The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[Sotiris]

King Triton today. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I am most certainly ok with this interpretation of King Triton for live action. It's kind of funny though to realize that our animated characters were allowed to show much more skin than their life counterparts. Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, Gaston, Triton....

Source: http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2023/05 ... today.html

[D82]

Films were also allowed to be darker back then and characters more flawed. In the Little Mermaid remake, for example, the polyps are only hinted at and Ariel isn't allowed to be as rebellious as in the original or Triton angry or strict enough. That was one of my main issues with this film. Especially regarding Ariel, as one of my favorite aspects of the original character is her rebellious spirit. I think it's not the actors' fault, though; they all do a good job. The problem in my opinion is the script.

Another issue for me was downplaying the role Ariel being in love with Eric plays when she decides to become a human. I know in the original it's not just that and she was in love with the human world first, but that was a deciding factor for her and the story just doesn't work as well with that change. It's true they've developed their romance more here, and that was the best part of the film in my opinion, but I believe they fall in love with each other just as much in the original.

Anyway, I think this is among the better remakes. If I had never seen the original, I would've thought it wasn't bad at all, so I understand why many people like it. But comparing it to the animated film, nothing works as well to me as it does there. And, as it happens with most of these remakes, it's more lifeless and doesn't have the soul or charm the original has. Compared to the other Fab Four remakes, though, I'd say it's way better than Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, but I was able to enjoy Aladdin more.

[Farerb]

Films were also allowed to be darker back then and characters more flawed. In the Little Mermaid remake, for example, the polyps are only hinted at and Ariel isn't allowed to be as rebellious as in the original or Triton angry or strict enough. That was one of my main issues with this film. Especially regarding Ariel, as one of my favorite aspects of the original character is her rebellious spirit. I think it's not the actors' fault, though; they all do a good job. The problem in my opinion is the script.

This is really an issue with modern films in general, they try to make the characters "good role model ™" or "relatable" that they just don't feel real anymore, and the movies feel less sharp and witty, if you know what I mean?
The best example is Woody in the first Toy Story movie compared to Pixar protagonists in later films.

Anyway, I think this is among the better remakes. If I had never seen the original, I would've thought it wasn't bad at all, so I understand why many people like it. But comparing it to the animated film, nothing works as well to me as it does there. And, as it happens with most of these remakes, it's more lifeless and doesn't have the soul or charm the original has. Compared to the other Fab Four remakes, though, I'd say it's way better than Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, but I was able to enjoy Aladdin more.

I sort of agree with this objectively, but the last time I tried rewatching Aladdin I was so bored, I imagine it'll happen with The Little Mermaid too. And I don't hate myself enough to ever rewatch The Lion King (I really considered walking out of the theater when I watched it back then).

When I last saw Beauty and the Beast, at least it was interesting to me to see where they messed up the whole thing, and it's truly a shame too because I do see the potential there, I could even take the terrible casting and the terrible designs for the Beast and the objects, but the way they changed the characters and the story was just unforgivable. I honestly don't understand why they didn't bring back Linda Woolverton to expand the story. Oh well....

In the end, I think all of them had no true artistic vision. It seems that Disney put more effort in the production values of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, perhaps because they thought they had a real chance at the Academy Awards (and yes I'm aware that Aladdin had more budget than Beauty and the Beast but it also had Will Smith, anyway I don't see the money on the screen).

[Disney Duster]

Yeah, I don't count it as canon, D82. Some people consider any half human-half sea creature a merperson, including me.

Farerb, ok, I am biased because Cinderella is my favorite thing ever, but part of why that film came was, around Maleficent's start, some people at Disney just thought a live-action Cinderella would be a good thing to do, they set out to make "the definitive live-action Cinderella", and they did, with trying to expand and improve the film in ways that worked as opposed to ruining or missing the point of what worked in the original. I'd say the only thing it fudged was not making it sad enough when bad stuff happened to Cindy. But the craft and writing was there in the rest. So I think artistic vision was there. I also feel artistic vision was in the visuals of Beauty and the Beast, minus the botched yellow dress.

[Farerb]

Duster, I wasn't referring to Cinderella in my post, only the Renaissance films. But if you really want to know, I think Cinderella is just okay. Truthfully, seeing her walking out and interacting with People only makes it unbelievable that she wouldn't leave the house considering she knows what's out there (in the animated movie it's not implied even once that she does, she stays because she needs a warm bed). I know that they made some flimsy excuse about it in the movie but she still leaves in the end so who cares? In Ever After she at least had the other servants to sort of be her family and she probably wanted to protect them as best she could. I also don't care about the way they "ruined" her dress, they basically just tore her sleeve and she could have fixed that in less than 10 minutes, and I also don't care about how she needs to prove herself again as if what we saw till then wasn't enough.

[Thumper_93]

Cinderella's left his family house at the end of the movie because she realized that her stepmother actually really cruel and she deceided to be happy. She didn't really lost her house because her stepmother and sisters were exiled...

[Disney Duster]

Oh, I didn't know you just meant the fab four, Farerb. As for the things you addressed, I find it perfectly realistic Cinderella would go to town to buy things for her stepfamily. Even in the original film, she looks about 8 in the beginning while her father is still alive, she must have been exposed to the real world a good deal by then as well. In the remake, she didn't want to leave her old house because she loved it so much and it belonged to her family, but when she met a man she fell in love with and wanted to marry, he became her new family, and he's a king of all people, so it's just common sense she would move into the palace no matter how much she loved her old home. She had a duty as a queen, too. And she still probably kept her house in her family, perhaps now also the royal family. Once her stepfamily was gone, she probably owned it. As for her dress, her sleeve was ripped, her bow and bertha were ripped, and some of the skirt was ripped. It would have taken a lot of time to mend it. As for the last thing you said, I'm sorry, I didn't understand, what did you mean by she had to prove herself again?

[Marce82]

DisneyDuster: I might be mistaken, but when they say "Cinderella having to prove herself again", may be referring to the scene where the fairy godmother shows up and "tests" her to see if she is still kind, or something like that (the whole beggar woman asking for milk). Whereas in the animated version, the fairy shows up because after all the years of hardship, Cinderella's hope and spirit have finally been broken.

Also, I don't think 8 year olds have a lot of understanding of the goings on in the world, and they can still be easily misled for years after that. I buy that the stepfamily mentally abused 8 year old Cinderella into thinking there was no life for her outside of that house. I don't believe adult Ella would buy that.

[Marce82]

Now back to TLM.... I have a favor to ask of the members here. I kept hearing how Avatar 2's underwater effects were so much better than TLM's. That movie is now available on Disney Plus, and I have tried to watch some of the underwater scenes, but they all seem to be fairly close to the surface (I REALLY don't want to watch all of Avatar 2!). Are there any scenes that take place DEEP in the ocean in Avatar 2 (where you cannot see the surface at all)?

If so, can you guys give me a time code to look for? I really would like to compare...

THANK YOU!

[Farerb]

‘Little Mermaid’ Tops Soundtracks Chart, Swims Past Peak of Original Album on Billboard 200
https://www.billboard.com/pro/little-me ... cks-chart/

[PatchofBlue]

Now back to TLM.... I have a favor to ask of the members here. I kept hearing how Avatar 2's underwater effects were so much better than TLM's. That movie is now available on Disney Plus, and I have tried to watch some of the underwater scenes, but they all seem to be fairly close to the surface (I REALLY don't want to watch all of Avatar 2!). Are there any scenes that take place DEEP in the ocean in Avatar 2 (where you cannot see the surface at all)?

If so, can you guys give me a time code to look for? I really would like to compare...

THANK YOU!

Not an Avatar fan, huh?

To your point, most of the underwater stuff does take place close to the surface.

The climax does feature some characters who are stuck on a sinking vessel, which is where you'll probably get what you're looking for. Between 2:46 and 2:55. There might be a few more shots like that between 1:09 and 1:11 during a montage of underwater shots.

Personally, I think it makes sense that the two movies would look different and have different approaches to being made. "Mermaid" has underwater dialogue and singing where Avatar does not.

Anyways, Disney has released the full clip of "Part of Your World"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf7Dss2gCe0

And a look at choreographing "Under the Sea"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxTW8b1hkWs

[Disney Duster]

I see, Marce82. I don't think those changes make the film worse, actually, but I won't get into it here. We can talk in the Cinderella Live-Action thread or just get back to Mermaid now. I just agree to disagree for now.

[Sotiris]

Third weekend box office numbers.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid did $4M to Spider-Verse‘s $10.1M on Thursday. Little Mermaid, booked at 4,320 theaters, ends Week 2 with $59.5M and a running total of $205.1M.

Industry estimates for the third weekend of Disney’s The Little Mermaid in third place is $24M, down 41% after a $6.8M Friday, (-42%), and a running total by Sunday of $230M. That total is just 1% behind Aladdin at the same point in time, with the latter Disney live-action feature take of an animated movie ending its stateside run at $355.5M.

The Little Mermaid (Dis) 4,320 theaters, Fri $6.8M Sat $8.7M Sun $7.1M 3 day $22.7M (-45%) Total $228.8M/Wk 3

Source: https://deadline.com/2023/06/box-office ... 235412771/

Though it’s faced choppy waters in some offshore play, The Little Mermaid’s debut in Japan this weekend was good for a No. 1 slot and the second-best opening for a Disney title in the market since the start of the pandemic at $5M. This outstrips the launches of The Jungle Book, Cinderella and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil there.

Source: https://deadline.com/2023/06/transforme ... 235412963/

The company’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” earned $6.8 million on Friday, down roughly 43% from its previous outing. While the aquatic musical hasn’t been performing as strongly overseas, it’ll push its domestic earnings beyond $225 million through the weekend. It’s tracking just a hair behind the 2019 remake of “Aladdin,” which earned $230 million through its first 17 days of domestic release and finished with $355 million.

Source: https://variety.com/2023/film/box-offic ... 235639435/

Three Disney releases round out the top five slots on domestic charts. The company’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” earned $6.8 million on Friday, down roughly 43% from its previous outing. While the aquatic musical hasn’t been performing as strongly overseas, it’ll push its domestic earnings beyond $225 million through the weekend. It’s tracking just a hair behind the 2019 remake of “Aladdin,” which earned $230 million through its first 17 days of domestic release and finished with $355 million.

Source: https://variety.com/2023/film/box-offic ... 235639435/

Elsewhere at the box office, three holdovers from Disney rounded out the top of North American charts. In third place, “The Little Mermaid” added $22.8 million from 4,320 theaters, declining 46% from the weekend prior. After three weeks of release, the live-action remake is swimming along with $228 million at the domestic box office. But the big-budget film has been struggling at the international box office, where ticket sales have been floundering with $185 million. (Yes, that’s considered “floundering” for a movie that cost $250 million.) At one point, there was hope “The Little Mermaid” would near the $1 billion mark; after a disappointing turnout overseas, it’ll be lucky to hit $500 million.

Source: https://variety.com/2023/film/news/box- ... 235639877/

In its third weekend, in second position, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” collected £2.1 million for a total of £19.9 million.

Source: https://variety.com/2023/film/box-offic ... 235642234/

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is in third with an industry estimated $23.6 million third weekend, keeping it on a strong pace domestically with $223 million grossed so far. “The Little Mermaid” has performed similarly to past Disney remakes in the U.S. but has struggled overseas as it is just now passing $350 million in global grosses against a reported $250 million production budget.

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/transformers-sp ... fice-race/

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is in third with $22.8 million grossed in its third weekend. The live-action/CGI remake continues its trend of strong domestic returns and weak overseas performance with a running total of $228.2 million domestic and $414.2 million worldwide against a $250 million production budget before marketing.

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/transformers-ri ... e-opening/

Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid is coming in No. 3 in its third outing with a projected weekend of $24 million for a domestic tally of $230 million.

Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid jumped the $400 million mark globally in its third outing. It placed No. 3 domestically with $22.8 million for a domestic tally of $229.8 million. Overseas, it earned another $25.9 million for a foreign tally of $185.4 million.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235512135/

[Marce82]

Hey, PatchOfBlue! Thank you!

And no, not a fan of Avatar. Hated the first one, and I refuse to watch the second. Even the ride(s) at WDW are meh.

I checked out the scenes you suggested, and indeed, they look MUCH better than the underwater scenes in TLM. A big part of it is the hair, which moves WAY more naturally in Avatar2. You can also tell that they characters are pushing against water when they move... (as far as I know, they were actually motion captured under water... and it shows!)
You also see particles moving in the water. TLM SOMETIMES does this... but it often forgets.

That said, it IS a bit of an unfair comparison, because TLM takes place deep in the ocean, and it seems Avatar is generally close to the surface, which allows rays of sunshine to come through, and things to be lighter ... (the lack of color in TLM is still a mystery to me).

TLM released the whole footage of POYW on youtube... look at the part where she says "I got 20"... and she throws the watch back into the little chest. DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IT'S UNDER WATER??? BAHAHAHAHA. I think that is a small example of why things in TLM don't work as well as they do in Avatar2... it's a lot of small moments like that that break the illusion. Death by a thousand cuts.

Ugh... I feel dirty praising Avatar 2. Ugh.

[Marce82]

And yes, DisneyDuster. I believe we have discussed that before. Agree to disagree on Cinderella.

[Vlad Sicoe]

Don't worry, Marce. I join you in your disliking of Avatar. I thought the first one was interesting, but way too long. I didn't even watch the second one. I will watch it on Disney+ one day (mainly for Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet), cause they put it a few days ago. I did see some footage, and you're right, the underwater scenes look a lot better than in The Little Mermaid.

I completely agree about your observation for the "I got 20" moment in POYW. I said the exact same thing to my sister when we saw it in theaters.

[Thumper_93]

The movie has gross $414,210,339 and It is in the third position on the top 3 under Spider-man and Transformer.
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegr ... _=bo_rl_su

[Disney Duster]

It sounds like this would do Aladdin's numbers (was it a billion?) were it not for the racebend making other parts of the world not wanna see it as much?

By the way I saw this film a second time, for my birthday, and I liked it even more the second time (probably because I knew what to expect this time, not let down by botched transformation scenes). And, get this...during "Part of Your World (Reprise II)", I almost started to cry! I never did that with Cinderella (2015)! Wow! So, if you want more fuel to the argument this film is better than Cinderella, well, you have it! Haha. I still think Cinderella is better, stuff is more magical as a whole for me, but, well, score one for The Little Mermaid (2023)!

[carolinakid]

Sorry, but I can’t resist....

Duster at the Little Mermaid ...

[Farerb]

Yesterday I had a nightmare where I was watching the original film and suddenly they started singing Scuttlebutt. I'm afraid that now I will never be able to watch the original without dreading that the song might be in it.