The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[Disney Duster]

I don't like "To Be Free". I listened to it again, because I didn't like it the first time I heard it, and I still feel like there's no great melody for me to catch on to. I mean, yes it's nice and classical, but not a beautiful, great classic to me. But I do love "Proud of Your Boy". Actually, I liked "Desert Moon" a lot, on the same level as "Evermore". I also liked "Days in the Sun." Those songs I listed are really great classic Disney songs in my opinion. I also will include "Speechless".

But I agree Hunchback needs "Someday" and "In a Place of Miracles". "Someday" is known well outside the film as far as I can tell. Was "In a Place of Miracles" in the stage show? I forget.

[JeanGreyForever]

I like Desert Moon as well. It bothered me that the song was cut and even the deleted song on the Blu-Ray had unfinished effects when it came to Rajah. I used to like Evermore a lot and it's still my favorite out of the three new live-action BATB songs but I'm not as huge a fan anymore. Days in the Sun I had a lot of hype for but then I heard the song and was frankly disappointed. I can understand the more melancholic tone to the song (cynics online say they chose this over Human Again because it would be cheaper to animate) but I didn't feel the need for Belle to sing. The song should have just belonged to the objects and I didn't like the plot change of the objects telling Belle about the curse. She should have been kept far removed from that knowledge and this song.

Someday is probably the other most popular deleted song besides Proud of Your Boy. Those two and Never Smile at a Crocodile from Peter Pan. I constantly see Someday included in Disney albums, sometimes as one of the only songs to represent Hunchback. It is a beautiful song and the melody is so deeply entrenched in the film. Yes, In a Place of Miracles was in the American musical but not the original German one.

[Disney Duster]

I'm glad you like Desert Moon. I never watched the whole deleted scene myself because even though Aladdin was one of the better remakes, it just isn't one I liked very much personally. The best thing about to me was Jasmine and her handmaiden. I will always think Evermore is great, though honestly within the film it slows the narrative painfully and feels really unnecessary. I feel like Human Again didn't fit the tone of the film the way they did it, which you seem to agree with...? I do agree though that Belle knowing about the curse was one of the worst decisions.

I agree about the deleted songs that are known so well and thanks for the info on A Place of Miracles. I really loved that production. I forget, did you get to fly to Papermill to see it?

[Sotiris]

The interview was taken before production shut down.

Q: So I understand you've already begun rehearsals on The Little Mermaid.

Rob Marshall: Yes. We have eight weeks of rehearsal and then we go into two weeks of pre-records. And then we have another week of prep as we gear up and start shooting. I'm just looking at my calendar right now, March 23.

Q: That's a significant amount of rehearsal time for movies, is it not?

Rob Marshall: Yeah, well, this one's so complicated—it's the combination of it being a musical and also the underwater of it all has us having to do so much stunt work on rigs and wires and all of that kind of thing, so that [the] whole part of it is incredibly complicated. Of all the movies I've done, I actually can say this is the most complicated by far.

Q: Are you actually going to be filming underwater or is it going to be the illusion of being underwater?

Rob Marshall: We are doing some underwater work, especially (to) get the reality of that. But the majority of it, we are doing what's called "dry for wet." On a blue-screen stage. We're singing and moving and acting, and underwater for half the film. I will say it's sort of this new frontier. We're working with a lot of fabulous visual effects artists (with) all kinds of new techniques to be able to do that kind of thing and make it really look photo-real. For instance, on Ariel, you're creating a tail and her hair because her hair has to move in the water and so that will be digitally added. And then you're creating everything: the water, the backgrounds, the vegetation, the coral reefs, the fish… It's a challenge. [...] I love working with actors who are new to musicals. I have two in (Mermaid): I have Javier Bardem, and I have Melissa McCarthy. And I love the discovery of that, how they approach it, the character; you see them learning.

Q: Talking about thinking out of the box, your Ariel in Little Mermaid is not an actor that a lot of people would have imagined, especially based on the original Disney animated version of this story.

Rob Marshall: It was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made because she did exactly what I just described, which is she came in and claimed the role. You know, when you're looking for a character, you're looking for those character traits that are sometimes indescribable. And Ariel needs to have a sort of wide-eyed wonder about the world, plus a fiery spirit, plus an angelic voice, plus something otherworldly because she's not from this world. And she's experiencing something for the first time. You know, there are so many jaded actors out there trying to play that. But to play something with that kind of authenticity and that kind of special magic, that's what Halle (Bailey) had immediately and no one else had that. I'm always interested in color-blind casting and just looking at all the great people. But I'm looking for the person; I'm not looking for the person who fits into the mold of how we're going to present this. For me, it's looking for that internal thing that brings the character to life and then you see the film comes to life in front of you. And that happened with Halle.

Source: https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Arti ... shall.aspx

[UmbrellaFish]

First there was “day for night,” now there is “dry for wet.”

[Disney's Divinity]

I know it's the norm for live-action musicals to hire people who can't sing, but just hearing him talk about actors learning on the spot to do something critical is so bizarre. I know for movies, name value trumps singing ability because they have autotune for that. Still, it's very strange.

[Sotiris]

I'm always interested in color-blind casting and just looking at all the great people.

Why do people working for Disney always feel the need to lie about stuff? Is it part of their contract? We know that not only they had decided to race-bend Ariel from the start, but just sought out Black actresses for the role. If you're confident about that decision (assuming it was his decision, which I'm doubtful), why not be honest about it? I understand the need to do PR for a controversial casting choice, but instead of the "We chose the best person for the job!" spiel, why not explain the thought process behind it? Why not tell people the reasons why having a Black Ariel was important to you? There are lots of arguments to be made in favor of that. I don't get the need to lie about it.

[Disney's Divinity]

That's true, Sotiris. It reminds me of how many lies they would tell after Disney killed off hand-drawn animation that it was really always up to the directors, that there was simply no directors that wanted to use hand-drawn animation apparently (although we know M&C tried several times and were denied). I suppose a nice lie is better than saying, "We were ordered to do XYZ, we had no choice here." Plus, they actually want to continue working with Disney, so it's better to play along than risk annoying them.

[JeanGreyForever]

I'm glad you like Desert Moon. I never watched the whole deleted scene myself because even though Aladdin was one of the better remakes, it just isn't one I liked very much personally. The best thing about to me was Jasmine and her handmaiden. I will always think Evermore is great, though honestly within the film it slows the narrative painfully and feels really unnecessary. I feel like Human Again didn't fit the tone of the film the way they did it, which you seem to agree with...? I do agree though that Belle knowing about the curse was one of the worst decisions.

I agree about the deleted songs that are known so well and thanks for the info on A Place of Miracles. I really loved that production. I forget, did you get to fly to Papermill to see it?

That reminds me that even my feelings about the Aladdin live-action film must have been lukewarm enough since I never bothered with the bonus features. Same with the live-action BATB besides the cast reading.

When you said Human Again didn't fit the tone of the film, are you referring to the animated film or did you mean Days in the Sun not fitting in the live-action film? I know a lot of people were annoyed here about Belle knowing about the curse. In the original fairy tale, there's this whole stipulation that Belle can't know about it in order to break the spell.

Sorry, I think you're thinking of another user here who posted his or her review of THOND's musical and how they flew to Papermill to see it. I certainly didn't. I watched it on YouTube when it was posted.

[Disney Duster]

I agree, Sotiris. Why do they have to lie? Rob Marshall also lied about the real reason he didn't let Rapunzel die in Into the Woods.

Oh, hm, so you felt that way about Aladdin very similar to me. I actually watched all of BatB LA's bonus features. I really like the movie. Yeah. I know. What? It's a good movie. I mean, it's bad. But it's good. Lol. I like it, I don't love it. I put it on occasionally to watch the costumes, production design, special effects, and mostly good story.

I meant Human Again did not fit the tone of BatB LA. That song is too happy.

Wow, the original story even needed Belle not to know about the curse.

Oh, well at least you found a way to watch THoND's production! I knew you saw the whole thing, somehow.

[JeanGreyForever]

My realization that I didn't really like the LA BATB very much was when it dawned on me that I never really want to rewatch it. The only scenes I sometimes bother with are the opening aria and the ending scene for Audra McDonald's singing.

Well, Be Our Guest is a pretty happy song as well and that certainly didn't seem out of place in the live-action BATB. Human Again would have been in the same vein as that if they had placed it after Belle and Beast seem like they are falling in love rather than exactly where Days in the Sun was.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, well it's ok you don't like the movie much.

Hm...I still feel like Human Again would not have fit BatB LA. I could be wrong. You have your opinion, I have mine.

[UmbrellaFish]

https://thedisinsider.com/2020/04/17/fi ... ssion=true

First Look at Prince Eric’s Castle by Skyler Shuler of DisInsider

[Disney Duster]

Wow! Looks totally awesome!

[Thumper_93]

If the movie is going to happen in the caribbean it should be a fort, not a palace. It looks pretty but for me it doesn't look like a construction that could be in a beach of the caribbean

[Disney's Divinity]

It looks nice.

[nomad2010]

If the movie is going to happen in the caribbean it should be a fort, not a palace. It looks pretty but for me it doesn't look like a construction that could be in a beach of the caribbean

They’re only filming in the Caribbean. I’m pretty sure they’re keeping the original location from the animated film.

[Vlad]

Do they know when they will start filming this?

[Thumper_93]

If the movie is going to happen in the caribbean it should be a fort, not a palace. It looks pretty but for me it doesn't look like a construction that could be in a beach of the caribbean

They’re only filming in the Caribbean. I’m pretty sure they’re keeping the original location from the animated film.

The castle in the animated film looks more accurate than the one that they want to use for the live action. The LA looks like a renacentist castle. They should have done something similar to "Port Royal" from Pirates of the Caribbean

[estefan]

Do they know when they will start filming this?

Probably as soon as health professionals give the okay. They were about to start filming before Disney ordered all of their live-action productions to lock down, because of the coronavirus.