The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[D82]

New TV interviews:

Halle Bailey on GMA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D-ulRNE7jQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4KhoFC-4aU

Halle Bailey on GMA3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWyO2uz5eDo

Halle Bailey on Tamron Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okbXofED_ow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8gxUu9Ua9Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEygsoSPnzs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlhWG0KHE-Y

Halle Bailey on Live with Kelly and Mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IJn2jNmULA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NljFyPwtCUI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn8RcdrdN0k

Jacob Tremblay on Your Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI_RCIkprEM

I liked Kiss the Girl until Awkwafina decided to ruin it

Yeah, Scuttle spoils the moment a bit with her comedic voice.

Regarding the new songs:
Wild Uncharted Waters - probably my favorite song in the soundtrack, and most likely because I don't have anything superior to compare it to from the original. I liked that they used Halle's vocals in the song, it adds to the feeling that her voice really haunts Eric.

I think "Wild Uncharted Waters" is my favorite too. I agree about the use of Halle's vocals. And Jonah Hauer-King does a good job conveying Eric's feelings. But I really liked "For the First Time" as well. I think I recognize the "Tour of the Kingdom" inspiration now, but it's not like "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" where Alan clearly took a piece from the score and used it as it was. Here it's much more subtle. I wasn't sure if it would be eligible for awards, but now I don't think there'll be any problem. I agree "Wild Uncharted Waters" would have a bigger chance of being nominated, though, but if neither "Evermore" nor "Speechless" achieved it, I doubt this one will.

I agree with others "The Scuttlebutt" is not very memorable and it's a bit out of place, but at least the lyrics are fun, and I didn't have high expectations for that song anyway.

In addition, the Finale is just a score, so no choir in the end, not even Halle.

Yes, I think this confirms there won't be a choir at the end.

My only head scratcher moment, besides “The Scuttlebutt” was the opening “Triton’s Kingdom” score. It was not what I expected… it sounded more like Narnia than TLM. I thought the opening music would just be the original main titles score but this is not that.

It made me think of Narnia too! I personally liked it, but it's true it's very different from the original main titles score. Perhaps it fits this film's intro better, though.

[Mooky]

On a first listen, I don't like any of the new songs, and "Scuttlebutt" is the worst offender. I just don't see what it adds to the scene, in fact, I'd say it takes away from the urgency and seriousness of it. I don't hear any original TLM score influences in "For The First Time", to me musically it rather feels like something out of Beauty and the Beast (anybody else hear the similarities to "To The Fair" from BatB?). "Wild Uncharted Waters" may be the best of the three, but it just doesn't feel like a TLM song. Maybe I'll feel different hearing them in the actual movie.

[D82]

I don't hear any original TLM score influences in "For The First Time", to me musically it rather feels like something out of Beauty and the Beast (anybody else hear the similarities to "To The Fair" from BatB?).

Yes, it reminds me of "To the Fair" too. It actually resembles that and the music in which "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" was based on more than "Tour of the Kingdom" to me. But Alan Menken said he was inspired by the latter. I think he just took the very beginning of it and changed it quite a lot.

[Farerb]

The original TLM soundtrack really only has one skippable song, “Les Poissons”

I love “Les Poissons”
I honestly think it's the funniest song Howard ever wrote and I never skip it. However, I understand why they cut it, that scene in the original is pretty much a filler (though I'm sure this movie will have too much fillers with it being more than two hours long), but also I guess the scene won't really work in live action, or definitely wouldn't be as funny as it was in the original.

[Farerb]

I don't hear any original TLM score influences in "For The First Time", to me musically it rather feels like something out of Beauty and the Beast (anybody else hear the similarities to "To The Fair" from BatB?).

Yes, it reminds me of "To the Fair" too. It actually resembles that and the music in which "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" was based on more than "Tour of the Kingdom" to me. But Alan Menken said he was inspired by the latter. I think he just took the very beginning of it and changed it quite a lot.

A friend told me that it reminded him the reprise of Belle.

[D82]

The soundtrack is finally available domestically.

A friend told me that it reminded him the reprise of Belle.

Oh, you know, I got confused; that's actually what it reminded me of. But "To the Fair" sounds similar too.

[Disney Duster]

Yes, Farerb, I thought Melissa was more shouting than singing. That's the only thing that makes her not a perfect cast person for me.

D82, yes, you must be right the engagement party, and not a wedding, must be why Vanessa just hums now.

[UmbrellaFish]

New? TV spot: https://twitter.com/cottymps/status/165 ... 80320?s=20

A slightly shocking line in here that made me laugh because of how unexpected it was. I guess it is a reference to the original fairy tale haha. Listen for yourself.

[PatchofBlue]

I've listened to most of the soundtrack now. Nothing's really caught my attention as being outstanding or "this is what we were waiting for all these years." The closest to being a standout is probably "Wild Uncharted Waters." It's a lot more soulful than what I was expecting, the rare pleasant surprise with this film.

I'm not really sure what "For the First Time" really brings to the table. Like, I've listened to Lin and Alan describe it and everything, but it still inspires little more than passing interest from me. I wasn't really aching to see Ariel find out that the human world has its issues too, and the number just kind of feels like it's treading water until she starts lamenting not being able to speak to Eric.

"Scuttlebutt" was fine. Like some of the lyrics were fun, and there's nothing actively bad about it, but of all the moments in the film to musicalize, how on earth did we land here?

Upon finally listening to it, I think that in addition to just being baseless social pandering, dropping the middle bit from "Poor Unfortunate Souls" robs the song of some of its momentum. It's a little jarring hearing McCarthy just go for it toward the end without that extra build-up.

I was holding out for another knock-out like "Aladdin" for me, and I guess I won't close the door until I actually see it myself, but it's looking like this remake as a whole will be sort of in the middle for me. I think there will be individual elements of this film that I will enjoy, but there are some distracting creative decisions mixed in with a strange complacency that are leaving the film without much to savor.

[Marce82]

So I have listened to the soundtrack as well... my thoughts:

- We knew Fathoms Below had been relocated. Clearly, it now takes place when Ariel sees Eric's birthday celebration on the ship.

- Under the Sea sounded good to me. Better than the OG? No. But it was fine. I found Ariel's sung moments a little odd, storywise.

- Kiss the girl was fine as well. Seems more mellow; doesn't have the energy of the original (the lyric changes do seem ridiculous). I think in both songs, D.Diggs is making his own version of the character, without straying too far from the original versions. Which is what he is supposed to do.

- Poor Unfortunate Souls: I actually liked it. It's a different interpretation of the song. I think McCarthy knows she is not a singer, so she is leaning more on the acting than the singing. But I think it works (the new instrumentation also helps). Anyone else getting a sort of world-weary Mae West from this version of the character?

- POYW (and reprises): I'm sorry; Bailey has a beautiful voice, but makes some very odd choices in her performance. Some moments seem oddly clipped, others are overly elongated. I don't think they work.

The new songs... actually didn't like any of them; I don't think they fit. But they aren't all the same:

- Wild Uncharted Waters: it was passable. Bland ballad. Seems to have zero structure to it. Is there a chorus?? Overall, same category as the beast's song in the 2017 movie.

- For the first time: I don't know if this a L.M.M. signature, but jesus.... you can occasionally stop the lyrics for some music to happen??? Tonally, it felt out of place. Reminded me a bit of "Buenos Aires" from Evita (sung by Madonna). And why is there so much percussion??? The first notes sounded like Just Can't Wait to be King... TLM isn't a percussion-heavy soundtrack.

- Scuttlebutt: OH. MY. GOD. I had a physical reaction listening to this piece of sh**t. THIS song is going to happen in the highly dramatic moment when Ariel find's out about Eric's impending wedding???? Good lord. This crappy pseudo-rap has NO place in a lyrical, elegant, timeless soundtrack like TLM. I seriously hated it. If I ever watch this movie, I am SURE I will be cringing during this song.
I do like Akwafina as a comedian/actress. She also has a terrible singing voice.

So... things range from adequate to... Scuttlebutt.

[PatrickvD]

Scuttlebutt is truly in a league of its own. Maybe a razzie? And I hope it’s awarded to Lin specifically and not Menken. I laughed out loud at how bad it is. Where was the Lin Manuel Miranda that wrote We Don’t Talk About Bruno or How Far I’ll Go when we needed him most? Tragic.

Overall it’s fine. Melissa is great as Ursula. She’s not a singer so to pull that off is impressive. She has the charisma for the role.

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't think Miranda is one of those people who can deliver a hit automatically. It's like he doesn't know what is a hit and what isn't. Like how they put all their eggs on "Dos Oruguitas" in Encanto, which is pretty if a little sleepy, when "WDTAB" was the real hit. I do think he wants to be liked by people, but isn't sure how to deliver what they want exactly. For me, the only real knockout songs I've heard by Miranda are "Paciencia & Fe," "We Don't Talk About Bruno," and "It's Quiet Uptown." And then you have some others that are alright--most of Moana's soundtrack, "Surface Pressure," etc. Most of the rest blend together for me, and whether or not you like any given song depends more on whatever singer is performing it than anything else.

That's a comment from reading all the reactions posted, since I haven't had time to go through it yet, it'll take me a while anyway. Most of what I've read here doesn't surprise me. I had wondered why the first track was called "Triton's Kingdom" rather than "Main Titles" as the original, guess we know now that's another change. But "Main Titles" wouldn't be well-suited considering there is no undersea palace anyway.

[Farerb]

The Music of The Little Mermaid
https://youtu.be/CEiH3T8sP6k

[Disney's Divinity]

Welp, "Wild Uncharted Waters" is disappointing. While it's less monotonous than "Her Voice," I do like "Her Voice" more than this song. It's a shame--because I thought "Evermore" was better than the song Beast had in that film's Broadway show and "Speechless" more than Jasmine's in that film's Broadway show (although I did think "Beyond These Palace Walls" was okay). Eric's actor sounds a bit like James Corden to me...which takes me out.

Still hate that shot they used for the soundtrack, the tail is especially ugly there. I'd rather they'd used the depressing poster of her on the rock (the one where it looks like a giant Hand of God is reaching out to grab her ).
On to “For the First Time.”

[cuau_cg]

You realize that Halle probably had ZERO influence on the choices of her songs??
Also Lin Manuel Miranda probably has ZERO influence in which songs they push for an oscar? Theres a big marketing department in Disney that does that.
Scuttlebut for me was AMAZING, it sounds totally like Lin Manuel Miranda in Hamilton, which was genius. I'm glad they bring something from Hamilton to TLM, at least for 2 minutes, I agree that it doesn't fit with the animated movie (but neither Le Poissons fit in it), maybe it will match with this new movie.
What I miss is "If Only", I think that song really closes the second act and starts the climax of the story, I was wishing for something similar at least, a duet/trio/quartet song.

[MrXemnas1992]

Man, you guys are negative. xDDDD like cmoooon. i think y'all are nitpicking. the original is superior, of course, but I was pleasantly surprised. it's a new take on the music and i appreciate that. can stand alongside the original and the broadway version. far better than the atrocious "little mermaid live" version tho xD

...i actually liked scuttlebutt. nice levity before the drama hits the fan. also the music sounds very "Animal Crossings New Horizony" to me, so I may be biased. xD

[Farerb]

"Archaic Way To See The World": The Little Mermaid Director Reflects On Ariel Casting Backlash

“I didn’t think that it was a big deal, casting a woman of color. I thought, that’s an archaic way to see the world. When that controversy arose, from narrow-minded people, I thought, wow, that really feels like it’s coming from another century. Are we really still there? But the bonus that came with that casting, and I wasn’t aware of it at the time, is seeing these young girls of color and young boys of color looking at her and thinking, wow, I’m represented. It was very, very moving to me.”

https://screenrant.com/little-mermaid-m ... -response/

[Disney's Divinity]

Personally, I thought the original "Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise)" that was in the Live show (as well as the Duet version of "If Only" there) was better than any of these songs. As far as the musical, I liked "Her Voice," "She's in Love," "Beyond My Wildest Dreams," "Sweet Child," and "IWtGTB" even if so many songs felt like unnecessary bloat.

Oh, no, "Les Poissons" definitely does fit in the original film. It's not as strong as "POYW," "POYW (Reprise)," or "PUS" of course--but neither are "Fathoms Below" or "Daughters of Triton," and yet they're still great songs that suit their purpose. Moreover, "Les Poissons" is better than any of these new ones without a doubt. I definitely do think a scene of Sebastian (and perhaps Awkwafina's Scuttle also involved) nearly being cooked would have been hilarious. But you'd have to have someone who knows what they're doing in charge and we know that's not present on this one.

"For the First Time" was worse than I expected, actually. I thought it wouldn't be as good as "Beyond My Wildest Dreams," of course, but I thought it would be maybe the next peg down. I guess it's sort of how I was surprised "Waiting On a Miracle" wasn't as good as "How Far I'll Go"--IDK, I thought at least Miranda had a good handle on a "princess" song, but I suppose not. And I thought Halle's original song would be catered to her own singing abilities and be better than her performance of "POYW" because of it, but instead I would say the song isn't catered to her or the film itself, only to Miranda's personal style against everything else. "WUW" is the only one that even vaguely fits alongside the original's songs, and even it's not great. I feel like this film is probably the nadir so far as far as Menken's involvement goes; he already had less control on Aladdin than B&tB, and now it feels almost non-existent. You can tell "FtFT" and "Scuttlebutt" both are all Miranda, and it feels like he didn't even get much control over the score decisions either....

[D82]

Halle Bailey has posted a video of herself recording the remake's version of the "Poor Unfortunate Souls" reprise.

Here are also a couple of details about the songs I've heard in interviews:

According to Javier Bardem, his song "Impossible Child" was cut for length reasons, but also because they felt Triton's emotional arc was resolved too early if it was included. Like I said in a previous post, he also revealed the musical number was shot, so maybe we'll get to see the footage as well, we'll see. Although, it's possible the CGI for the sequence wasn't completed, so perhaps it's just him singing in front of a green screen.

Daveed Diggs also revealed Sebastian wasn't supposed to sing in "The Scuttlebutt" at first, so Lin-Manuel Miranda wasn't lying when he said he hadn't written any new song for the character a couple of years or so ago.

New? TV spot: https://twitter.com/cottymps/status/165 ... 80320?s=20

A slightly shocking line in here that made me laugh because of how unexpected it was. I guess it is a reference to the original fairy tale haha. Listen for yourself.

It was indeed a funny joke. I didn't realize it was a reference to the original fairy tale at first, but yes, that's probably what it is.

Here are a couple more promos:

https://twitter.com/LittleMermaid/statu ... 5035803651
https://twitter.com/LittleMermaid/statu ... 3455665156

[Disney's Divinity]

Apparently there's a new controversy about some dig the film made at the Royal Family. I'm confused though, one article says it's Kate Middleton they insulted, another says it's Diana and Catherine, the Princess of Wales?