‘The Little Mermaid’ Is Getting a Live (And Live-Action) Treatment on ABC
Disney already has one of their patented live-action big-screen remakes of The Little Mermaid in the works, with Halle Bailey cast as the new Ariel — and now they’ve announced they’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the animated Little Mermaid with a unique “hybrid” special featuring the original feature and new segments featuring live-action actors.
Via Deadline, here’s how they describe the concept for the show:
Billed as a tribute to the original animated classic and its music, The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live! will feature live musical performances by its star-studded cast interwoven into the broadcast of the original feature film. The hybrid format will combine intricate sets and costumes created for the special with music from the original animated film and the Tony Award-winning Broadway stage version, composed by eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken.
The “star-studded cast” includes Auli’l Cravalho — best known as the voice of Moana — as Ariel, Queen Latifah as the sea witch Ursula, and Shaggy as Sebastian. And surely I can’t be the only one who noticed immediately that “Under the Sea” and “It Wasn’t Me” both rhyme and have the exact same number of syllables. I think you know what comes next.
It should be interesting to see how Disney and ABC blend the old cartoon with the new segments — and, if the show is a hit, whether this becomes another Disney franchise, the same way they are systematically turning all their animated classics into live-action versions one film at a time. The Little Mermaid Live! will air on November 5 on ABC.
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