The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[Disney's Divinity]

I believe Hocus Pocus 2 also had a positive early screening, and that was overally pretty meh.

For some reason, I thought this was coming out next Fall rather than the Summer. I'm glad it's only six months away 'til this thing's finally over with.

[Farerb]

Reaction to THE LITTLE MERMAID last night was really good. People are split on the new songs but the audience went nuts for Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy was surprisingly good as Ursula. Heard "best Disney remake" (ymmv on what that's worth) from more than one person.

https://twitter.com/ViewerAnon/status/1 ... t_5sQ&s=19

Here's what I heard from the couple of people I talked to after they saw The Little Mermaid. The film is still far from finished, Halle was wonderful. Melissa McCarthy surprised the audience as Ursula and appeared to be the standout.

Was also told Jessica Alexander was really solid. The new songs were hit-and-miss, which isn't shocking. The new characters and Eric’s family drama was an enjoyment to us all. Overall both people told me it is as solid as 2019's Aladdin, so take that for what it's worth.

https://twitter.com/SkylerShuler/status ... f40EA&s=19

[Disney Duster]

"Part of Your World" and the visuals have already made me think this could be Disney's best live-action remake, so we'll see if those twitterers are right!

[singerguy04]

I usually take comments like "Best Remake Ever" with a grain of salt because I still find it subjective. Comparing this to Aladdin is interesting though. I like Aladdin's remake, and I think generally we can all agree it's in the top tiers of the remakes overall, but maybe not the best. So I feel like comparing it sets on overall positive reaction. Good! I am rooting for this to be good at the end of the day.

[lord-of-sith]

Good to hear that Melissa McCarthy was well received and is potentially the standout. Truly the fate of this movie hangs on that performance. If she looks silly in the costume/CGI or the performance is underwhelming, the movie as a whole will suffer greatly. Moreso than even if Halle is underwhelming.

[Disney's Divinity]

I always believed McCarthy had potential to be good depending on where she went with it since I've liked her in most things I've seen of her (including a more dramatic role like Can You Ever Forgive Me?)--my biggest fear was she'd be like she was in that film with Tiffany Haddish and...I forget the other actress' name (she's in Handmaid's Tale and The Invisible Man)--although I'd be surprised if she's "great." She's not a perfect pick for Ursula any more than the people they cast for Ariel, Triton, Eric, and Sebastian, imo (I think Tremblay and Awkwafina were the only casting decisions for this that I thought were great picks, and those are minor roles), but at least Ursula gets to be plus size here unlike the horrid musical. That's something, considering they initially thought a PYT should be playing her, utterly ludicrous.

And I disagree about everything resting on McCarthy's shoulders. Ariel, Triton, and Sebastian are all almost as important to the film being as great as it is. Ariel is the #1 or #2-selling princess along with Cinderella for a reason, she sells as much merch as Ursula does and she'd probably do that even if there were never a Disney Princess line and it was merely the TLM brand standing on its own. Unlike Ursula, Ariel has to still have presence in the second half when she's voice-less, and I doubt a middling to poor acting performance would be able to pull that off.

[lord-of-sith]

Well sure it'd be nice if the other performances weren't dogsh*t, but the reputation of this movie will be incredibly affected by the response to McCarthy. Even if everyone else is stellar, if she's underwhelming, that's gonna be the headline. And on the flip side, if everyone else is mediocre, but she's incredible, that will also be what people are talking about. I don't mean to devalue any of the other actors, but it seems clear to me that McCarthy is where the attention will be paid now that we've gotten Bailey out there in the first trailer.

[Disney's Divinity]

The other detail I forgot to address before was that I'm not surprised about the songs receiving a mixed reaction. I didn't have high hopes for them since Miranda was involved. I would've preferred Pasek & Paul had worked with Menken again since their collaboration was already successful once on the Aladdin remake. They were respectful of Menken since the soundtrack and film was his own, whereas Miranda made this all about himself. I like him a little better since Encanto and the film version of In the Heights, but that's still how I perceive the way he glomped onto this movie. Especially if any of the songs are his forced rap style, I imagine those ones will be pretty bad.

[D82]

I don't trust test screenings too much, but I'm glad Halle Bailey is getting good reactions. As for the songs, the ones from Disenchanted also received a similar reception and I liked them, so I'm not worried about that. I'm also curious what "Eric's family drama" means.

[Disney's Divinity]

I seldom trust other people's reactions either, they were wrong about Hocus Pocus 2 and Pinocchio 2022 both, imo. The former was just okay despite all the positivity, the latter was pretty strong (by remake standards) despite all the negativity.

I assume they're referring to what I supposed might be the case a while back when the Queen was revealed--that there's probably a bit of romance drama in the background between the Queen and Grimsby, and they might connect it to Eric wanting to marry Ariel (who they think is a commoner to begin with) in "Well, if they can, then why can't we....?" Sort of like Julie Andrews and the chauffeur in Princess Diaries.

[D82]

I assume they're referring to what I supposed might be the case a while back when the Queen was revealed--that there's probably a bit of romance drama in the background between the Queen and Grimsby, and they might connect it to Eric wanting to marry Ariel (who they think is a commoner to begin with) in "Well, if they can, then why can't we....?" Sort of like Julie Andrews and the chauffeur in Princess Diaries.

Oh, yes, it might be that.

[Farerb]

I don't trust test screenings too much, but I'm glad Halle Bailey is getting good reactions. As for the songs, the ones from Disenchanted also received a similar reception and I liked them, so I'm not worried about that. I'm also curious what "Eric's family drama" means.

As "solid" as Aladdin is all you need to know. People's standards are so low nowadays.

[Patricier21]

I don't trust test screenings too much, but I'm glad Halle Bailey is getting good reactions. As for the songs, the ones from Disenchanted also received a similar reception and I liked them, so I'm not worried about that. I'm also curious what "Eric's family drama" means.

As "solid" as Aladdin is all you need to know. People's standards are so low nowadays.

Oh, I wouldn’t say that based on how picky and stubborn people are in regards to actually see movies let alone relying on other peoples thoughts and reactions. Hence why a lot of my favourite movies/franchises have not been doing all that well lately from the Percy Jackson movies, to the divergent movies, To the fantastic beasts movies, to Zack Snyder not coming back to complete his Snyder verse. Not exactly what I would call low standards, despite me and even a decent amount of others praising them quite well

[Sotiris]

The new songs were hit-and-miss, which isn't shocking.

The "miss" must be the new Scuttle/Sebastian rap song. I knew that type of song wouldn't be received well in a movie like The Little Mermaid.

[D82]

Someone who claims to have seen the movie has shared more details on Tumblr. This person gives many specific details, but we can't be sure if this info is legit or not:

Honestly very blessed to have had the opportunity to have seen a private screening of The Little Mermaid 2023 and what an incredible film. I’m truly shocked Disney was able to pull this off, I won’t spoil too much but here we go babes:

-Halle as Ariel was an absolute pleasure to witness on screen, from her voice, charisma, personality…she embodies the character so well that you almost forget the animated version even existed and gives her character such a modern day twist with her acknowledgement of her faults, flaws and mistakes she made to become human which I really appreciated

-Halle and Jonah’s chemistry together has me begging for more projects between them in the future! When they are on screen together, magic is being made. From the way he looks at her…their eye contact, body language, the dancing scene, they are so charming and you can almost feel the love radiate from them (Jonah hmu )

-Wasn’t expecting so many different outfit changes for Halle but nonetheless very pleased, each were very beautiful especially a greenish (teal?) gown she wears during a particular scene. I’m almost certain she has the most outfit changes out of any live-action Disney Princess so far (I counted 8 excluding her tail haha)

-I LOVE the new direction they took with the daughters of Triton/Ariel’s sisters and the artistry on the tail designs and their looks are breathtaking! A kaleidoscope of different color combinations with the hair, makeup, bras and tails. I absolutely adore how they all had a major role in the film compared to the animated one and I know you guys will love the new twist involving them!

-new songs are honestly OK, if you love Lin Manuel Miranda then you’ll love them but imo we didn’t need them in the film

-Melissa McCarthy as Ursula was dare I say…sexy? was pleasantly surprised with the direction they took her character and look, but Melissa TRANSFORMED herself, you almost had to do a double take because she didn’t even sound like her usual self and definitely gave Ursula her own sex appeal like the animated film. She also has some funny scenes as well which had us dying! Her rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls is *chef kisses*, a few us actually started singing along

-This film is a tearjerker so be prepared…I have never cried during a Disney live-action remake but this got me. From the opening scene to the ending scene, so many moments where a few people got teary-eyed and Halle performs those emotional gut wrenching scenes very well, seeing her cry honestly broke me

-although I had my reservations on Awkwafina being in this film for obvious reasons, I can’t even lie…she stole the show. All the best comedic relief was from her, including a little rap she does which I know sounds awful but was actually by far the funniest scene in the movie. She really killed it and I have to give her props, I couldn’t wait for the scene with Scuttle because you knew it was gonna be jokes and banter

Overall, although they have ton of scenes to edit and it’s definitely not completely finished yet (VFX) which they definitely will keep adjusting and touching leading up the release, but this is by far the best live-action film adaption of a Disney film since The Jungle Book and you can tell Disney took their time with this one. Realistically 4.5/5 …(for me though 5/5 but I’ll reserve that rating till the official May release)

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7030 ... pportunity

[D82]

Here are some replies to questions from the same account. There are some spoilers here (if the info is real).

pleaseeee tell me if they still include the Fireworks theme from the 1989 version? it’s such an epic scene !
Yes they do! it’s a very beautiful scene too that turned dark very quickly (some of the sailors were killed in the shipwreck during the storm from my understanding). The storm scene is intense and very brutal, almost realistic and very reminiscent of a Hollywood “disaster” film. You almost felt like you couldn’t breath when Eric was drowning and kept coming up for more air while underwater but kept getting pulled by currents

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... nclude-the

how was Ariel’s POYW reprise? Do they still do the same effect with the water splashing on her while she sings to Eric on the rock?
Okay, this…THIS was the scene that got me and a few others watching! Halle’s vocals during the POYW reprise are ethereal and she puts so much soul and passion into it that I actually started crying and I never cry during movies lol the scene when she and Scuttle gets up close to his bruised up body laid out on the sand and she calls him the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen got me so misty eyed, you would honestly think these two were legit in love irl…and when she hits that final note with the wave crashing??? EPIC and it’ll give y’all the chills, I promise.

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... ill-do-the

How were the animal designs? scary? I hope not
Definitely not scary lol realistic but not too realistic (better done than how the Lion King did it with hyper realism)

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... i-hope-not

How were the land scenes? Did they look grand and pretty? oooo and what about Ariel’s sparkling dress at the end?
The land scenes are BEAUTIFUL! book your flight to Italy ASAP because all the scenes on land was like a travel guide to Italy I love how colorful the village looked and how diverse the casting was for the locals and the costumes are stunning! you can tell from the village and kingdom all together, they’re mixing Mediterranean, French Caribbean and Danish influences which really worked well. Very elaborate and extravagant, especially the kingdom/castle scenes when Ariel comes down the grand staircase with her green gown. Yesss there will be a sparkling gown but it does not look the same like from the animated movie and is done quite differently too

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... -grand-and

Did Jodi benson have a cameo?
I didn’t wanna spoil this but it was obvious she would be in the movie as the OG Ariel but yes she does! we all cheered when we saw her haha

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... ve-a-cameo

Is Lin Manuel in the movie? A cameo or acting?
I don’t think so, I didn’t see him or recognize him in any scene but maybe he had a brief cameo but if he did…he was heavily disguised

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... -or-acting

how was Jessica Alexander in the film? She’s the actress that plays Vanessa! Thank u so much for all the info btw
I’m not familiar with the actress but she KILLS it as Vanessa I fear she was really serving face the entire time and was equally as menacing and seductive as the character should be. Glad she had more scenes in the film compared to the animated (cat fight with Halle during the wedding was hilarious because they come for each other’s necks and hair pulling ) but Jessica (just like Halle) is due to become an “It Girl” after this, because with such a small role..she just has such a memorable screen presence and is really captivating. Deliciously evil.

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... m-shes-the

any more tea about the sisters? I heard Simone Ashley is one of them! Is that true?
Yes she is! her character is gonna be India and she’s the first born

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... ard-simone

Omg oomf just posted about Simone on twitter as India. Can you tell us more? How does she look? I hope her character is pretty
Her character is STUNNING I love Simone in everything she is so it really caught me by surprise when I saw her as a sister, I had no idea she was even in this movie lol but she has long curly black hair that looks incredible with the underwater effects with how it moves, her tail and bra are gold/yellow color combination, nails are painted yellow, a gold choker, gold cuff bracelets, she wears a tiara (similar to Triton but more smaller) and gold (what I think looked like seashells?) earrings

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... twitter-as

Are you able to tell us Queen Selina’s importance to the story? Or will that give too much away?
That you will have to see for yourself since there’s a lot of family drama with Eric and the royals in this adaption. Gives his family more depth and explains the feud between the merfolk and humans but Noma is a fantastic actress and her chemistry with Halle was heartwarming, she almost becomes a second mother to her when she becomes human

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... importance

Hello, thank u so much for all the descriptions you’ve been gifting us with can you confirm if Princess HallAriel wears any tiaras and if she ever has any other accessories as a mermaid??
Yes she does! she wears a beautiful purple seashell tiara in the beginning during her birthday celebration and during the wedding a big gold tiara that looked incredible on her locs

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... scriptions

Does Ariel get a lot of screen time. A lot of times in Disney princess films the lead princess does not get a lot of screen time. Sleeping beauty is one of them.
Ariel has A LOT of screen time and rightfully so of course lol

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... e-a-lot-of

Is there an Ariel and Eric childhood flashback
Yes you will see a young Prince Eric flashback during the beginning

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... -flashback

Did they expand or change the song Daughters of Triton
They change it and expand it, the film version is much better though and less corny haha

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... ughters-of

Does Eric still have Max?
Of course he does!

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... l-have-max

What are the big choreographed scenes like? Does the ball have big group choreography?
There’s a village dance scene when Ariel and Eric are exploring the land and then a ballroom dance scene when she dances for the first time and the other members of the court join in…gave me Roger’s & Hammerstein Cinderella vibes

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... -like-does

what does vanessa look like? Do you remember what the dress is like?
She wears 3 different outfits: tattered and torn long purple cloak with a dark black/purple like corset with the seashell necklace and a long dark blue/black layered dress. That’s when we’re first introduced to her and during her introduction to the royal family when Eric announces he plans to marry her she wears a cream colored gown with a high collar and her hair down in light curls and gloves, then the wedding dress when she gets attacked and exposed is very similar to the animation in design, very 1800s inspired wedding dress with a very tight white corset

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... ember-what

Do they style Halle’s princess hair throughout the movie? Especially when she’s in her gowns?
In her gowns, absolutely and it’s stunning!

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... ughout-the

Thank you for the information you’re giving us! One question! Is Ursula HUGE at the end, like in the original? Can we expect the ship impalement scene? Or will it be changed to be less gruesome and more ‘kid’ friendly?
Ursula will be HUUUUGE in this movie and the whirlpool scene is fucking crazy lol like I said the budget for this movie must be the hundreds of millions because you can tell this wasn’t some Disney+ effects…everything looks so real no ship impalement though unfortunately (maybe too brutal who knows) but how she dies does differ and Ariel is the one who ends her with a little help from Triton and Eric

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... -giving-us

Can you tell me if the scene with the fish going into the ocean after fathoms below is there? Also can you describe triton's appearance and atlantica castle? Thank u in advance.
That’ll be the beginning after the prologue, the fish escapes a (presumably drunk?) sailor’s catch and swims away int the ocean, then we’re introduced to other sea creatures like turtles and fishes (that scene in the beginning of the teaser trailer is the opening of the film) and….Javier as Triton?!? He got the girls fawning in the theater since his body is on point haha very well toned and I love how they aged up his appearance a bit, we joked that he looked like sexier Dumbledore but his presence is very domineering and powerful

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7031 ... fish-going

Are there any major changes to the plot/story in TLM, like do they try to make it more feminist or something? My sister thinks they’ll have to change it to make it more modern so it’s not about a girl ‘giving up her voice and abandoning her family for a guy she doesn’t even know’ but I don’t see how they can do it any differently when that’s kind of the main part of the story?!
Definitely not a “feminist” take per say but a more modern take on how she feels about her decisions made on land, im glad she was flawed character who realizes her mistakes and decisions that lead to it but she still gives up her voice but not just for Eric but for everything she was denied as being the youngest daughter of the King

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7032 ... otstory-in

Is Ariel’s new song sung in her head while she mute on land? Or is her new song in the water?
On land

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7032 ... -while-she

How is the instrumental score in the film? Are there any similar tracks to the original 1989 score or is it mostly new orchestrations from Alan Menken?
The instrumental scores are perfection! The new ones are similar to 1989 version and are very theatrical

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7032 ... e-film-are

Does Eric get any songs?
Yes he does

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7032 ... -any-songs

I’ve seen mixed responses about the new songs on twitter…are the new songs more Alan Menken-y or Lin Manuel Miranda-y? I’m not a fan of rapping tbh and can’t see how it would work with TLM so I’m a bit worried about it… Does Eric at least have a decent song?
They’re all very Lin Manuel Miranda-y but I will say the village song, Eric’s solo and Ariel/Eric duet we’re the best by far. Prince Eric’s song has a very Broadway feel too it and honestly the new sings aren’t bad at all, people who are a fan of Lin or Broadway will very much enjoy them and the rapping part was a bit random but it’s stitched will with a scene with Sebastian so nobody was cringing just laughing their asses off lol

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/demonindior/7032 ... w-songs-on

[Farerb]

Glad she had more scenes in the film compared to the animated (cat fight with Halle during the wedding was hilarious because they come for each other’s necks and hair pulling )

This is so dumb. Ariel in a catfight as if it's some trashy reality show

[Farerb]

Supposedly this is a doll of Ursula from the film:

Image removed for Mattel copyright infringment

[carolinakid]

He/she sounds like a real fangirl. I’m skeptical...

[Thumper_93]

I saw this photo yesterday. Ariel also appears in the photo and all her body is made of plastic, she looks really cheap. I also read that some users are getting advertisements form Mattel lawyers because they are posting leaks of their dolls.