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Film ► The Little Mermaid Live Action Remake



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Antifa Lockhart

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Actually, is Ariel biracial in this movie? I've noticed King Triton isn't played by a black actor.

I mean. Ariel's sisters are all played by actresses of different races, too. Take that as you will, but I'm getting the sense that they're saying that mermaids don't do race the way humans do.
 

Rydgea

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I mean, even in the original they all look nothing alike. Ariel looks like both her parents (if you even give a shit about the sequels/count them as canon), but the other ones... I don't really see it tbh. They could have pulled the same casting choices the Brandy Cinderella did and I would have shrugged, because movie magic.
 

Face My Fears

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I just hope that they can make the epic scenes as epic as they are in the animated film.

Aladdin was a total failure in the Cave of Wonders/Friend Like Me, Prince Ali, "Banished to the Ends of the Earth", Snake Jafar (non-existent), and Genie Jafar scenes - all iconic and memorable scenes from the animated film that were butchered.

They need to REALLY bring it when Ursula gets the trident and becomes huge. I swear, if they cut that out of the film or make some different "artistic choice", I will be done with this film. I also want to see some horror aspects, like when Ariel signs the contract and the vortex is all around her then she can't breathe. I feel like they will tone it down in the live action version because it'll (of course) be more realistic than seeing the animated Ariel drowning.
 

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I mean, even in the original they all look nothing alike. Ariel looks like both her parents (if you even give a shit about the sequels/count them as canon), but the other ones... I don't really see it tbh. They could have pulled the same casting choices the Brandy Cinderella did and I would have shrugged, because movie magic.
Yep. All of Ariel's sisters looked nothing alike in the original. I guess mermaids be mermaids?
 

Elysium

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I already knew I was probably going to dislike some of the redesign, because that has been the case for every one of these live-actions. The way they embellished the tail is just how they would do it for a Broadway musical. It's kinda hokey. Like, let's add more ruffles (a la to Flora from Sleeping Beauty) and call it fins. But I'm at peace with it, because that's just how it's going to be, and I will always prefer the animated classics.
Looks better than I expected. I thought they would throw glitter, pearls, etc. all over her, maybe give her a see-through piece of fabric. Thank God that didn't happen.
Sorry, but Emma Watson as Belle singing with autotune was blood-curdling.
I didn't care that she couldn't sing since I was never massively fond of Paige O'Hara anyway like with Jodi Benson. Not saying O'Hara is bad or anything, I just don't associate Belle with a great song the way I do Ariel, Pocahontas, Mulan, etc. The only song she has to herself in the film is a short reprise.

I mean, even in the original they all look nothing alike.
I’m pretty sure the sisters all have the same design in the original (referring to dimensions and so on), only the hair is different and of course the tail / bra colors. Now the TV series and Ariel's Beginning makes them look more individual than the original film (such as Adella being chubby in the series ) on top of changing who the eldest was (Attina rather than Aquata).
I'm curious to see how they will pull off "Under The Sea" because I seriously doubt it will be as fun/colourful as the animated one or even the version in KH2 (if "Prince Ali" from the live action version is anything to go by).
"Be Our Guest" was the weakest scene in the B&tB film for me, so... I don't expect very much (especially since I liked the guy playing Lumiere, not so much Daveed Diggs, sorry). I personally liked "Prince Ali" in the live-action Aladdin--it was "One Jump Ahead" that was a letdown.
I just hope that they can make the epic scenes as epic as they are in the animated film.

Aladdin was a total failure in the Cave of Wonders/Friend Like Me, Prince Ali, "Banished to the Ends of the Earth", Snake Jafar (non-existent), and Genie Jafar scenes - all iconic and memorable scenes from the animated film that were butchered.
They need to REALLY bring it when Ursula gets the trident and becomes huge. I swear, if they cut that out of the film or make some different "artistic choice", I will be done with this film. I also want to see some horror aspects, like when Ariel signs the contract and the vortex is all around her then she can't breathe. I feel like they will tone it down in the live action version because it'll (of course) be more realistic than seeing the animated Ariel drowning.
Personally, I liked Aladdin other than "One Jump Ahead" and Genie Jafar. So far, we don't know that Ursula will be a giant here, who knows. We do know F&J aren't in this at all--I personally liked Iago being turned into a giant enemy and thought they might do the same with them here, but that's out of the cards, I guess. The only thing I hope they do change is that Ariel defeats Ursula here rather than Eric. I remember thinking recently they could keep the ending mostly the same, only perhaps Ursula throws the trident down at her and Ariel survives, the trident shrinks, and then Ariel uses it to shoot Ursula (who's giant at the time) in the face.
 
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Face My Fears

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Looks better than I expected. I thought they would throw glitter, pearls, etc. all over her, maybe give her a see-through piece of fabric. Thank God that didn't happen.

I didn't care that she couldn't sing since I was never massively fond of Paige O'Hara anyway like with Jodi Benson. Not saying O'Hara is bad or anything, I just don't associate Belle with a great song the way I do Ariel, Pocahontas, Mulan, etc. The only song she has to herself in the film is a short reprise.


I’m pretty sure the sisters all have the same design in the original (referring to dimensions and so on), only the hair is different and of course the tail / bra colors. Now the TV series and Ariel's Beginning makes them look more individual than the original film (such as Adella being chubby in the series ) on top of changing who the eldest was (Attina rather than Alana).

"Be Our Guest" was the weakest scene in the B&tB film for me, so... I don't expect very much (especially since I liked the guy playing Lumiere, not so much Daveed Diggs, sorry). I personally liked "Prince Ali" in the live-action Aladdin--it was "One Jump Ahead" that was a letdown.


Personally, I liked Aladdin other than "One Jump Ahead" and Genie Jafar. So far, we don't know that Ursula will be a giant here, who knows. We do know F&J aren't in this at all--I personally liked Iago being turned into a giant enemy and thought they might do the same with them here, but that's out of the cards, I guess. The only thing I hope they do change is that Ariel defeats Ursula here rather than Eric. I remember thinking recently they could keep the ending mostly the same, only perhaps Ursula throws the trident down at her and Ariel survives, the trident shrinks, and then Ariel uses it to shoot Ursula (who's giant at the time) in the face.
OMG they cancelled Flotsam and Jetsam? Then who will Ursula have to talk to?

I agree that the only change I want is for Ariel to be the one to impale Giant Ursula instead of Eric.

I never even watched live action Beauty and the Beast, so I'm just going to go with your word that their version of Be Our Guest was weak.

Has Melissa McCarthy ever sung before? I'm really worried that "Poor Unfortunate Souls" will be completely trashed.
 

Elysium

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McCarthy'll definitely be autotuned. I just hope it's a little better than "Be Prepared" was in the TLK remake.
 

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I didn't care that she couldn't sing since I was never massively fond of Paige O'Hara anyway like with Jodi Benson. Not saying O'Hara is bad or anything, I just don't associate Belle with a great song the way I do Ariel, Pocahontas, Mulan, etc. The only song she has to herself in the film is a short reprise.
While she may not have as much of a musical presence as the other heroines, Belle's still a singing role that was previously outfitted by... another Broadway performer. I will always, always prefer unplugged, raw vocals to something so obviously sanitized with autotune (while still sounding bad), because then you're obviously trying to sell me a polished turd, and we know girl can't sing. Emma was a good Belle, just could have stood a vocal stunt double like they had done for some of the animated movies. Better yet, make our favorite Disney bookworm a non-singing part. Imagine!

I’m pretty sure the sisters all have the same design in the original (referring to dimensions and so on), only the hair is different and of course the tail / bra colors.
I'm just saying it's pretty odd for Ariel to come out looking like both parents, and then her sisters (which have stock Disney design) conveniently form a rainbow cavalcade of backup dancers. Like, it's a little bizarre for something like that to happen biologically. So, honestly, who cares what the parents look like? One could be from Cambodia, and the other one could be from outside the Milky Way. Because this is fantasy trash (which I <3), I'll just deal.

Yep. All of Ariel's sisters looked nothing alike in the original. I guess mermaids be mermaids?
Yup! At this point, I kindof want each sister to look like she's from a different corner of the globe. I don't care. This isn't high fantasy Game of Thrones quality material. It's a cash grab of an 80s flick of a sordid Hans Christian Anderson tale. Just go ham. 😂
 

Antifa Lockhart

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I believe the film is canonizing the theory that each of the seven sisters represents one of the seven seas and has an actor to match. Putting paid to the racism claims that mermaids must be pale by instead making each of the daughters an embodiment of the sea they represent and apparently rule? If Ariel is the red sea, there's suddenly a lore reason for her being of African descent, which...I mean I dunno, feels like over-explaining it.
 

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That's a great way to do it, so why not, right? I mean, that's totally not how baby-making works, but Dumbo got dropped off by the stork, so it's all good. I could see Triton's magic trident having something to do with the diverse nature of his daughters (i.e. if it allows him to bestow blessings of the seven seas). Also, I really don't care.
 

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Has Melissa McCarthy ever sung before? I'm really worried that "Poor Unfortunate Souls" will be completely trashed.
I don't expect much from McCarthy. She's not very funny (in my view), and I doubt she'll be anything but incessantly autotuned. Sometimes I wish Queen Latifah was cast instead, because her performance in The Little Mermaid Live! were absolutely delightful. Maybe I'll give McCarthy a chance, who knows.
 

Face My Fears

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I believe the film is canonizing the theory that each of the seven sisters represents one of the seven seas and has an actor to match. Putting paid to the racism claims that mermaids must be pale by instead making each of the daughters an embodiment of the sea they represent and apparently rule? If Ariel is the red sea, there's suddenly a lore reason for her being of African descent, which...I mean I dunno, feels like over-explaining it.
Is there really that much thought needed? Her sisters did nothing in the original film, so I hope they don't do anything much in this film. It'll take away from the main plot if they through in this over-complicated explanation. It'll be just as distracting and wasting time as the whole Princess Jasmine's mother storyline in live action Aladdin.
I don't expect much from McCarthy. She's not very funny (in my view), and I doubt she'll be anything but incessantly autotuned. Sometimes I wish Queen Latifah was cast instead, because her performance in The Little Mermaid Live! were absolutely delightful. Maybe I'll give McCarthy a chance, who knows.
I always thought of Queen Latifah even before live action DISNEY movies were even a thing. I just always thought her voice suited "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and she could really embody Ursula's physicality. Oh well.
 

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Yep. All of Ariel's sisters looked nothing alike in the original. I guess mermaids be mermaids?
I'm still working under the theory that mermaids in TLM universe reproduce the way salmon do, the female lays the eggs and the male just swims over and crop dusts them. I mean, we don't see any reproductive organs on them (understandable given it's a kid's movie) but its not out of the realm of possibility that all of tritons daughters in the original had different mothers, and that Athena (Ariels Mother that bears a striking resemblance to her) is the true queen and that the rest of the daughters are the products of wealthy nobles in Atlantican society. You know, offer up a mermaid egg in exchange for the chance to join high society.
 

Face My Fears

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1.3 millon dislikes vs 412k likes for the teaser trailer.

View attachment 15757
I don't blame them. The trailer was a huge disappointment besides the vocals to a song that didn't even need to be re-done.

Hopefully this teaches DISNEY a lesson to do new projects, instead of re-hashing classics.

I don't get why they didn't do something like MUFASA with the live action films. Take something from an established IP and do something new with it. Like the "Genie" film that was supposed to be in production for Aladdin. I would have been more excited to see that than live action Aladdin.
 

Antifa Lockhart

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I highly doubt it got that many dislikes because it was derivative or because of the (insanely good) vocals.
 

Elysium

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From what I understand, many people reacted negatively to the part of the song they showed in the trailer (the way she sings "be"). Thankfully, the full song turned out to be better than that--which is why I suspect Disney purposely leaked it, just my thoughts--but I doubt most casuals have heard it the way people who follow the news around Disney products have. Teasers and trailers pick up much more traffic.

They would've been better off if they'd shown the part of her singing the climactic part ("Wouldn't I love / love to explore that world up above?"), that was the best part of her take, imo.
 

Face My Fears

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I highly doubt it got that many dislikes because it was derivative or because of the (insanely good) vocals.
The snippet of the song that they included in the trailer was NOT what they should have included. It was an awkward part of the song, where for the casual viewer (probably most of the dislikes) they would have needed to hear the build up to that part to appreciate it - otherwise, it sounds off and different from the original.

Honestly, if I were DISNEY, I would have shown "Under The Sea" to show off more of what the film will actually look like (the actual sea animals like Flounder and Sebastian) and also give the trailer some life with an upbeat song. They took a major risk showing off the part of the movie that will be the most scrutinized - "Part of Your World" which wasn't the best idea IMO. They should have left that to be something for people to look forward to in the film, but now it's already given people a bad taste in their mouths because of the poor choice of audio clip that they used. Oh and I would have included like a shot of Ursula - even if it was just tentacles or something.
 
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