There are always other projects in the offing. One, with Rob Marshall, is a live-action version of The Little Mermaid for Disney, for which he has been enlisted to write songs; he’s also acting as a producer. “I don’t know where that’s at right now, I read a great draft of a screenplay and I gave some notes, and that’s where we’re at — in process but not imminent.”
He’s also committed to a Disney live-action remake of his old fave, “The Little Mermaid.” “If they ask me to write new lyrics for Alan Menken, I’m happy to,” he said. “It will be what the script requires. It’s still in development.”
"I see my role on The Little Mermaid like Rob Marshall’s role on Mary Poppins Returns," Miranda says. "Rob was the number one fan of the original movie. It was the first movie he saw. If [the remake] doesn’t need a new song, I won't write a new song. I have such reverence for the original. I'm really on board to protect it as it gets adapted."
Q: What song are you most excited to compose for the live adaptation of The Little Mermaid, and will Prince Eric be getting a song?
Lin-Manuel Miranda: Oh! That's a fantastic question. I don't know the answer to that either. I think we'll find out. My favorite character was always Sebastian. He's really a misunderstood composer. Everyone forgets that but he's the court composer and suddenly he's babysitting a sixteen-year old and man, that is so relatable to me. You know, we're still very much in script development phase on Little Mermaid so if there needs to be a new song, I'm happy to write lyrics for Alan Menken but if it doesn't need to be, I won't write it because that score is perfect.
Q: What does it mean to you loving that material and actually writing original songs for that movie?
Lin-Manuel Miranda: Well, we'll see if it happens. I'm signed on to Little Mermaid in a fan capacity. I'm a producer but basically if it doesn't need a new song, I won't write it. So, I'm working with Alan Menken [and] if we find a moment that calls for a new song, I will write lyrics for him. But no one thinks that score's more perfect than I do. I might be too reverent. I might talk myself out of a job.
Skyler Shuler wrote:I get a lot questions regarding Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid. Here’s what I’ve heard. Any and all official casting announcements are being saved for the D23 Expo. How close will the film follow the animated film? It’ll be as close as Aladdin will be to the original.
I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic that Marshall will be as faithful to this as with MPR.... Hopefully they'll find an unknown with a great voice who looks the part for Ariel, just like they did with Aladdin. They can get big names for the other characters.
Listening to most often lately:
Taylor Swift ~ ~ "The Fate of Ophelia"
Taylor Swift ~ "Eldest Daughter"
Taylor Swift ~ "CANCELLED!"
The question is with how much Disney seems to love LMM, will he have a starring role in the movie (specifically, playing any particular/main characters)? I can somehow see him being Sebastian.
DisneyJedi wrote:The question is with how much Disney seems to love LMM, will he have a starring role in the movie (specifically, playing any particular/main characters)? I can somehow see him being Sebastian.
Well, that could go both ways. Lin loves the property and especially that character, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he knew someone he truly felt was right for the part instead of himself. If he does take it, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get an expanded Under the Sea to kind of incorporate his musical stylings.
Work on the remake is expected to start in a few months.
Q: You’re now working on live-action versions of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. How are those being approached?
Alan Menken: For The Little Mermaid, I’ll be collaborating with Lin-Manuel Miranda, and he, as I think people know, is a huge Little Mermaid fan. Growing up, he went to the same school as my niece in New York and my sister said, “Oh there’s this boy, Lin-Manuel Miranda—and he loves it [The Little Mermaid], and could you sign this poster for him?” He was insanely zealous about [The Little Mermaid] and also about musical theater and you can see that in who he’s become as a writer. The passion pours out of him. His son is named Sebastian, if that gives you an indication of how much of a fan he is.
Q: Wow, so you gave your autograph to a young, Little Mermaid-obsessed Lin-Manuel Miranda and now you’re working together on the new film? How cool—he’s so talented.
Alan Menken: And so smart. I think we’ll have a lot of fun writing this. We have not started yet. I believe the process will start probably within a few months. And I don’t know what the spots will be but I’m really excited about us working together on that.
I am quite excited for this remake. I know this opinion may be contrary to the majority here, but I hope they really take this opportunity to reinvent The Little Mermaid. The story, the characters and the music are timeless but I want to see them through a different lens. Give me a cast of POC, mix Menken and Miranda’s musical styles, have Ariel take a more active role in the final battle. Whatever you do, don’t give me a lifeless and colorless imitation of the 1989 classic. I don’t want the same, I want something different and bold. It will never and can never replace the original, but it can at the very least stand beside it. Don’t doom it to the trash heap of remakes with Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella (probably The Lion King, too).
This is why I called the humblebrag quotes from Miranda at the top of the page nothing but a load. It’s a foregone conclusion he will be writing a song for this and probably playing Sebastian. God, he’s insufferable.
Listening to most often lately:
Taylor Swift ~ ~ "The Fate of Ophelia"
Taylor Swift ~ "Eldest Daughter"
Taylor Swift ~ "CANCELLED!"
Hey UmbrellaFish, why did you say Cinderella will go to the trash heap when before you said it was pretty well done? You said that here. I don't think Beauty and the Beast is trash, though to me not as good as Cinderella.
Last edited by Disney Duster on Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
I do like the Branagh Cinderella, it has stunning costumes and great performances from Lily James and Cate Blanchett. But the movie is not particularly innovative with the Cinderella tale (unlike Ever After some 10+ years prior) and did not capture the cultural zeitgeist, certainly not in any way comparable to Walt Disney’s iconic 1950 film. It’s not a bad movie (which I think the Beauty and the Beast remake is), but it is a forgettable one and will be remembered as a footnote in the legacy of Cinderella adaptations while its source material remains a giant. I hope The Little Mermaid remake escapes that fate and can stand on its own two legs.
Oh, ok that explains how you feel very well. Now it is only a few years ago I learned what zeitgeist means, and I would say the film feels very of this 2010's we are in. I suppose it feels so new and flashy yet soulless which is probably due to it being a remake instead of something like Ever After or The Slipper and the Rose which tried more new things. Then again, I feel very much like I lost my soul since 2008 and feel dead, so... Can you explain why you didn't feel it captured the feelings of the time, if that's what you meant by the cultural zeitgeist? I do get how Walt's Cinderella does capture the 1950's and was the most magical and emotional Cinderella at the time. I would say only Ever After and the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein one are as emotional. But I hope the 2015 one isn't forgotten as I enjoy Lily James at times and Cate Blanchett at times and especially love the costume and production designs and magic scenes and special effects. It is my favorite live-action movie because of it's magical aspects and because it gives my favorite story the full-on treatment where it's the actual story complete with the magic and an actual good romance and some emotion! But yes, the source material is still a giant, I'm so happy you said that! I am working on a novel that I hope does live up to the source material!
I hope The Little Mermaid remake somehow gets to be a good movie, too.
It's really a shame that Rachel Zegler will be tied up with West Side Story. She would be THE choice for Ariel. Not only does she have already a viral fanbase and is she a POC, Rachel can also *gasp* sing the role right.
^I like her. She has a warm, youthful spirit and a pleasing singing voice. I can definitely imagine her as Ariel if she dyes her hair red. By the time TLM remake goes into production, the West Wide Story remake will have finished shooting so that shouldn't be a problem.
Though I don't like how feitishy disneyprincess sounded when talking about her. "Omg she's a POC that must mean she's special!" Are you also gonna glorify my skin when presenting me to other people?
But, isn't Disney looking for a POC for Ariel? I mean, they are/were strongly considering Zendaya for her. That's why I brought up Rachel being Latina. It's apparently a check on a list for Disney's remake. Plus, I believe they are shooting in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. So, it sounds like a majority of the cast will be POC in this anyway.
Was the Zendaya thing even real? Because didn't Zendaya's team afterwards claim that she had received no such offer and then there was a report that Disney had never been considering her in the first place.
We’re a dyad in the Force. Two that are one. "I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it." - Kylo Ren "I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." - Rey
God, he’s insufferable.
