We’re just a few months away from the premiere of The Little Mermaid, the new live-action adaptation of the beloved Disney classic. The blockbuster has gotten a lot of attention for how it executes The Little Mermaid‘s larger-than-life storyline, from the lovable characters to the catchy musical numbers. One element that has been particularly interesting has been how the film’s underwater sequences — including iconic musical numbers like “Part of Your World” — come to life. According to a new interview with The Little Mermaid director Rob Marshall, the answer was actually pretty straightforward.
“How do you begin creating an underwater musical?” Marshall explained in a recent interview with Empire. “It’s never been done before. That fear ignited something in me.”
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“We introduce the singing underwater,” Marshall continued. “It’s very delicate, how you introduce song. It’s in this surreal world. We open the film above water, and then we go into this other world, and you accept those things immediately. You have to create the rules of how it works.”
What is The Little Mermaid remake about?
The Little Mermaid will follow Ariel (Halle Bailey), the youngest daughter of the kingdom Atlantica’s ruler King Triton, who is fascinated with the human world but mermaids are forbidden to explore it. After saving Prince Eric from a shipwreck and falling in love with, she becomes determined to be with him in the world above water. These actions lead to a confrontation with her father and an encounter with the conniving sea witch Ursula, making a deal with her to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress Eric. However, this ultimately places her life (and her father’s crown) in jeopardy.
The film will be directed by Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns), with a script from David Magee and Jane Goldman. The cast also includes Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy. The film is expected to feature original songs from the 1989 animated blockbuster, as well as new tracks composed by Alan Menken and Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Are you excited for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid? What do you think of Marshall’s new comments about the underwater singing? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
The Little Mermaid is set to be released in theaters on May 26th.
