The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[UmbrellaFish]

I’ve always wanted to see Eric explore the ocean as a merman, too. There is a surprising amount of media officially licensed by Disney set after the ending of TLM and I’ve never seen any book or graphic novel or whatever that depicts Eric becoming a merman.

I’d love to see a series about Ariel and her sisters, too. There’s a lot of potential there.

[Vlad]

Haha carolinakid, well, I love the score of Cinderella, but not as much as Snow White's, Bambi's, or the best of the Menken films'. The score is good, just not so good I needed it in the live-action version, which has its own great score I am very grateful for. I should listen to the whole animated version's score on my Legacy Collection CDs, but maybe after I am done with some of my more pressing personal projects, or when I retire, haha.

I love it too, and there's a particular part I'm very fond of. That short reprise to A Dream Is A Wish when Cinderella cries after the stepsisters tore her dress. I have always loved it.

Meanwhile, I watched the movie again on Disney+, but I still think it's not that great. I've become fond of Sebastian and Flounder. Under the Sea, while colorful, is very weird, because the visuals don't match the action on the screen. For example, during the "the nute play the fluke..." parts. I found that very weird.

[Patricier21]

Haha carolinakid, well, I love the score of Cinderella, but not as much as Snow White's, Bambi's, or the best of the Menken films'. The score is good, just not so good I needed it in the live-action version, which has its own great score I am very grateful for. I should listen to the whole animated version's score on my Legacy Collection CDs, but maybe after I am done with some of my more pressing personal projects, or when I retire, haha.

I love it too, and there's a particular part I'm very fond of. That short reprise to A Dream Is A Wish when Cinderella cries after the stepsisters tore her dress. I have always loved it.

Meanwhile, I watched the movie again on Disney+, but I still think it's not that great. I've become fond of Sebastian and Flounder. Under the Sea, while colorful, is very weird, because the visuals don't match the action on the screen. For example, during the "the nute play the fluke..." parts. I found that very weird.

It’s funny, I used to actually think that too, but I realize that it’s more about Sebastian staring examples of different things that Ariel could Encounter “under the sea” as she’s taking in the scenery abc doing other things. The original kind of does this in a few parts too with some moments that are stated in the lyrics not quite lineup with what’s on the screen

[PatchofBlue]

I feel like animated "Under the Sea" would be impossible to believably replicate in live action because the necessary element of caricature would be lost. Seeing photorealistic fish playing instruments and stuff would read as unnatural. I think Ariel tumbling down a cloud of jellyfish was a good call for this medium.

[Disney Duster]

Ok, yes, Vlad, the score of Cinderella is really great. Even the songs. If I really had to pick it and Rodgers and Hammerstein's, fine, I pick Disney's!

Patricier21 and PatchofBlue, I agree with you about "Under the Sea".

[Thumper_93]

The sing-along version flopped at the domestic box office.

As we saw last week, they tried to release a sing-along version and nobody went and saw it. It was in 1600 screens and it did just pitiful business.

Source: https://puck.news/podcast_episode/the-s ... ards-show/

It was the worst idea that I've seen ever. People are not going to pay for something that they can rent online or watch for free in Disney+.
I went to Hollywood studios last week and I saw Vanessa’s gown there. It looks pretty but in the movie it looks much better.

[Sotiris]

‘The Little Mermaid’ breaks records on Disney+ as one of the most viewed Disney movie premieres ever, garnering 16 million views in its first five days streaming
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/little ... s-numbers/

The remake's success on streaming has been corroborated by an independent report.

A timeless tale made modern, it ranked as the No. 1 most-streamed film for the weekend of Sep. 8-10 on Whip Media’s Movie Ranker, which uses viewership data from its consumer app, TV Time, with over 26 million registered global users.

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/little-mermaid- ... -rankings/

Following up at No. 3 and slipping from the prior week’s top spot was the aforementioned “The Little Mermaid.”

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/top-streaming-m ... sney-plus/

[Sotiris]

Photos: Live-Action “The Little Mermaid” Enchanted Celebration Blu-ray Release Party Held at California Science Center
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/disney- ... ce-center/

[Disney's Divinity]

I watched it again back when it appeared on Disney+. I think I'd put it behind Aladdin and B&tB (but still before TLK) now where in the moment I thought I might like it as much as Aladdin. There were a few, little details I didn't notice at the time that would stand out to me more. Some of the New Yorker mob-esque things I didn't care for with Ursula were more noticeable (like calling Ariel "toots" at one point), but I did like the way the crown falls back off her head as she sinks after being killed, that was a nice touch. My mind was a little fuzzy on the battle details as far as Ariel and the ship, I'm glad she didn't climb the side of it but simply it rose up below her and she was already on the deck when it surfaces. Plus, I enjoyed a few of the additions to the land portion--the land side of the animated film was always the weakest part, so them playing around with that was where a remake had the best place to shine with changes (like finally showing Ariel's first reaction to fire--although it makes me bittersweet that the Mary Magdalene painting wasn't used in POYW). That and the mermaid statue. And I still love the opening quote from the original tale.

I agree, PatchOfBlue, I liked the scene for "Under the Sea." I also love Cinderella's score and the short "ADIAW" reprise, I like the score more than the songs.

[Sotiris]

4K/Blu-Ray Review: Disney’s Live-Action “The Little Mermaid” Includes Impressive Behind-the-Scenes Bonus Features
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/disney- ... -features/

[Farerb]

I have no intention of ever buying this film, but I've seen images of that Walmart exclusive and it's very pretty (the only thing I don't like is that they put another tiny Ariel in the middle which is redundant):

[Disney Duster]

I like Ariel reacting to fire and other things like clothes, too, Divinity.

I think the Walmart exclusive cover is pretty, and like that it is Eric's castle rising above everyone (kind of a more logical option over Triton's palace rising above the sea on previous artwork), but I got my steelbook recently and that is the best cover for this film ever! I just need time to watch the bonus features!

[Vlad]

I'll also get the steelbook from Amazon UK. Very interested in the bonus features

[UmbrellaFish]

I decided to buy all three of the exclusive covers. My DMC copy’s in the mail. On Tuesday, I went to Best Buy and got the last steelbook they had in stock. I went to Walmart that same night and I’m not sure if they ever put it out on the shelves? I couldn’t find it in-store so I just ordered it online. The Walmart cover is my least favorite of the three but I think it looks a little prettier in the photo Farerb posted than the stock photos online— I’m mostly buying it for the beautiful pin.

[Sotiris]

Disney Sinks $300 Million Into ‘Over Budget’ ‘Little Mermaid’ Movie
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinere ... aid-movie/

[PatchofBlue]

I do find it kind of interesting that the hyper-realistic animal characters have become such a talking point for this movie's underperformance when The Lion King was wall-to-wall with uncanny valley, and that made beaucoup bucks.

I maintain that Disney's theatrical intake will continue to suffer so long as they continue to jump on to streaming three whole seconds after take-off. But by that same token, the way to keep Disney+ a destination is by turning it into the watering hole for its theatrical movies, so ... they've kind of put themselves in a no-win situation here.

[Sotiris]

The film debuted #4 on Nielsen's overall streaming chart and #1 on its streaming movie chart.




Source: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/nielse ... 235693657/


The film slipped to #2 on Nielsen's streaming movie chart in its second week.


Source: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/nielse ... 235693657/


The film remained at #2 on Nielsen's streaming movie chart in its third week.


Source: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/nielse ... 235693657/


The film left the top 10 on Nielsen's streaming movie chart in its fourth week.

[PatchofBlue]

I stumbled upon this interview with Jodi earlier today and noticed some anecdotes that I personally didn't know about. I glanced over the earlier pages of the topic and didn't see it posted here, so if it snuck in somewhere, sorry I don't have more discerning eyes, but I thought I'd drop it here anyways.

https://www.today.com/popculture/movies ... -rcna86362

Marshall and DeLuca’s initial invitation eventually turned into a month spent on the London set of “The Little Mermaid” in May 2020, despite her scene only lasting a few seconds.

“If you blink or go to the bathroom, you’ll miss me,” she says.

Meant to take 12 days to film, the scene instead took 30 due to isolating for the COVID-19 pandemic and four days of torrential rain that almost destroyed the outdoor set.

But Benson took the extra time in stride, enjoying her time on set.

“As soon as I finished my quarantine, I could go and watch,” she says. “To see it come through Rob and John’s eyes of how they envisioned it, paying tribute to the original but then just expanding it, was just glorious. I was blown away.”

Traditionally, in line with "the way Walt did it back in the day," she says, the cast of an animated film was kept anonymous until you "stopped your VHS" and analyzed the rolling credits.

When she and Samuel E. Wright (who voiced Sebastian) signed on to the animated project, they figured it would be a "one-and-done" situation.

"Our faces were never going to be attached to the character," she says. "You would just record it and then you disappear. The movie would come out and that would be great, but that would be it."

But Benson says early screeners of "The Little Mermaid" suggested "something was different" about the film due to lyricist Howard Ashman, who is often credited with Disney's "second golden age" of animation, along with composer Alan Menken.

Deviating from precedent, Disney sent Benson on a press tour and introduced her to the public as the voice behind Ariel. "Even then I thought, 'Oh, it's going to quiet down,'" Benson says. "And it just never did."

As she sat in the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood May 8 and watched the new film, Benson reflected on the role that turned her career "180 degrees."

The moment was bittersweet, as Benson thought of all the cast members who weren’t alive to witness the moment. Wright died in 2021; Pat Carroll, who voiced Ursula, died in 2022.

"I was the only cast member there," she says. "Me, and one of my directors and then Alan (Mencken, songwriter). So there were three of us from the original film, and that was it."

She sat next to the movie's original director, Ron Clements, and his wife during the screening.

"Ron is the one that brought 'The Little Mermaid' and pitched it to Disney on two little pieces of paper, with scribbling notes all over it," she says.

Throughout the movie, she kept peeking over to see his reaction. "Gosh, this must be so surreal for him," she remembers thinking.

Throughout the event, she was struck by the thought that nobody would be there if it weren't for Ashman, who died of AIDS at age 40 in 1991, one month after winning a Grammy for "Under the Sea," and Clements' "two little pieces of paper."

Bensons says in the middle of the movie, Clements turned to her and whispered, "Those are all my lines. Those are all the lines of dialogue I wrote on that piece of paper ... I can't believe they're still in this movie."

[Disney Duster]

Wow, that was all awesome to read! Thanks PatchofBlue!

[Sotiris]

The film was the #5 most-searched movie of the year on Roku.

The Most-Searched Movies on the Roku Platform in 2023

01. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
02. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
03. Avatar: The Way of Water
04. M3GAN
05. The Little Mermaid (2023)
06. Top Gun: Maverick
07. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
08. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
09. The Secret Life of Pets
10. Twilight

Source: https://twitter.com/Roku/status/1737603053774049658