This article contains spoilers for the live-action version of The Little Mermaid.
Poor girl Ariel already had no voice. That was before the Sea Witch added selective amnesia.
It was one of a dozen changes to Disney’s classic animated film from 1989 for a new live-action adaptation that was extended by about an hour. Among them are: Updated lyrics for “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. And the personality of Prince Eric.
Here are 13 ways Rob Marshall’s remake differs from the original.
1. Ariel has a lock.
Halle Bailey and the crew, whose casting for Ariel drew racist backlash, knew that ironing out Ariel’s flowing red mane wasn’t the best thing to do. Instead, Bailey showed off her natural hair in a red bun.
“As black women, our crown is very special,” Bailey, who has been wearing locks since she was five, told The New York Times. She said, “For us, hair is important in every sense, so I was really grateful to leave that essence behind.”
2. The flounder… looks like a fish.
When audiences first saw the live-action Flounder in the trailer, the consensus was that it was too real. “Before and After the Ozempic” Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic tweeted The shot of Ariel’s anxious sidekick looked plump and colorful then, but now it looks flat and scaly.
3. Prince Eric is a perk, not a prize.
For Bailey’s Ariel, it’s not just Jonah Hauer-King’s handsome prince who intrigues her, but the human world. Instead of giving up everything for him, Bailey told The Face“It’s about finding freedom for yourself because of this world that Ariel is obsessed with.”
4. Princes are more than just beautiful.
Now he also has a backstory. “In an animated film, I’m sure the original creators would agree with this, but with the classic Prince of Wood character, not too much happens,” Marshall said. told Entertainment Weekly. Now, Eric’s trajectory is similar to Ariel’s trajectory. “He doesn’t feel like it’s his place, his world,” Marshall said.
5. Meet Prince Eric’s mother.
Queen Selina (Noma Dumezweni) doesn’t like the underwater world and doesn’t understand her son’s obsession with ocean exploration. The remake will take advantage of the added time to explore the chasm between mermaids and humans.
6. You might sympathize with King Triton.
The overprotective sea lord (Javier Bardem) also paints a more nuanced tale that focuses on why he hates humans so much. (His wife, Ariel’s mother, was killed by a human, which fans of prequels and TV series may know, but it’s not in the original.)
7. Ariel and Eric share real interests.
Their courtship still takes place within three days and is missed by a blink of an eye, but the extra running time allows them to poke around at things other than gigging each other’s eyes, such as the crafts in his den. It means observing or visiting his home. market.
8. Sometimes I feel like I’m watching “Hamilton.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda — creator of “Hamilton” Big fan of “The Little Mermaid” — Collaborated with animated film composer Alan Menken on three new songs. (Original lyricist Howard Ashman died in 1991.)
Here are the new songs: “The Scuttlebutt” is a very Miranda-esque rap performed by Scuttle (Awkwafina) and Sebastian (Davied Diggs) while Prince Eric is trying to decide who to marry. ‘Wild Uncharted Waters’ is a typical Menken ballad dedicated to Prince Eric. And the Latin number “For the First Time” when Ariel gets her legs.
9. Two beloved songs have updated lyrics.
“Kiss the Girl” originally suggested that Eric do so without asking Ariel first (“No word needed, no word needed/Now kiss the girl”). ), Sebastian now says, “Use your words, boy, ask her.” told Vanity Fair They wanted to avoid suggesting that the Prince would “impose himself in some way” on Ariel.
And in “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, Ursula originally told Ariel that “on land it’s much better for women not to say anything” and “she’s the one who gets the man.” Melissa McCarthy deleted the poem entirely. (Because Menken told Vanity Fair that some of the lines were “somewhat vaguely suggesting that young girls shouldn’t be told out of turn, even though it’s clear that Ursula is manipulating Ariel.”) It might make you feel,” he said.)
Ten.”Les PoissonsThis is Les Poigone from .
So does Chef Louis, a chef with a French accent who serves Sebastian.
11. Ariel has selective amnesia about a kiss.
Because it was too easy to simply lose your voice. Ursula’s magic causes Ariel to forget that she needs Eric to kiss her.
12. Get ready to be Team Grimsby.
You might even forget he was in the original, but Art Malik’s performance as the prince’s right-hand man will have you waving the Grimsby flag. He does everything in his power to bring Ariel and Eric together.
13. Ariel, not Eric, kills the Sea Witch.
that’s right. In 2023, a woman will skewer her own monster.
