The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[Disney Duster]

Eric's ripped shirt and whatever article of clothing he's holding, along with the shore setting, say to me this is him from the shipwreck scene. The tiara and and attire of the man and woman say to me the man and woman are the King and Queen coming to Eric just after Ariel left him. I don't know who that guy that looks like a prince is, maybe it is Eric's brother like some of you have said.

FYI yes, sometimes just official royal servants like a Duke or otherwise wear royal sashes, but the entire outfit of that man makes me think "King". And yes, American fairy tale movies take creative licenses with historical accuracy but they wouldn't put a sash on someone who is not royal in some way.

[UmbrellaFish]

It’s definitely possible that Disney could be trying to “fix” the part of the story where Eric is a Prince but his parents are nowhere in sight. That kind of overexplaining which was endemic in the BATB remake— and not even necessary in this case, principalities exist!

[Sotiris]

It’s definitely possible that Disney could be trying to “fix” the part of the story where Eric is a Prince but his parents are nowhere in sight.

I think that's what is happening here. I don't mind it, to be honest. They have to make some changes to justify the remake's existence. Let's hope any other storytelling alterations are as benign as this one.

[UmbrellaFish]

It’s definitely possible that Disney could be trying to “fix” the part of the story where Eric is a Prince but his parents are nowhere in sight.

I think that's what is happening here. I don't mind it, to be honest. They have to make some changes to justify the remake's existence. Let's hope any other storytelling alterations are as benign as this one.

But don’t you think giving Eric a family is a big change to the story? If this is meant to be his family. It’s not like it’s just a line of dialogue— “Oh, Eric’s father the King is away on a diplomatic mission” or a flashback like in BATB. We have possibly five entirely new characters here and not all of them can be analogues to characters from the original film, the cast wasn’t that large.

[Disney's Divinity]

We're calling a bunch of random actors that will mostly stand in the background a huge change now? As opposed to Scuttle being genderbent or Ariel and Triton being racebent or Vanessa likely being written out or turned into some random girl instead. What's a big change at this point? At the rate these remakes are going, they could've cast a chicken as Dumbo and you'd still have the people here talking about how there's absolutely nothing wrong about that change, we don't have any films with chicken leads, how dare you imply chickens aren't beautiful enough to be the protagonist, etc. etc.

[Sotiris]

But don’t you think giving Eric a family is a big change to the story?

Not really. I suppose it depends on the number of scenes they'll have and the extent of their appearances. It's unlikely they'll be featured prominently or their presence will be invasive. An additional benefit to keeping the songs in remakes is that it forces the filmmakers to preserve the original narrative thread and reproduce the most important story beats. That's why I'm not too concerned by changes in this instance.

At the rate these remakes are going, they could've cast a chicken as Dumbo and you'd still have the people here talking about how there's absolutely nothing wrong about that change, we don't have any films with chicken leads, how dare you imply chickens aren't beautiful enough to be the protagonist, etc. etc.

I think this comment is going to ruffle some feathers.

[Disney's Divinity]

I take it you meant Eric transformed for family get together’s You also forgot to mention that Moana seems very kingdom hearts inspired indeed as many people will tell you with the Wanted to escape the island explore new places and trying to Find/restore the “heart” of The Ocean

Yes, true. I forgot to reply before.

[UmbrellaFish]

But don’t you think giving Eric a family is a big change to the story?

Not really. I suppose it depends on the number of scenes they'll have and the extent of their appearances. It's unlikely they'll be featured prominently or that their presence will be invasive.

Hmm… I’m not sure I agree with this assumption. Only time will tell, of course.

And yes, I do think adding entirely new characters is a bigger change than other ones which are mostly cosmetic. Although I want to make it clear that I’m not really upset about any changes just yet (even if the tendency to overexplain things is a pet peeve of mine with these remakes). I’ll point out the changes as I notice them, but I’m willing to wait for the movie to premiere before I decide whether I like it or not. I admit I have passed judgment on movies before I’ve seen them in the past (and will likely do it again in the future), but in this case, I’m very curious and open to seeing how this team tackles the property.

[robster16]

I get the feeling that the new pictures are from the scene where Eric is found after the shipwreck by his family and staff and he runs into the ocean after Ariel. I think he then finds a piece of fabric on the rock Ariel sings the reprise of Part of Your World on which is shown in this shot:

http://cdn03.cdn.justjared.com/wp-conte ... set-42.jpg

and it appears as if he then takes that fabric with him as a sort of memento of her, which might come back in a later part of the story. Perhaps that's the way Vanessa tricks Eric into believing she is the girl who saved him by providing matching fabric or something. Question is... why would Ariel be wearing fabric as a mermaid? I doubt she collected clothing and puts it on during POYW and keeps it on while exploring the ship right after.

Also, did you notice Sebastian on a stick in this behind the scenes shot?!

http://cdn01.cdn.justjared.com/wp-conte ... set-60.jpg

Over here they appear to be filming Sebastian and Scuttle's reaction shot to Ariel singing the POYW reprise to Eric on the beach... You know, the open jaw shot

[UmbrellaFish]

Question is... why would Ariel be wearing fabric as a mermaid? I doubt she collected clothing and puts it on during POYW and keeps it on while exploring the ship right after.

I kinda figured they would jush up Ariel’s mermaid costume. Maybe with sashes and pieces of jewelry. I guess there could be tailors under the sea.

Also, did you notice Sebsation on a stick in this behind the scenes shot?!

and it appears as if he then takes that fabric with him as a sort of memento of her, which might come back in a later part of the story. Perhaps that's the way Vanessa tricks Eric into believing she is the girl who saved him by providing matching fabric or something. Question is... why would Ariel be wearing fabric as a mermaid? I doubt she collected clothing and puts it on during POYW and keeps it on while exploring the ship right after.

But if Vanessa is one of the women we see in these beach paparazzi photos, how could she trick him into believing she rescued him if there are other witnesses to her location? Unless she actually found him on the beach before everyone else and we didn’t see that part in the pap photos.

http://cdn01.cdn.justjared.com/wp-conte ... set-60.jpg

Good eye! Haha that photo looks kinda suggestive.

[robster16]

I tried to illustrate my point. I think this will be Ariel's rock where she sings Part Of Your World (reprise), and right after that Eric is found on the beach by his family and staff and runs into the ocean trying to go after the mysterious girl who saved him...

[Disney's Divinity]

I just have a hard time believing the King and Queen themselves would be walking along the beach at random like that, to find him on the shore. With Grimsby it made sense because he's not royalty himself and, besides, he had been on the same ship that went down and was probably somewhere around there as it was.

[Disney Duster]

At the rate these remakes are going, they could've cast a chicken as Dumbo and you'd still have the people here talking about how there's absolutely nothing wrong about that change, we don't have any films with chicken leads, how dare you imply chickens aren't beautiful enough to be the protagonist, etc. etc.

Dude, you made me laugh out loud for a good minute!

[D82]

FYI yes, sometimes just official royal servants like a Duke or otherwise wear royal sashes, but the entire outfit of that man makes me think "King". And yes, American fairy tale movies take creative licenses with historical accuracy but they wouldn't put a sash on someone who is not royal in some way.

Thanks for the info.

I get the feeling that the new pictures are from the scene where Eric is found after the shipwreck by his family and staff and he runs into the ocean after Ariel. I think he then finds a piece of fabric on the rock Ariel sings the reprise of Part of Your World on which is shown in this shot:

http://cdn03.cdn.justjared.com/wp-conte ... set-42.jpg

and it appears as if he then takes that fabric with him as a sort of memento of her, which might come back in a later part of the story. Perhaps that's the way Vanessa tricks Eric into believing she is the girl who saved him by providing matching fabric or something.

Maybe you're right. I was wondering why they needed to add that element to the story, but since Ariel and Vanessa are probably not going to look too similar in this version, maybe they replaced Eric catching a brief glimpse of Ariel on the beach with him finding that piece of cloth she supposedly left behind.

Also, did you notice Sebastian on a stick in this behind the scenes shot?!

http://cdn01.cdn.justjared.com/wp-conte ... set-60.jpg

Nice catch! I've seen on Twitter that the puppets of Sebastian and Scuttle used on set could also be spotted in a previous set photo:

https://twitter.com/DlabrMidias/status/ ... 7745524738
https://twitter.com/mermaid_remake/stat ... 4594731009

Is it possible Max could be added digitally as well?

I just have a hard time believing the King and Queen themselves would be walking along the beach at random like that, to find him on the shore. With Grimsby it made sense because he's not royalty himself and, besides, he had been on the same ship that went down and was probably somewhere around there as it was.

Yes, it's not something too normal for royalty, but they probably heard about the shipwreck and were very worried about Eric. Plus, if the palace is as close to the beach as in the original, it wasn't a long walk. I imagine some servant told them he had been found on the beach and they run towards him.

[Disney Duster]

FYI yes, sometimes just official royal servants like a Duke or otherwise wear royal sashes, but the entire outfit of that man makes me think "King". And yes, American fairy tale movies take creative licenses with historical accuracy but they wouldn't put a sash on someone who is not royal in some way.

Thanks for the info.

I think also military and noble people can get sashes. Not sure.

Yes , it's not something too normal for royalty, but they probably heard about the shipwreck and were very worried about Eric. Plus, if the palace is as close to the beach as in the original, it wasn't a long walk. I imagine some servant told them he had been found on the beach and they run towards him.

I think they expected Eric to be arriving back home on that ship.

[Redadoodles]

Emily Coates, who was rumored to play Vanessa, was also featured among the new photos. She looks more like a maid to me.

I don’t know why but I think Eric’s ship will crash on its way to the kingdom of a potential bride (possibly Emily’s character).
In that case, it would also be more faithful to Andersen’s text when an actual girl rescues the prince in front of other people instead of Grimsby thinking it's just in Eric's mind.

[D82]

I think also military and noble people can get sashes. Not sure.

It's true. Now that you mention it, I remember having seen military people wearing them.

I think they expected Eric to be arriving back home on that ship.

You're right; when the ship doesn't return home as they expected, they'll now something bad has happened. There's no need for anyone to bring the news.

I don’t know why but I think Eric’s ship will crash on its way to the kingdom of a potential bride (possibly Emily’s character).
In that case, it would also be more faithful to Andersen’s text when an actual girl rescues the prince in front of other people instead of Grimsby thinking it's just in Eric's mind.

Maybe you're right. It's quite likely they'll add more elements from the original fairy tale, like they did with the remakes of Beauty and the Beast or Cinderella.

[Toky]

I tried to illustrate my point. I think this will be Ariel's rock where she sings Part Of Your World (reprise), and right after that Eric is found on the beach by his family and staff and runs into the ocean trying to go after the mysterious girl who saved him...

Good catch! Nice concept art btw always nice to spot a fellow Dutchie on here..

Regarding the pictures, it looks like they will alter quite some story lines; curious how it will turn out

[thedisneyspirit]

A reminder that this movie is gonna flop hard in Asia and Latin America. Not one of us is gonna give this trash an audience.

All I see on Instagram is actual POC complaining that this is not their Ariel while tone-deaf whites scamper to defend their alien bobblehead and call ACTUAL POC racists. When will Americans realize the rest of the world doesn't share the same view on race as them and this marketing stunt is gonna backfire hard with foreign audiences who have an actual nuanced view of race that isn't strictly black or white.

[supertalies]

Ooh, good catch robster16! That rock definitely looks... 'mermaid sized' lol.

Anwyay, judging by Eric's outfit, this is clearly after the Part of Your World reprise, where Ariel has left him on the shore after the shipwreck.

Noma Dumezweni and the other Black actor look like royalty. Noma ever wears something that looks like a tiara in her hair. I don't think a servant like Carlotta would wear something like that in her hair. I guess it would make sense to replace Carlotta and Grimsby with Eric's actual parents, since they were clearly his parental figures in the movie and it was never properly explained where his actual parents weren. Replacing them (or changing them into) Eric's parents would fit with some of the changes they've made in previous live action remakes (like explaining why nobody missed the Beast and his servants during his curse and where Jasmine's mother was). Based on the casting of Ariel and Triton it does seem like this is gonna be a movie with colourblind casting (similar to 1997's Cinderella) so Noma and the other actor could easily play his parents.

The blonde actor also looks like royalty so, hear me out, maybe he is Max! Turning Max into a brother or human friend of Eric is also a choice I could see them make. It would give Eric another friend he could talk to, just like how they gave Jasmine a handmaid/best friend in the remake. Especially if they indeed replaced Grimsby with his dad.

Also, people were saying Emily Coates was playing Vanessa, but maybe they're taking inspiration from the actual Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale for this movie and they'll have Emily Coates play the girl who finds Eric after he's washed ashore. In the original fairy tale the prince is found by a girl who he later falls in love with and marries (instead of the mermaid). Obviously they can't have that happen here, but maybe Emily is playing a girl Eric's parents want him to marry. He doesn't love her though, but later Ursula possessed or shapeshifts into that girl and hypnotizes Eric to marry her. Or she hypnotizes them both. Anyway, Eric deciding to marry a girl he already knows makes more sense than him wanting to immediately marry a stranger he just met and would also be a fun reference to the original fairy tale.