Under THE SEA
from Beauty and the Beast to Mulan; Cinderella to Aladdin, there have been no shortage of live action Disney remakes over the years. But now it is time to head under the sea as the live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid is here — and it is already making a splash in cinemas.
The tale, a retelling of the 1989 animated film, follows Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton who has a fascination with the human world — which mermaids are forbidden to explore.
But then Ariel saves Prince Eric from a shipwreck and falls in love with him which, combined with her fascination with the world above water, sets her down a dangerous path — and a deal with Ursula the sea witch, which could change everything.
The plans for the remake were officially announced in 2016, with director Rob Marshall joining the following year.
Alan Menken, who wrote the music for the original film alongside Howard Ashman, teamed up with Lin Manuelmiranda for the music for the live action movie. Besides the classics, the film also includes three new songs.
Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the summer of 2019, something which she said at the time was a“dream come true”. The director said in a statement,“after an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role.”
Jonah Hauer-king will be playing Prince Eric, while Javier Bardem will play King Triton.
Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay will play Ariel’s pals Sebastian, Scuttle and Flounder. Melissa Mccarthy, meanwhile, will be playing the sea witch Ursula.
The cast also includes Art Malik, Emily Coates, John Dagleish, Martina Laird, Jessica Alexander and Noma Dumezweni.
Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley, Lorena Andrea, Kajsa Mohammar, Nathalie Sorrell, Karolina Conchet, and Sienna King also star in the film.
The movie wrapped filming in July 2021. Halle said at the time that she felt“so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory.”
She wrote on Instagram,“after auditioning for this film when I was 18 just about to turn 19, to now finishing filming through a pandemic when I turned 21, we have finally made it.i feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory.
“It has been the toughest experience being away from everything and everyone I’ve ever known, to feeling self doubt/ loneliness, but also feeling such freedom and perseverance as I’ve reached the end.”
The Grammy-nominee added that the experience had“made me so much stronger that I ever thought
I could be”— as she celebrated her co-stars.
She continued,“i’m so grateful to have such lovely and talented people in the cast like Jonah Hauer-king that will be my friend for infinite lifetimes, Jacob
Tremblay who I’m so proud of and legends like Javier
Bardem, Melissa Mccarthy,
Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs who are masters of their craft but are so welcoming and open to little old me... as well as to the rest of the beautiful cast and crew.
“I cannot wait for time to speed up so you all can watch this film because it was made with so much love (plus blood sweat and tears).”
Halle previously told how the filming process“changed my life”— and how she
“I FEEL SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS IN ALL ITS GLORY.”
feels her experience on the project echoed Ariel’s story.
She said,“i’d definitely say coming into this film I was a lot more, I think, just young-minded and a bit more not sure of myself so much.
“The whole experience of filming, in more ways than one, mirrored Ariel’s journey of finding herself and her voice.