, whoops Vlad! Haha, good one!

Thanks, Marce82!

I must admit they should all just get shell bras like Triton has shell armor. Ursula's dress with sleeves and a collar was unfortunately something that had to happen, because I think Melissa McCarthy doesn't one anyone to see her naked arms and back. That is how many overweight people feel, unfortunately.

[D82]

D82: Hmmm... interesting. You might be right that it is part of their anatomy! What an odd choice! So the black sister that looks like she is wearing a loose-fitting blue tanktop... that's her skin?? And what about the mermen? Do they get random parts covered by scales? Is mother nature in favor of human-imposed modesty rules for merpeople??
I guess we can go a step further: why do mermaids even have breasts? They aren't mammals... or are they??

So when Ariel gets her legs in this version... will the scale bra go away too??

This is so dumb.

Well, I've seen mermaids covered by scales up to their necklines in films and illustrations, like this one below from the Gummi Bears TV series, which is the first to come to mind, so personally I don't find it that strange that they decided to cover the mermaid's breasts with scales. But it's true that them having some parts of their skin covered by them and not others, as it's the case here, is not very common. Whether it'll be the same for mermen or not is a good question. Probably, it's just the mermaids. They're fantasy creatures, though; I don't think it all has to make sense in a biological way. And yes, when Ariel is transformed into a human her scale bra will most likely go away, just like her tail does.

I wonder if the people who made this movie also had the same conversation about merpeople not using materials from animal origins as clothes since they're most likely vegetarian and all that and that's why they came up with this solution. They could've made clothes out of plants, I guess, like the sea creatures in Luca, but perhaps it would've looked a bit boring. I personally think their approach works for Ariel's sisters, but for her, as I said, not so much. It looks too much like a bra to me.

[Disney Duster]

Ariel's breast coverage is the most boring and least interesting, true, they could have been a bit more fantastical in the design.

Divinity, now that I listened to "Part of Your World (Reprise)" with no dialogue over it courtesy of D82, and it sounded like Halle had more vibrato as it neared the end, which you said was where you thought she sounded good, so I think you only find vibrato in singing good, and that's what you have based your opinions of singing on?

[Vlad]

Bahahahahah!! Good one, Teppy. I admit I thought you were being serious as well. Cause there ARE people out there who feel that way.

But great response from DisneyDuster!

Haha, glad you liked it, buddy. I was making fun of them by saying these things. I mean, how can so many insignificant details ruin one's enjoyment of a movie?

[blackcauldron85]

I'm just confused about the sisters' boob coverage. Some of the scales look awfully like stylish tank tops!

[Disney's Divinity]

They're "just mermaids" / fantasy in the original film, too, but it wasn't stupid like this film is so for me that's not an excuse. Just make their coverings be seaweed or have them covered completely in scales, how hard is this?

[D82]

Lots of new dolls are now available online. I've just found out the most recent images of Mattel dolls posted on the forum had to be removed too, so I'm just posting the links this time. I hope that's OK and doing that is not a problem as well. They links are from Amazon and the images are official, but I suspect the dolls are not sold by Mattel. I found the links on the Instagram stories of this fan page. If you don't want to click on every link, most images can be found on this Twitter thread.

Deluxe Mermaid Ariel doll
https://www.amazon.com.mx/Disney-Prince ... mp_s_a_1_1

Ursula doll
https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0B48125LZ/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Ariel, King Triton & Ursula set
https://www.amazon.com.au/OTHER-DISNEY- ... ref=sr_1_3

Ariel & Sisters set
https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0B48D9NDW/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Ultimate Ariel Sisters 7-Pack
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0B625KNK4/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Ariel & Sisters mini doll set
https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0B48GP4DY/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Ariel's Adventures mini doll story set
https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0B488NY8S/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Ariel's Grotto mini doll set
https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0B486SD1C/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

[Sotiris]

‘The Little Mermaid’ & ‘Fast X’ Cleared For China Releases
https://deadline.com/2023/03/the-little ... 235311414/

Disney’s Live-Action ‘The Little Mermaid’ Lands China Release Date
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235366724/

[D82]

Interviews with Jonah Hauer-King, the actor who plays Eric, from The Glass Magazine and Total Film.

“I suppose it’s not a surprise that I was really into The Lion King and most Disney musicals growing up,” says British actor Jonah Hauer-King when discussing where his love for acting stems from. Fast forward to today and he is weeks away from a rampant press cycle ahead of his role in the highly anticipated live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, where he plays the coveted role of Prince Eric.

Hailed as one of the biggest cinematic releases this year, the pressure has been mounting since 2019, the year he got the phone call to confirm he had secured the role. In the spring issue of Glass Man, Hauer-King speaks about the weight of recreating a classic film many hold dear to their hearts.

“I think there is a responsibility for all filmmakers remaking these much-loved cartoons. I do think you have to be able to justify the ‘why’ in doing it, at least from a creative standpoint. I think we need to feel as if we have dealt with something respectfully and have breathed new life into something in a hopefully entertaining and surprising way”.

With the latest trailer accumulating over 108 million views across platforms within 24 hours and in turn, breaking the record for most views for the production company, it is clear that Hauer-King is edging closer to his transformation from North London boy to Global Superstar.

Despite the all-encompassing change, however, away from the fairytale castles and singing mermaids, his attention remains on home ground, dedicated to supporting his team Arsenal. “I would be proud of them whatever they do” he says. It’s safe to say it sounds like Hauer-King is going to make a perfect prince.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqId66toRQt/

JONAH HAUER-KING IS DISNEY ROYALTY

I can’t see it, but I will take it,’ laughs Jonah Hauer-King when Teasers suggests that it must do wonders for your self-esteem to be cast as a Disney prince. ‘Wholeheartedly, I will take it.’ Having found a following with TV projects like Little Women and World on Fire, the 27-year-old joins the big leagues with Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid.

What was the audition process like for Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid?
It starts as an email. It starts as a self-tape request. Most of the time you gladly do them, and send them off into the abyss. But another email came in, saying they want another tape... And then another... Eventually, it culminated in meeting Rob [Marshall, director]. And at that point, it starts to feel a bit more real.

How does the new film compare to the 1989 animation?
The objective was trying to honour and respect the film that we loved 30 years ago, and bring everything that we fell in love with in the first place, while also trying to breathe some new life into it. I think that was true of Prince Eric. Trying to understand who he is, and trying to bring some four-dimensionality to him, was the challenge.

What would you like to tackle next?
[Growing up a fan of] The Lord of the Rings, I’d love to do something where I was riding a horse and wielding a sword. And I’d quite like to do a horror. I love the fact that in among the jump scares and the fear, there’s usually something incredibly complex and existential going on. MATT MAYTUM

[Disney Duster]

Hehehe, you're right, Vlad, how could this things ruin anyone's enjoyment of the movie?

Thanks D82 for the doll pics and the Jonah interviews! That Ariel's grotto set looks awesome! And the deluxe doll is beautiful! It's interesting Jonah wants to wield a sword, but is a prince in The Little Mermaid and yet doesn't get a sword there. It's also interesting he thinks horror movies often get existential!

[D82]

First look at Vanessa in toy form from a figure set: https://twitter.com/TheCursedPrinc/stat ... 8707974145

Here are also images of an Ariel and Eric doll set: https://twitter.com/TheCursedPrinc/stat ... 1821250560

[Old Fish Tale]

Ariel, King Triton & Ursula set
https://www.amazon.com.au/OTHER-DISNEY- ... ref=sr_1_3

This one isn't working. Can you fix it? I'd love to see it.

[D82]

This one isn't working. Can you fix it? I'd love to see it.

It was working when I posted it, so most likely it has been taken down. Like I said, I believe the way they're selling these dolls is not totally legal and Mattel probably asked Amazon to remove them. Thankfully, I saved all the images. Here are the ones of that set: https://imgur.com/a/IRGWphr

By the way, here are some plushies, pins and some new promotional art from merch:




Source: https://www.ufa-duesseldorf.de/news/gew ... erjungfrau (via princeofvillains)


Source: https://www.very.ie/disney-princess-dis ... 854738.prd (via The Cursed Prince)

[Old Fish Tale]

Thank you. I'll definitely buy the Mattel pack with the seven sisters.

I think this video hinted at a Vanessa doll too?

https://twitter.com/LiveAAriel/status/1 ... 9693446146

Probably still to come?

[D82]

^You're welcome. Yes, that's true. Most likely there'll be a Vanessa doll too.

I'm just confused about the sisters' boob coverage. Some of the scales look awfully like stylish tank tops!

Actually, you're right. It's not only Ariel's that looks like an item of clothing. Same with Ursula and those sleeves and collar, which look like part of an outfit. Although, in the original from the waist up it looked like she was wearing a backless dress with a sweetheart neckline, just like Jessica Rabbit, so I guess it's not totally unprecedented.

‘The Little Mermaid’ & ‘Fast X’ Cleared For China Releases
https://deadline.com/2023/03/the-little ... 235311414/

Few Hollywood movies get a China release nowadays. That might help the film get bigger box office numbers.

It's interesting Jonah wants to wield a sword, but is a prince in The Little Mermaid and yet doesn't get a sword there.

That's true. Unlike some other princes, Eric doesn't get to wield a sword in the original, and I guess neither will he in the remake. He got the wrong prince character; he should've auditioned for the role of Philip.

[Disney Duster]

YES VANESSA IS IN THE MOVIE!!!!! I woulda thought she'd get a corset like Ariel to make her sexier.

And haha, yes D82, he shoulda tried out for Phillip.

[Disney's Divinity]

The 'coveted' role of Prince Eric... Eric is a total nothing of a character. Really the only notable thing about the character was that he was hot...which this actor is not. I suppose the fact that they couldn't even cast an easy character like that right should've been the first sign the rest of the cast would be a fail.

[D82]

Alan Menken has revealed the titles of the other two new songs in a new interview. One is "Wild Unchartered Waters", which is Eric's song and replaces "Her Voice" from the Broadway musical; and the other is "Scuttlebutt", which is the one Scuttle and Sebastian sing and takes place when they hear the prince is going to marry and they believe Ariel must be the bride. The fourth song he and Miranda wrote but was cut is Triton's song, which was titled "Impossible Child". He thinks it'll be released as a bonus feature.

Alan also revealed there are lyric changes in "Kiss the Girl" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls". Here's the full part of the interview about The Little Mermaid:

Turning to The Little Mermaid, the story about Lin-Manuel Miranda is fascinating because he worshipped you as a kid. He always talks about it. So I’m wondering how the collaboration for this movie actually happened?

What happened was Lin gave a lot of interviews about just that. Sean Bailey, head of film production at the studio, heard or read one of those interviews. He didn’t even ask me. He just went to Lin and asked him to work on the movie. I'm used to that. Sometimes I actually find out something of mine is happening in a press release. So this was a case where I heard I'm going to be working with Lin, I guess. We had a great time. He's really smart. He understands theater really well. He understands a lot of things really well. He's got this, as you know, stylistic brilliance that brings in hip hop and rap, and all old musical forms that help. Even though it's a composer, me, and the lyricist, Lin—when we were in the room, all those influences came to band.

What was the first song that you did and why?

We discussed with Rob Marshall what he wanted. One was the Prince Eric song, called “Wild Unchartered Waters.” Then, there was the song for Ariel when she has her legs (doesn't have a voice), and she's singing her thoughts about all the firsts she is noticing for the first time. Then, there was a number called “Scuttlebutt” for Scuttle and Sebastian. It's this harebrained [song for them] trying to figure out what's going on because they hear rumors that the prince has decided to marry. They think it must be Ariel but of course it’s Ursela in the form of Vanessa. It's all this delicious imagination. Lin’s lyrics are to die for. We wrote a fourth song called “Impossible Child” for King Triton. It didn’t remain in the film only because dramaturgically we didn’t really need it. It was so great to work with Javier Bardem on that song and people will hear it as a DVD outtake, I guess.

What about anything from Broadway?

This is a very interesting thing because it started with Beauty, then Aladdin and now Mermaid. It's not like a wheel that goes from animation through Broadway to film. It goes from animation to Broadway, then from animation to film. It seems like the animateds are the Rosetta Stone and each iteration becomes a new adaptation from that starting point. There was a song, “Her Voice” for the Broadway show. But Rob really wanted a new song for this moment of waves and all the wildness of what's out there in the ocean. [Ariel] represented that to [Prince Eric]; she being the girl who saved his life. Live action films are really a director's medium. They want to go back to what they saw in the animation and take it fresh from there. That seems to be the pattern and I go along with it. Besides the fact that clearly, everybody wants a new song for the live action film for awards consideration.

Was there anything from the original that you redid, or something about it needed to change?

There are some lyric changes in “Kiss the Girl” because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]. We have some revisions in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn't speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.

Lin has learned from Stephen Sondheim and Jonathan Larson. But he also learned from listening to your songs over the years. What did you learn from working with him?

Each of the songs were a different formula of the two of us together. “Wild Unchartered Waters” was very much in my wheelhouse as a composer with lyrics set to the music. I think it was probably the most intimidating for Lin because he felt like it was really stepping into Howard [Ashman’s] shoes. For the first time, I took the essence of a piece of music that had been in the underscore of the original Little Mermaid. It was a very lilting feel to the moment. Lin asked to make it more edgy and more a two against three tempo-wise, if you know what that means. So we gave it a lot more edge and then wrote to that which took on this incredible excitement. It's a real combo of the two but he had really influenced the musical field. On “Scuttlebutt,” I wrote a piece of music with an implied melody line. Lin took that piece of music and brilliantly rapped over it musically. So there's this whole new creation. There was a great moment when Lin sent an audio file from the bathroom of an Acela Express. He’s holding the music I wrote and singing to me the idea of what he wants while you hear a rumble of the train in the background. So, it was a very freeform collaboration. One reason people will work a lot is because they're adaptable. I like to be in the room with whoever I'm working with and start from scratch to get the essence of what that collaboration will be.

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... ongwriters (via https://twitter.com/dumurin/status/1641853243582971907)

[carolinakid]

Regarding the lyric changes....these woke people must really think young people are stupid. Really... did any young girl or boy when listening to Ursula ... URSULA!...sing Poor Unfortunate Souls think they shouldn’t speak out of turn? Or in Kiss the Girl that Eric was gonna “force” himself on Ariel???

I just can’t..,

[Disney's Divinity]

I couldn't help sensing a lot of sardonic shade in some of this... "He didn't even tell me. ... I'm used to that." "even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel" "I like to be in the room with whoever I'm working with" And then this part made me chuckle a little bit for its truthfulness: "Besides the fact that clearly, everybody wants a new song for the live action film for awards consideration." I think being too frank and honest is something that put him out-of-step with modern Disney, tbh. The studio took on such an almost politician-esque veneer of BS when Lasseter gained a lot of power at the studio, and putting out press statements that don't just omit certain things but often say the exact opposite of what the reality is seemed to become the norm for them around that time.

I personally like "Her Voice" although it can be a bit monotonous. I'm curious about that song from the way its described, since I've always thought the characters were sort of coded as the ocean / land in a basic sort of way as far as Ariel having a tempestuous, active personality like the water versus Eric being more warm and reserved. I mean, the romance is not one of the stronger ones because the prince is less defined, but he was a building block to when they finally started making some dynamic male characters like the Beast, Aladdin, etc. within those "princess"-type films. But anyway, it's interesting to have Eric singing a song focused on how Ariel gives him those ocean-esque (ha) feelings.