Starring Auli'i Cravalho, Graham Phillips, Queen Latifah, and Shaggy
Directed by Hamish Hamilton
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater
Disney took its sweet time getting into the live musical craze. It was 2017 before they announced a live version of their beloved 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid as ABC's next big special. Technical difficulties caused it to be pushed off the schedule for two years, until it finally made it to the air in November 2019 in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original film. With another live-action Mermaid coming out next year, how does this initial attempt at doing the story with living actors fare? Let's begin with dancing sailors singing about the stories of mermaids and fantastical creatures who live in the "Mysterious Fathoms Below" and find out...
The Story: Ariel (Cravalho) is a mermaid who lives under the sea, but she longs to see the world on land. After she falls for the human Prince Eric (Phillips), she goes to the sea witch Ursula (Queen Latifah) to give her legs. Ursula will, but for the price of her beautiful voice. Eric only heard her sing and doesn't recognize her as a human. Now she and her friends Flounder the fish, Skuttle the seagull, and Sebastian the crab (Shaggy) have to find a way to prove to Eric she's the real deal, whether she can sing about it or not.
The Song and Dance: I really wish Disney didn't chicken out on the technical problems and went full-on live with this. What we see of the physical production is gorgeous and creative, with some nifty costumes for the mermaids and Ursula and incredible oversized sets. The split "If Only" ballad for Ariel and Eric, showing her wishing she could sing for him in her bedroom while he's "outside" on the other side, was very well done.
Favorite Number: "Mysterious Fathoms Below" turns the opening number into an elaborately choreographed routine for Prince Eric and his sailors as he returns home and they tell him about mermaids and their siren voices. Amber Reily introduces the "Daughters of Triton" in their flashy sequined mermaid costumes. Cravalho pours her heart into a lovely "Part of Your World" in a beautifully recreated and detailed underwater grotto. "Under the Sea" has Shaggy in a simple red jacket wiggling through pure chaos as we see everything from acrobats on the ceiling to puppet fish to people in huge foam fish costumes playing "the toot of soul."
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is staged largely the same as in the film, with a gold light representing Ariel's voice and two huge puppets standing in for Ursula's eels. Making their debuts here are "Her Voice," a touching solo for Eric after Grimsby reminds him that he's just chasing a fantasy, and "If Only," a duet for Ariel and Eric where he wishes he could find that dream girl, and she wishes she could tell him. "Les Poissons" becomes a huge dance routine for everyone in the kitchen as they chase huge crabs in foam costumes for dinner, including John Stamos as the crazed Chef Louis.
Trivia: "If Only," "Her Voice," and the reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" are from the stage Little Mermaid that debuted on Broadway in 2007.
What I Don't Like: Once again, I really wish Disney had gone full-on live. As much as I enjoy the animated film, it really takes away from the stage production. They either should have let the stage show stand on its own, or ditched the live version permanently and just re-ran the animated film. It's too bad, because some of the performances are excellent. Latifiah in particular has a ball as Ursula, and Cravalaho makes a charming and sweet Ariel.
The Big Finale: This is cute, but could have been so much more. You're better off showing your kids the animated film again and waiting for the live-action version to come out next year.
Home Media: Streaming exclusive at the moment. Disney Plus has it with a subscription.
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