The Little Mermaid live action re-make

[anxiousoctopus]

Judging by the trailer, I think the cast (especially Halle Bailey) are quite strong - but it looks like the film will be let down by the same issues most of the other ‘live action’ remakes suffer from (unnecessarily hyper-realistic talking animals, over-use of CGI, poor lighting / shot design)

I fully expect Sebastian to be a literal, realistic crab that lacks any of the personality of the original design (being that real crabs don’t have a proper ‘face’). The Lion King lions were bad enough because of their lack of emoting, but the fish characters are going to make the lions look Shakespearean

[anthony40]

The Little Mermaid and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are my two favorite Disney animated films.

The Caribbean Sebastian the Crab and the way he puckers his lips (do crabs have lips?).

There are a few highlights for me:

When Ursula is was 'selling' the idea of being a human to Ariel and she's arching her back saying "Look at me, wasting away to practically nothing" and she's heaving out of her dress.

When Ursula is taking Ariel's voice with her skeletal fingers; and

The whole Kiss the Girl sequence where the flamingos draw the willow leaves back like curtains, the reeds snap like flutes, the frogs on the paddles on Prince Eric's boat, the way the ducks turn the turtles over and use their underbellys as drums and then the fish swim in circles are spitting water out of their mouths to form a fountain- brilliant!

These, and the sequence at the beginning of the film when Ariel and Flounder are chased by the shark is what I'm looking to see in this re-make.

[WireHangers]

Feb 15, 2023 21:46:06 GMT robertb213 said:

I wanted more Ursula but it sounds like Melissa McCarthy is nailing the voice at least!

I may, or may not, have seen the leaked full trailer and McCarthy absolutely nails the voice. She sounds almost identical to Pat Carrol while giving a slightly more gaudy sound, like she’s leaning even further into the camp.

[Jon]

There's a lot of moans about the underwater sequences in the teaser being dark, they do realise that the ocean isn't exactly a colourful place,

[vabbian]

seeing Lin Manuel is involved made me yawn

can we not

[robertb213]

Feb 17, 2023 16:57:24 GMT WireHangers said:

Feb 15, 2023 21:46:06 GMT robertb213 said:

I wanted more Ursula but it sounds like Melissa McCarthy is nailing the voice at least!

I may, or may not, have seen the leaked full trailer and McCarthy absolutely nails the voice. She sounds almost identical to Pat Carrol while giving a slightly more gaudy sound, like she’s leaning even further into the camp.

This has me very excited 😁

[anxiousoctopus]

Feb 17, 2023 17:34:29 GMT Jon said:

There's a lot of moans about the underwater sequences in the teaser being dark, they do realise that the ocean isn't exactly a colourful place,

In real life, of course it is - but this is a fantasy with mermaids and talking fish, you can make the sea as bright and colourful as you want to make it visually interesting as a film

[christya]

I keep clicking the clip video to see if Halle will grow on me. Nope. It's a shame, because she clearly has a beautiful voice and could sing it properly, but no, she had to mess with it. Why can nothing be sung without riffs anymore? It's not right for everything! I'm also distracted by something odd going on with her eyebrows, but I don't suppose she can help that. The hair, though. How can they mess up Ariel's lovely red hair?

[anthony40]

A new official look at Sebastian in the upcoming ‘THE LITTLE MERMAID’ Disney live-action has been revealed in a new book cover

[theatrefan62]

Looks like this will have the same problem as the lion king and beauty and the beast. The realism looses the character

[anthony40]

Apparently shown tonight at the Oscars, a proper look at Ursula on Tik Tok- some dialogue and neon tentacils

From the look of it, it would appear to be when Ursula is convincing Ariel to hand over her voice

[theatrefan62]

[dan28]

I love the overall look and sound of it. Love the chords at the end of part of your world reprise. Hopefully this was not just for the trailer. Not sure about Sebastian's design and Ursula's hair and make-up. Loved the special effects. Halle's acting and speaking voice reminds me a lot of Lea Michele in Glee. The trailer has impressed me enough to go and see the movie.

[anthony40]

It does look stunning, which is exciting!

So we've caught glimpses of all of the major characters- Ariei, Prince Eric, King Triton, Ursula, Flounder, Sebastian and Scuttle.

Let's see some of the minor characters- Flotsham, Jetsom, Chef Louis, Grimsby and Vanessa (Ursula in human form).

Lets also see if Prince Eric'ssheepdoghas made the journey from animation to the new film.

[dan28]

"There are some lyric changes in 'Kiss the Girl' because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]," Menken, 73, revealed.

He added, "We have some revisions in 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn't speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice."

I am very fond of Menken, and I do get the feeling that he finds this ridiculous himself too.

But the scene changes because people are sensitive about Eric forcing himself on her? On what planet do those people live? Ariel and friends actually force her on him because they want to break the spell and she wants him and she wants to stay human. They organize a whole concert to lure him into kissing her. Ariel is the opposite of the victim here and Eric is the opposite of forcing himself on her. Why is woke left insisting that women are victims and nothing more than that? Even when they force themselves on men, they blatantly change the narrative? That is disturbing.

Do the filmmakers not understand their film? Because it is the plot of the film. If anything, I could understand if they had changed it because they wouldn't want Ariel to force herself on Eric, but now it's turned around and Eric gets portrayed as "the forcer" in the original version. I'm baffled. The men get the blame, even if it's the other way around. It seems that men are only allowed to serve women in films nowadays. This trend takes all flavor out of films and life in general.

It seems that the "woke" creators actually understand nothing of the film and the world in general and are actually fast asleep.

And don't even get me started on the "Poor Unfortunate Souls" debacle. I bet they have taken out every line about her talking or body language.

I was looking forward to this film, but this is giving me a bad taste.

[oxfordsimon]

Not of that surprises me when it comes to the hyper sensitivity of a tiny number of very vocal activists who will do anything to impose their ideology on the mainstream.

I won't be paying money to see this.

[Peter]

That’s a lot of extrapolation from a simple statement about what appears to amount to some minor lyric changes. I’m not aware of any ‘woke left’ (who even is that?) uprising that demanded any of this - just the usual work involved in bringing a 35 year old film back to the screen in a different format.

[oxfordsimon]

Apr 13, 2023 19:41:06 GMT Peter said:

That’s a lot of extrapolation from a simple statement about what appears to amount to some minor lyric changes. I’m not aware of any ‘woke left’ (who even is that?) uprising that demanded any of this - just the usual work involved in bringing a 35 year old film back to the screen in a different format.

I read Menken's own words and it is clear that it is external pressure causing the changes rather than just tweaking.

[dan28]

Apr 13, 2023 19:41:06 GMT Peter said:

That’s a lot of extrapolation from a simple statement about what appears to amount to some minor lyric changes. I’m not aware of any ‘woke left’ (who even is that?) uprising that demanded any of this - just the usual work involved in bringing a 35 year old film back to the screen in a different format.

It is not a lot of extrapolation at all. It is a simple restoring of the truth. It is very necessary to explain, it literally says "because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]". Which is a very harmful accusation and denial of the truth. Because Ariel forces herself on him.

If you want to know who those people are that Disney is talking about, ask them. And also ask them why they are surrendering to a harmful lie. That is not a good example for kids and does more harm than good.

[Peter]

But I would assume that the point of the lyric changes is to make that clearer - correct a grey area that has sprung up due to a change in sensibilities. Obviously The Little Mermaid is not the only Disney film where a Prince is urged to kiss a girl without bothering to engage in conversation first - but literally putting it in the lyrics is a bit unhelpful! If it can be easily remedied by amending them to ensure the focus stays on the plot point you have described, then all to the good.

[Peter]

Apr 13, 2023 19:47:48 GMT oxfordsimon said:

Apr 13, 2023 19:41:06 GMT Peter said:

That’s a lot of extrapolation from a simple statement about what appears to amount to some minor lyric changes. I’m not aware of any ‘woke left’ (who even is that?) uprising that demanded any of this - just the usual work involved in bringing a 35 year old film back to the screen in a different format.

I read Menken's own words and it is clear that it is external pressure causing the changes rather than just tweaking.

I don’t doubt the requirement to tweak is coming from the studio rather than Menken himself - I just don’t think the motivation for the changes can be simplistically laid at the door of ‘woke lefties’ (not least because it’s such a meaningless description), and frankly they’re not that big a deal.

[oxfordsimon]

I made no reference to the word woke.

I was careful to only reference the growing tendency for some people to be hyper sensitive

These are not necessary or desirable changes. They certainly aren't minor

[dan28]

Apr 13, 2023 22:28:19 GMT Peter said:

change in sensibilities. Obviously The Little Mermaid is not the only Disney film where a Prince is urged to kiss a girl without bothering to engage in conversation first.

What is the sensibility about? Ariel forcing herself on Eric?

Because all Eric does is trying and trying to engage in conversation for days. Without getting answers. While she is trying to kiss him, even with an organized concert to lure him into doing it.

Eric is constantly refusing kisses. So with your reaction you are proving my point, that you too are copying a narrative that is factually not true. Why are you doing that? I think we should be very careful with deliberately creating false narratives. The only 2 sensible things here would have been to keep it as it was, or to admit that Ariel and friends force her on him and therefore change it. In any case NOT make up the lie that he forces himself on her.

[anthony40]

I guess Arial is just a girl, swimming in front if a boy, wanting to know more about him and the world above that he lives in.

[johartuk]

Apr 13, 2023 19:41:06 GMT Peter said:

That’s a lot of extrapolation from a simple statement about what appears to amount to some minor lyric changes. I’m not aware of any ‘woke left’ (who even is that?) uprising that demanded any of this - just the usual work involved in bringing a 35 year old film back to the screen in a different format.

I can honestly say that I never got the vibe of Eric forcing himself on Ariel in 'Kiss The Girl' - it was her friends trying to help her by setting the scene for a romantic moment with music and visuals.  It's also worth remembering that she was very much 'in on the plan', not a helpless victim.

'Poor Unfortunate Souls' is a villain song - Ursula is evil, and the song is about her filling Ariel's head with rubbish in order to get her to give up her voice.