The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[estefan]

That comment was more aimed at the general attitude here whenever Miranda is brought up.

I've personally never had a problem with people in Hollywood recommending their friends for certain jobs. I always found it a sweet gesture when the Lopez's recommended Lin-Manuel Miranda, when they were offered the chance of writing songs for "Moana."

There are several other cases of filmmakers and artists championing their friends that has resulted in beloved movies made that much better. Jodi Benson landed the role of Ariel, partly because she had worked with Howard Ashman before. John Williams composed the music for "Star Wars", thanks to a recommendation from Steven Spielberg. Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead launched their film careers, due to their friendship and association with Orson Welles.

Not that this is unique to Hollywood. Almost everyone has benefited, career wise, from friends helping them or getting a recommendation from someone, often as an act of kindness or because they believe they're a right fit for a position.

As for my stance on Disney, I don't consider myself a "stan", as the young people say. I'm still heavily critical of the Fox purchase and would prefer if Alan Horn would let Emma Watts greenlight whatever projects she wants at 20th Century Fox. I was in full support of Sony during the whole Spider-Man divorce negotiation drama that happened recently and thought Disney was unjustified in firing James Gunn last year. I have had mixed feelings about most of the Disney remakes and haven't cared for any of the ones that opened this year. I do like where Walt Disney Animation and Pixar are heading, but there are certainly a few things to tweak here and there. I just don't believe in focusing on the negative, especially when it's a project that hasn't even started filming yet (like "The Little Mermaid").

[Disney's Divinity]

The problem for me isn't the nepotism, it's the fact that Miranda has any involvement in the decision-making at all. Has he produced many successful live-action musicals? Was he involved with the creation of the original film? The answer to both of those is not at all, which makes the control he's been given over this film nonsensical and unjustified. He was only supposed to be there to help write the lyrics for a new song or two.

As for my own outlook, I don't believe in lying just because it's an opinion--either negative or positive--that others don't like to hear. If I can persevere through the Frozen 2 thread despite constant negativity, I'm sure the readers of the TLM re-make thread and Miranda fans can get along fine.

[Disney Duster]

But...we aren't seeing Miranda have more control than writing the lyrics...are we? No one knows for fact he has such control? Someone else help me with that?

I know you're not a Disney "stan" estefan!

[estefan]

But...we aren't seeing Miranda have more control than writing the lyrics...are we? No one knows for fact he has such control? Someone else help me with that?

Lin-Manuel Miranda is also serving as a producer and they usually have some say in the creative process. Marc Platt, who is also producing the movie, is probably giving plenty of notes and ideas and having a say in the casting process, too.

[Farerb]

Wait wait wait so we agree that it was wrong that Phil Johnson brought Jennifer Lee to work on Wreck-it Ralph or this nepotism is only not ok when it involves LMM?

[Sotiris]

Wait wait wait so we agree that it was wrong that Phil Johnson brought Jennifer Lee to work on Wreck-it Ralph or this nepotism is only not ok when it involves LMM?

I actually do agree with that. Especially considering how quickly Lee moved up the chain of command, from writer, to director, to CCO. Regardless of her talent, she didn't pay her dues like most of the people there and I think that's unfair. It's a matter of principle to me.

[JeanGreyForever]

Wait wait wait so we agree that it was wrong that Phil Johnson brought Jennifer Lee to work on Wreck-it Ralph or this nepotism is only not ok when it involves LMM?

I actually do agree with that. Especially considering how quickly Lee moved up the chain of command, from writer, to director, to CCO. Regardless of her talent, she didn't pay her dues like most of the people there and I think that's unfair. It's a matter of principle to me.

Agreed. This bothered me too and I can't help but feel that Disney just wanted a woman in charge to deflect form the backlash of Lasseter.

[Sotiris]

Scuttle really doesn't need a song. She's a comic relief character. What's next, Flounder getting a song? I fear that it will make the movie bloated. If they want more songs why not a Triton song or an Ariel/Eric duet? That makes more sense to me.

We’re like four or five new songs in. We’re really having a good time writing it together. We’re writing a new song for Eric. We’re writing a new song for Ariel. We’re writing a new song for Scuttle.

Source: https://www.broadway.com/buzz/197177/li ... ow-people/

[Disney's Divinity]

Four or five songs? Really? No way most of them don't end up on the cutting room floor. And continuing in the mistakes from TLM musical--one of that show's problems was bloat. Scuttle had two songs there and Chef Louie got a reprise.

And I'm guessing they'll push Bailey to belt "Part of Your World," too, just like Boggess. What a mess. I already expected it from Cravalho in the live show considering she was shouty in many of her songs in Moana as it is on top of the performance being live, but was hoping Bailey would perform the song more like the original since it's a film. As for PUS, I had resigned myself to that song ending up unlistenable a la "Be Prepared" in the live-action TLK a while ago and accepted it as the sacrifice that comes with non-singers in film musicals ( ), but now I suppose I should expect they'll include an arrangement as atrocious as the musical's just to full-throttle destroy it.

Now I wonder if Miranda wanted on this because he loved the original film or he just happened to see the flop Broadway show a great deal while he was working his own shows? Because it seems like we're getting a film of the Broadway show, not the animated film.

[Disney Duster]

Thanks for the info estefan. I agree with you Sotiris, a song for Scuttle is wrong, they should just write new songs for the main characters.

[UmbrellaFish]

No, I don’t think a song for Scuttle is necessary but I’m willing to give them breathing room in the creative process. In Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods, they filmed a new Sondheim song for Meryl Streep which was bad and unnecessary but would undoubtedly have netted the film an Oscar nom ala Les Mis— so if any of the new songs don’t work, I trust Marshall to cut them. At this point, I’m mostly just glad to have confirmation we’re indeed getting more than one new song. I’m also happy Menken enjoys writing with Miranda. Some of his songs have been stuck with subpar lyrics post-Renaissance so working with Miranda offers tantalizing creative opportunities— perhaps they will choose to collaborate more in the future!

[disneyprincess11]

When Scttule gets her own song in the TLM live action movie, but Mufasa and Rafiki, who deserve it, got zero in theirs

[Disney's Divinity]

Don't forget how Cogsworth and Chip were shafted out of their own solos, too.

[DisneyFan97]

Scuttle really doesn't need a song. She's a comic relief character. What's next, Flounder getting a song? I fear that it will make the movie bloated. If they want more songs why not a Triton song or an Ariel/Eric duet? That makes more sense to me.

We’re like four or five new songs in. We’re really having a good time writing it together. We’re writing a new song for Eric. We’re writing a new song for Ariel. We’re writing a new song for Scuttle.

Source: https://www.broadway.com/buzz/197177/li ... ow-people/

No new one for Ursula ?

[UmbrellaFish]

If you were writing a new song for Ariel, a solo not a duet, were would you place it? I’ve never liked “The World Above” and it’s placement before “Part of Your World” in the Broadway musical. It’s an “I want” song before the “I want” song and thus lessens the impact of “Part of Your World.” I think The Little Mermaid is paced pretty beautifully in the beginning and Ariel doesn’t need much more to sing than “Part of Your World” and its reprise.

Conversely, I’ve always loved “Beyond My Wildest Dreams” and its inclusion in the musical as an opportunity to hear Ariel’s perspective after she’s lost her voice and while Ariel and Eric are touring his kingdom. I think that type of song would work especially well in the film medium were it could be used in voice-over.

Finally, I think I could also picture Ariel getting her own “Speechless”-esque power ballad (but, uh, better and doesn’t stop the motion of the movie dead in its tracks) in the finale if the creative team decides to give Ariel a more active role in the finale, which I feel they should.

[Sotiris]

If you were writing a new song for Ariel, a solo not a duet, were would you place it? I’ve never liked “The World Above” and it’s placement before “Part of Your World” in the Broadway musical. It’s an “I want” song before the “I want” song and thus lessens the impact of “Part of Your World.” I think The Little Mermaid is paced pretty beautifully in the beginning and Ariel doesn’t need much more to sing than “Part of Your World” and its reprise.

Conversely, I’ve always loved “Beyond My Wildest Dreams” and its inclusion in the musical as an opportunity to hear Ariel’s perspective after she’s lost her voice and while Ariel and Eric are touring his kingdom. I think that type of song would work especially well in the film medium were it could be used in voice-over.

I agree on both accounts. An Ariel song before Part of Your World would probably serve the same purpose as it thus rendering it unnecessary and superfluous. Unless of course it's something radically different in concept like Ariel singing about her mom or something. The ideal placement of a second solo would be after she becomes human. Experiencing this new world for the first time is an overwhelming sensation and most appropriate to be expressed through song. The juxtaposition of her expectations of the human world in Part of Your World versus the reality of it in a new song would be interesting to see.

[Disney's Divinity]

“Beyond My Wildest Dreams” is the only new song for Ariel from the musical that was any good (and I’m including “If Only” in that statement, which I've always felt was vastly overrated).

Besides doing a mental song when she's voice-less, perhaps they could give her a song while she's in her grotto alone after Triton has destroyed everything and before Flotsam and Jetsam come in. Although I think I'd prefer they just used the cut, sad reprise of POYW from the original film there (that they were going to have with her on the rock until they decided to go with something more powerful and euphoric). Maybe have her singing the first half (ending with "what would I pay to spend a day holding your hand") to the statue after Flounder first reveals it to her, only for the song to be interrupted by Triton entering the scene, and then after everyone else has left she sings the ending with "I'd give my life / I'd sell my soul .... But I can see I'll never be part of your world." It would be a natural transition to F&J offering her the option of going to Ursula.

[DisneyFan97]

I have three wishs about this movie.

1: Incloud the scrapped mermaid grandmother(preferably played by the GREAT Angela Lansbury !)

2: Write a secend song for Ursula and give her more screen time !

3: Go ahead and finaly anucces who will e playing Ursula ! I am still wating for an offical casting annulment !

[Disney's Divinity]

I expect Ursula to have less screentime than the original, not more.

Which, depending on who they officially cast and how they decide to portray the character, could be a good or bad thing. The fact that they were thinking of Gaga at one time tells me they were looking for someone like Sherie Rene Scott ( ) rather than someone like the character as she appears in the animated film / Pat Carroll, which already spells the worst, imo. They probably won’t even include Vanessa, instead choosing to de-bone Ursula and turn her into a more passive character.

If that's the direction they go, I'll be glad to have as little of that kind of Ursula as possible, personally.

[DisneyFan97]

!

I expect Ursula to have less screentime than the original, not more.

Which, depending on who they officially cast and how they decide to portray the character, could be a good or bad thing. The fact that they were thinking of Gaga at one time tells me they were looking for someone like Sherie Rene Scott ( ) rather than someone like the character as she appears in the animated film / Pat Carroll, which already spells the worst, imo. They probably won’t even include Vanessa, instead choosing to de-bone Ursula and turn her into a more passive character.

If that's the direction they go, I'll be glad to have as little of that kind of Ursula as possible, personally.

I disagree it's STILL Ursula. So i want as MUCH of her as i can get !!!

Give like 30 minutes of just her !