The Little Mermaid

## Chronology

***The Little Mermaid*** is a 2023 American musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall, from a screenplay written by David Magee and Jane Goldman, and a story by Magee, Marshall and John DeLuca. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Lucamar Productions, Marc Platt Productions and 5000 Broadway Productions, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1989 animated film of the same name, which itself is loosely based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same title by Hans Christian Andersen. It is produced by Marshall, DeLuca, Marc Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the latter of whom co-wrote new songs for the remake as the lyricist. Alan Menken is set to return as the composer for both the score and the songs. The film stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, alongside Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy, with Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina in voice roles.

*The Little Mermaid* premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023, followed by the London premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on May 15, 2023, and was released theatrically in the United States on May 26, 2023, in RealD 3D, IMAX, Dolby Cinema and 4DX formats, as well as in conventional theaters. The film received praise from critics the performance, musical sequences, and sense of nostalgia, but was criticized for the visual effects, creature designs, and the changes made to the story.

## Plot

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

The film opens as a ship full of sailors attempts to throw harpoons at what they believe is a mermaid. Prince Eric comes down to stop them, as it is just a dolphin that they are trying to harm. The sailors insist that mermaids and other sea creatures are dangerous. Eric’s butler Grimsby looks over the boy on the request of his mother, Queen Selina, despite Eric’s adventurous spirit. The sailors also end up knocking one of their telescopes overboard.

Deep beneath the ocean is the kingdom of merpeople, ruled by King Triton. He gathers his daughters – Perla, Indira, Mala, Tamika, Karina, and Caspia – as they prepare for the Coral Moon. However, Triton’s youngest daughter, Ariel, is missing. Triton sends his crab major-domo Sebastian out to find her.

Ariel is with her best friend Flounder as she finds the sailors’ telescope, which she keeps among her findings of the human world. The two swim down to a sunken ship and find a fork, but they are soon chased by a shark. Ariel gets the shark away from Flounder by tricking the shark into seeing her reflection in a mirror and then getting stuck in it, allowing Ariel and Flounder to escape.

Ariel and Flounder are found by Scuttle, a diving bird that knows, or pretends to know, about the human world. She tells Ariel that her fork is a “dinglehopper” that is used to style hair. Sebastian arrives and lets Ariel know she missed the Coral Moon meeting, forcing her to swim back to her father. As they leave, two eels – Flotsam and Jetsam – spy on Ariel, sent by their master, Ursula the sea witch. She is Triton’s sister who resents him for obtaining control of the ocean while she was left in a pit of squalor. She secretly hopes to use Ariel as a pawn in overthrowing her brother.

When Ariel finds Triton, he scolds her and also reminds her not to go near the surface, as humans were responsible for the death of her mother. Ariel goes with Flounder to her cave where she keeps all her human artifacts, expressing her desire to see the world above (“Part of Your World”). Sebastian goes after her, but Ariel sees fireworks up above and follows the lights. A celebration is being held for Eric’s 21st birthday (“Fathoms Below”), and Grimsby is reminding Eric about the responsibilities he is going to have to take before he becomes king. Ariel is spotted by Eric’s dog Max, but Eric misses her. Moments later, a terrible storm hits, making its way toward the ship. The crew, and Max, hops on their lifeboats as the ship catches fire and crashes against the rocks, but Eric is knocked over into the water. Ariel swims down to rescue him.

Ariel brings Eric to the shore and manages to resuscitate him. While he is barely conscious, he is able to catch a glimpse of Ariel and hear her voice (“Part of Your World (Reprise)”) before Grimsby and the other men come by to find him and bring him back to the kingdom. Ursula continues to spy on Ariel and realizes she has what she needs to reel Ariel in for her scheme. When Ariel returns underwater, Sebastian finds her and tries to convince her that life on the surface is overrated and everything is way better where they are (“Under The Sea”). While Ariel does take a moment to enjoy the world she lives in, she returns to her cave where she stops to admire the statue of Eric that fell underwater, which she now keeps for herself.

Upon Eric’s return, he has his people attempt to locate the mysterious girl that rescued him. Selina thinks he is not well, but Eric insists that this girl has changed his life. He runs outside and hops on a boat as he attempts to find her himself (“Wild Uncharted Waters”). Ariel and her sisters clean up the ruins of the sunken ship that came on their turf. Ariel is still upset at Triton for his rejection of the human world, but he knows something else is going on. Sebastian spills the beans to Triton that Ariel is in love with Eric after going up to the surface. Triton finds Ariel in her cave and chastises her for disobeying him. Although Ariel tries to argue that the humans cannot all be bad, Triton uses his trident to destroy all of Ariel’s items, leaving her to weep in sadness.

Ursula uses Flotsam and Jetsam to contact Ariel and lure her to her lair, while Flounder and Sebastian follow. Ariel finds a murky pit for of skeletons of merpeople before meeting her estranged aunt. Ursula plays to Ariel’s desire to be with humans and her interest in Eric, while also touting her magic skills that she has used to help or trick others (“Poor Unfortunate Souls”). Ariel plucks off one of her scales as part of the deal, while also giving up her voice. She is given three days to get Eric to kiss her or she will return to being a mermaid and become a prisoner of Ursula’s. Ursula cackles as Ariel’s tail disappears and legs grow in their place. She quickly swims to the surface.

Ariel is picked up in a fishing boat that is headed to the kingdom. She is brought in, bathed and clothed, before she is brought to meet Eric (“For The First Time”). Unfortunately, since she can’t talk, he cannot confirm that she is indeed the girl that rescued him. Still, he allows her to stay in the castle until other arrangements can be made. When Sebastian finds her in her room, he sees that she does not even remember that she has to kiss Eric as part of the deal. Ariel then sneaks out of her room and finds Eric’s library. He joins her and shows off the things he has found in his travels, as well as expressing his desire to see more of the world.

The following day, Grimsby lets Eric sneak off into town with Ariel behind Selina’s back. They spend the day on a horse-drawn carriage, which almost runs people over, before Eric brings Ariel to a market. Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle then work together to speed up the kissing process, so they have Scuttle steal Eric’s hat to lure them onto a boat to ride over a lake. With help from other animal creatures, they attempt to set the mood (“Kiss The Girl”). Ariel also manages to give Eric her name through certain clues. Just as they are about to go in for the kiss, Flotsam and Jetsam turn their boat over. Ursula realizes Ariel came too close to succeeding, so she decides to take matters into her own tentacles and use one of her potions to disguise herself as a beautiful woman named Vanessa to hypnotize Eric by using Ariel’s voice.

Back in the underwater kingdom, Triton sends people to search for Ariel. He quickly realizes that his actions may have driven his daughter away from him, bringing him great remorse. Scuttle flies into the room the next morning to tell of some news she has heard (“The Scuttlebutt”) about Eric getting ready to propose. When Ariel goes to find him, she sees him alongside Vanessa, which breaks her heart. She runs away, prompting her Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle to go find her. Scuttle hears Ariel’s voice coming from Vanessa’s room and sees Ursula’s true reflection in the mirror. She flies off to warn Ariel and let her know what is going on. Flounder goes to tell Triton while the others go off to stop the engagement.

Scuttle flies in to distract the guests at Eric’s engagement party, and Max helps her attack Vanessa. Ariel comes in and takes the locket from her, breaking it and releasing her voice and finally allowing her to talk to Eric. Before they can kiss, the sun sets, and Ariel becomes a mermaid again. Selina is disgusted, as she believes sea creatures are dangerous. Vanessa turns back into Ursula, and she grabs Ariel before jumping back into the ocean.

Triton finds Ursula as she takes Ariel with her, but she uses Flotsam and Jetsam to tangle Ariel up and nearly drain her life out before he agrees to give up her trident. Ursula has the eels drain Triton’s life before she gains more power from the trident. Eric goes after Ariel and hits Ursula’s arm with a harpoon. Flotsam and Jetsam try to wrangle him down underwater so Ursula can kill him, but Ariel causes Ursula to blast and vaporize the eels into bits. A distraught Ursula then grows to a monstrous size and begins to attack Ariel and Eric. She causes a sunken ship to rise up, and Ariel hops on to take control of it while Ursula attempts to blast Eric with the trident. Ariel manages to steer the ship so that the broken bowsprit can impale Ursula, sending her sinking to her grave. The trident falls and restore Triton’s lifeforce. Eric returns to the surface and wants to find Ariel but eventually believes it is useless. While he admits defeat, Selina tells him that she was wrong about sea creatures and her son’s feelings for Ariel.

Later on, Triton notices Ariel looking out at the castle longingly. He realizes what his daughter wants, even though it means he has to let her go. He uses his trident to give Ariel her legs back, and she returns to Eric, where they share their first kiss.
Ariel and Eric are later married and prepare to sail off and see the world. They are met by Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle, before Triton and Ariel’s sisters, plus all the other merpeople arrive to bid them farewell and see them off alongside the humans, now joining their two worlds in harmony.

## Cast and characters

### Live-Action

* Halle Bailey as Ariel: Daughter of King Triton of Atlantica, the rebellious Ariel sets out to be a part of the human world and eventually marries a human, Prince Eric, whom she rescued from a shipwreck.
* Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric: A human prince whom Ariel falls in love with after saving him from drowning, after which he becomes determined to find and marry Ariel.
* Melissa McCarthy as Ursula: A treacherous sea witch whom Ariel makes a deal with to become a human, which is secretly part of Ursula's plan to conquer Atlantica.
* Javier Bardem as King Triton: Ariel's overprotective father and the King of Atlantica, who is prejudiced against humans.
* Jessica Alexander as Vanessa: The human persona that Ursula transformed into to stop Ariel from fulfilling the deal with Eric.
* Art Malik as Sir Grimsby: Eric's loyal butler and confidant, who sees to it that Eric finds the right girl to marry.
* Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina: Eric's single mother.
* Lorena Andrea as Perla: One of the daughters of Triton and Ariel’s sisters, renamed for the film.
* Simone Ashley as Indira: One of the daughters of Triton and Ariel’s sisters, renamed for the film.
* Kajsa Mohammar as Karina: One of the daughters of Triton and Ariel’s sisters, renamed for the film.
* Nathalie Sorrell as Caspia: One of the daughters of Triton and Ariel’s sisters, renamed for the film.
* Karolina Conchet as Mala: One of the daughters of Triton and Ariel’s sisters, renamed for the film.
* Sienna King as Tameka: One of the daughters of Triton and Ariel’s sisters, renamed for the film.

### Voice cast

* Daveed Diggs as Sebastian: A loyal crab and King Triton's trusted servant and court composer who watches over Ariel.
* Jacob Tremblay as Flounder: An anxious yet noble blue fish who is Ariel's best friend.
* Awkwafina as Scuttle: A dimwitted diving bird and a friend of Ariel's, to whom she provides inaccurate descriptions of any human/surface world object Ariel finds. The character will be portrayed as a female diving bird instead of a male seagull as in the original in order to feature the character in underwater scenes.

Additionally, Russell Balogh, and Adrian Christopher have been cast in undisclosed roles.

## Production

### Development

On May 25, 2016, *Deadline Hollywood* reported that Disney is in early development for a live-action adaptation of *The Little Mermaid*.

On August 16, 2016, it was announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda, a fan of the original film, will co-produce the film with Marc Platt.

On December 6, 2017, it was reported that Rob Marshall was being courted by the Walt Disney Company to direct the film, while Jane Goldman will serve as screenwriter. On December 5, 2018, Marshall revealed that he, along with John DeLuca and Marc Platt were hired to begin developing the project for film adaptation, and said that "John and [Marshall] have begun our work trying to explore it and figure it out", as he felt that "it's a very complicated movie to take from animation to live-action. Live-action's a whole other world so you have to be very careful about how that's done, but so we're starting the exploration phase". Later in December, Marshall was officially hired as director for the film. During an interview on December 21, 2018, Marshall revealed that the film is in very early stages of development, stating that the studio is trying to explore ways to translate the original film's story into live-action. On July 3, 2019, David Magee, who previously wrote the screenplay for Marshall's *Mary Poppins Returns*, was revealed to have written the script with Goldman. On February 10, 2020, Miranda revealed that rehearsals for the film had already begun.

### Casting

Both Lindsay Lohan and Chris Evans had expressed interest in starring in the adaptation, while some fans wanted Ariana Grande to play the role of Ariel. Zendaya was rumored to have been offered the title role from late 2018 to early 2019, but continuously stated that it was "just a rumor".

On June 28, 2019, it was announced that Melissa McCarthy was in talks to play Ursula in the film. On July 1, Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay were cast in the film voicing a now gender-bent Scuttle and Ariel's sidekick Flounder, respectively. On July 3, Halle Bailey was officially announced through Disney's official social media accounts to play the title role of Ariel, with the director stating:

Director Rob Marshall said that the film is about "[Ariel] finding her voice ... And that immediately just felt like an interesting, timely piece that resonated with [the production crew]". Bailey said that she wanted to bring "freshness" to the character and that "[i]t's amazing that the directors have been so forward in asking [her] to show [her] true self… that's been a really fun growing experience". Additionally revealed by Bailey, she got the call to audition for the film when she was 18, due to Marshall seeing Halle and her sister Chloe’s Grammy performance where they performed “Where Is the Love” by Donny Hathaway. It was said that Marshall saw Halle in that performance and said she should audition for Ariel. She added that they asked her if she wanted to sing or act first, and she said, “I’ll just sing first because I feel I can get all the nerves out.” She remembers singing and closing her eyes, and then when she opened them, everyone was crying. And from there, she had two more auditions and then a screen test and then months passed and she said completely forgot about the role until she got a call saying that I got the role a few months later.

On the same month, Javier Bardem joined the cast as King Triton, while Harry Styles and Jack Whitehall considered the role of Prince Eric. However, in August 2019, it was revealed that Styles has turned down the part; he revealed in a November interview with Capital FM that there were a "few things" that they couldn't work out, he also stated: "I think it's obviously going to be an amazing film, but they shoot for so long and I wanna tour next year, maybe. I haven't announced that yet, but yeah, it just didn't quite line"; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Styles's tour was postponed, and the role of Prince Eric eventually went to British actor Jonah Hauer-King.

In October, Daveed Diggs, who previously worked on Miranda's musical *Hamilton*, joined the cast as the voice of Sebastian the crab. By November 2019, Jonah Hauer-King had been cast as Prince Eric. Cameron Cuffe was also in the running for the role, before Hauer-King was cast; both of which had already screen tested alongside Bailey.

On February 18, 2020, McCarthy confirmed her casting as Ursula during an interview on *The Ellen DeGeneres Show*: "I play Ursula, the sea witch. It is so fun, we're just in rehearsals. It's been an absolute blast. Stepping into the world of Rob Marshall, it's like a fever dream, I just went to London for a week, I was like, 'I don't get to go to dance camp for a week.' All day he's like, 'Do you want to slide down this 40-foot clam shell?' I'm like, 'Yes! Of course I do. What are you, crazy?' It's been wildly creative."

In December 2020, Disney officially announced seven principal actors while also debuting the film's official logo.

On January 5, 2021, Noma Dumezweni was announced to have been cast in an undisclosed role. On March 29, 2021, in an interview with Marie Claire Magazine, when asked about her role in the upcoming film, Dumezweni stated, "I can tell you that I'm doing it. I can tell you I'm very excited. I can tell you I had a chat with hair and makeup the other day and it was like, Yay!". On December 29, 2021, during an interview on Facebook's *Talks with Mama Tina*, Bailey recalled being scared and nervous while auditioning for the role of Ariel. Co-star Daveed Diggs said that the remake will give "some more power" to Ariel than the original film.

### Filming

Filming was originally scheduled to begin in London between late March and early April 2020; however, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Set photos at Pinewood Studios in London, England leaked a few weeks after the production was shut down, it showed aerial images featuring Prince Eric's ship as well as indoor images of what seemed to be his castle. On July 29, 2020, based on a social media post, Jacob Tremblay began recording his lines for the film. Filming was scheduled to re-commence on August 10, 2020.
By November 2020, Disney's new CEO Bob Chapek announced that filming on all movies that had been postponed during pandemic shutdowns had resumed filming, and in some cases completed principal photography.

In December 2020, McCarthy stated that she would hopefully begin filming in January 2021. The following month, Diggs discussed the large amount of work he had to do when it came to preparing for and recording dialogue for the role of Sebastian.

Principal photography officially began at Pinewood Studios in Iver, England on January 30, 2021. Filming for McCarthy's scenes eventually began in April 2021. On April 6, it was announced that additional filming would be happening in summer in Sardinia, Italy, for a total of "roughly three months." In June 2021, production was temporarily halted due to multiple crew members of the film contracting COVID-19. Filming resumed about a week later and officially wrapped on July 11, 2021. On December 30, 2021, Bailey shared some new behind-the-scenes photos of the set, including a glimpse of her portrayal of Ariel. The actress took to Instagram to wrap up her year and shared photos of moments of shooting the film. The first photo showed the film's script, which was blurred to avoid spoilers, but still showed her character name "Ariel" in bold print. One photo showed her swimming in Sardinia's waters, while another showed the process of film-making using CGI. In February 2023, Marshall revealed that he hopes post-production work on the film will be completed by March, saying:

### Visual effects

Visual effects will be provided by Industrial Light & Magic, Wētā FX, Moving Picture Company and Framestore. DNEG will provide the stereo conversion. For the "Under the Sea" sequence, Marshall called it a "big, massive musical number" and said that creating the underwater environments involved "a lot of work in advance with John DeLuca and myself creating these musical sequences, to prep it in advance from storyboards to something called pre-visualization, which is almost like a little mini-animated film, so we know how it flowed and how it worked ... You are creating a world, you’re creating creatures, but it’s very important to me that it feels real – you have to believe, you have to care about them, you have to follow their journey."

## Release

*The Little Mermaid* held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023, and was released theatrically on May 26, 2023, in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

### Marketing

On September 9, 2022, Rob Marshall and Halle Bailey appeared at the 2022 D23 Expo to introduce an exclusive presentation of the film's "Part of Your World" sequence, which received a positive response from the attendees, who praised Bailey's vocal performance. The film's teaser trailer was released to the public the same day. On October 13, 2022, the first movie poster was released to the public, which Bailey synchronously captioned on Twitter: "Words can’t describe how immensely honored I feel to play the mermaid of my dreams."

In an interview with *Entertainment Weekly*, Marshall says that this new take on Ariel spotlights a 'modern woman'. He says that the character goes back to Hans Christian Andersen from another century, but at the same time in 1989, that it felt in some ways like a very modern woman, someone who sees Ariel's life differently than anyone around her, and goes to find that dream. On January 21, 2023, Disney Live Entertainment announced a casting call for character look-alike actresses to portray Bailey's version of Ariel as a character meet-and-greet at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Disneyland Paris in Paris, France as part of the film's promotional campaign. It is currently unknown if this would be temporary or remain permanent after the film's release.

On March 12, 2023, the official trailer was shown during the *95th Academy Awards*, introduced on stage by Bailey and McCarthy, and then released online alongside a new poster. Disney reportedly paid ABC $10 million to show the trailer during the ceremony.

On April 26, 2023, the official full length visualizer and audio for Part of Your World was released, along with the core cast and characters posters.

## Controversy

After the announcement of Halle Bailey as the role of Ariel in July 2019, and after the first trailer was released in September 2022, the film gained both positive and negative responses from the public for casting a Black actress as Ariel, who was originally white in the 1989 animated film. Arguments for the negative response have included that a Black mermaid does not adhere to historical accuracy, that the adaptation should be as close to the original as possible, and that mermaids allegedly can not be Black as they are underwater creatures. Many media outlets as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, the film's producer and lyricist, criticized the negative response and described it as being racist. Stuart Heritage of *The Guardian* argued, "The boring spat over the Disney trailer makes idiots of us all – whether Ariel is black or white, it is clearly a film that should rightfully be ignored then forgotten forever", suggesting instead that there should be a "grotesque scaly mutant as the lead". During an interview on August 12, 2019, Bailey said that "[she doesn't] pay attention to the negativity", while Auliʻi Cravalho, who played Ariel in a musical presentation as a part of *The Wonderful World of Disney*, expressed excitement at watching Bailey's portrayal of the character. Jodi Benson, the voice actress for Ariel in the 1989 film, praised Bailey, stating, "I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters". Brandy Norwood, the first woman of color to play Cinderella in the 1997 Disney television film of the same, and Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana (Disney's first official African-American Princess), also both praised the casting of Bailey as Ariel. Rachel Zegler, who played Maria in Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of *West Side Story* and will play the titular role in Disney's 2024 live-action remake of *Snow White*, also voiced her support for Bailey.

A poll conducted from July 8–10, 2022, from Hollywood Reporter/Morning Consult found that just under half of Americans supported the idea of minorities playing the roles of characters who had been cast as white. When asked "Thinking about live-action movie remakes of classic cartoons, do you support or oppose actors who are racial and ethnic minorities playing characters who have been white in past films?", 48% answered "strongly" or "somewhat" support, 21% said "strongly" or "somewhat" oppose, while 31% either did not know or had no opinion. The same poll also found a majority in support of remakes that are "as close to their original as possible, including sticking to the race and ethnicity of each character."

## Reception

### Pre-release

*Variety* reported that the official teaser trailer of *The Little Mermaid* garnered more than 104 million global views during the first weekend following its release. It surpassed recent Disney live-action releases including *Beauty and the Beast* with 94 million, *Aladdin* with 74 million and *Cruella* with 68 million. After the release of the trailer in September 2022, videos of Black girls positively reacting to it went viral. In December 2022, the film ranked number three as the "Most Anticipated Family Film" of 2023 in a poll conducted by Fandango Media while Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy ranked number one as the "Most Anticipated New Performance on the Big Screen" and "Most Anticipated Villain", respectively.

Following its premiere at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023, the official trailer reportedly generated over 108 million global views within its first 24 hours. It is now among the most watched trailers for any reimagined title in Disney’s growing stable of live-action, and the biggest for a Disney live-action title since the 2019 remake of *The Lion King*.

An early private test screening of the film's final cut took place on April 30, 2023 at The Whitby Hotel in New York City. The event, hosted by Marshall and DeLuca, was attended by 80 celebrities and industry professionals.

## Possible sequels

On April 25, 2023, Rob Marshall hinted at the possibility of there being sequels to the film if it is successful, saying, "It's a classic story that has a lot of characters and a lot of interesting stories. I do think it's right for certain things. But you have to see how a movie plays, and how it does... I think there's always opportunity to find stories within stories. That's always a wonderful thing." It has not been confirmed whether the potential sequels will be completely new original stories or take inspiration from the original film's direct-to-video sequel *The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea* (2000), which focused on Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody, and direct-to-video prequel *The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning* (2008).

## Differences from the 1989 film

* Ariel has vibrant red hair in the 1989 film, while she has more natural red hair that is in braids in this film.
* Scuttle will be a female diving bird instead of a male seagull.
* Queen Selina and Prince Eric's mother are new characters who appear in the remake.
* Snarfblatt references will not be used in the remake due to Disney enforcing a ban on smoking and drugs in 2007.
* Flounder will be a teenage blue fish instead of a young male regal angelfish.
* Prince Eric has his own song in this film.
* Ariel's six sisters have different names in this film: Mala, Karina, Indira, Caspia, Perla, and Tameka
	+ Instead of their names all starting and ending with A, all of their names just end with A, with the exception of Ariel.

## Notes and trivia

* The film was originally supposed to be released in 2020, but it got delayed 2 times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* This is the fourth collaboration between Rob Marshall and Disney after Marshall previously directed *Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides*, *Into the Woods*, and *Mary Poppins Returns*.
* Scuttle will be the fourth male Disney character to have his gender switched from male to female in a live action remake of an animated Disney classic. The first three were Jaq in *Cinderella* (2015), Kaa from *The Jungle Book* (2016), and Jock from *Lady and the Tramp* (2019).
* The "Part of Your World" sequence was filmed over the course of three days. Halle Bailey described filming the segment as "the most beautiful experience of my life. Feeling all of the feelings that she feels. Her passion. Her discomfort. Everything that she was experience was so exciting for me to play. Just getting to sing a song I've loved ever since I was a child was really exciting."
* Rob Marshall invited Halle Bailey to audition, after he saw a live performance of hers. She was the first person to read for the part and, according to Marshall, her rendition of "Part of Your World" during her audition, left Marshall in tears.
* According to Lin-Manuel Miranda during an interview on BBC's The One Show, all of the songs from the original 1989 animated film will still be part of the live-action adaptation.
* This is the sixth Disney Princess remake, after *Maleficent*, *Cinderella*, *Beauty and the Beast*, *Aladdin*, and *Mulan*.
* This is also the fifth movie from the Disney Renaissance to be remade.
* This will be Melissa McCarthy's first role for a Disney film since she played the Sky King waitress in *The Kid*.
* This will be the third Disney film that Lin-Manuel Miranda has written songs for after *Moana* and *Encanto*.
	+ He also co-starred in *Mary Poppins Returns*, which also makes this his second collaboration with Rob Marshall on a Disney film.
* Due to *Mulan* and *Pinocchio* being switched to Disney+ releases, this is the first exclusive theatrically-released remake of a Disney Animated Canon movie since *Maleficent: Mistress of Evil*.
* This is the first *The Little Mermaid* movie to be produced in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The other two were produced in 1.85:1.
* This will be the first ever Disney live-action remake to use the new 2022 on-screen logo.
* Due to *Artemis Fowl* being switched to a Disney+ exclusive release (following the COVID-19 pandemic), this is the first exclusive theatrically-released Disney live-action film to receive a PG rating from the MPAA since *Maleficent: Mistress of Evil*.

## References

1. ↑ The Little Mermaid (PG)
2. ↑ THE LITTLE MERMAID PREMIERE, LA
3. ↑ The Little Mermaid UK Premiere: All the pictures from the Red Carpet
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Disney's Live-Action 'The Little Mermaid' to Open on Memorial Day Weekend in 2023
5. ↑ Halle Bailey Set To Play Ariel In Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ Remake
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 ‘Little Mermaid’: Jonah Hauer-King Wins Role Of Prince Eric
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Disney Wants Melissa McCarthy To Play Ursula In ‘The Little Mermaid’
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Javier Bardem In Talks For Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' Remake
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 'The Undoing's Noma Dumezweni Joins Disney's Live-Action 'Little Mermaid' In Brand New Role
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Disney's Live-Action Little Mermaid Shares Its First Teaser
11. ↑ Meet Harry Potter and the Cursed Child star who plays Prince Eric's mother in The Little Mermaid
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 THE LITTLE MERMAID Books Give New Look at Upcoming Live Action Remake
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Daveed Diggs In Talks To Join 'The Little Mermaid' At Disney
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 ‘The Little Mermaid’: Awkwafina & Jacob Tremblay in Talks To Join Disney’s Live-Action Pic
15. ↑ Disney Mulling Live-Action Version Of 'The Little Mermaid'
16. ↑ Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alan Menken team up for live-action Little Mermaid
17. ↑ Rob Marshall Top Choice To Helm Disney's Live Action 'The Little Mermaid'
18. ↑ FOR DIRECTOR ROB MARSHALL, MARY POPPINS RETURNS IS A VERY PERSONAL PROJECT
19. ↑ 'Little Mermaid' Live-Action Director Rob Marshall Shares Production Update (Exclusive)
20. ↑ Rob Marshall on Why He Signed an Overall Deal at Walt Disney Studios
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 The Little Mermaid cast: These stars in talks for the Disney remake – who will be in it?
22. ↑ Lin Manuel Miranda spills details on 'The Little Mermaid' remake on Oscar's red carpet
23. ↑ Lindsay Lohan really wants a 'Little Mermaid' gig
24. ↑ Lindsay Lohan wants Bill Condon to direct her in The Little Mermaid musical
25. ↑ People Want Ariana Grande To Be In 'The Little Mermaid' Live Action Movie
26. ↑ Zendaya Shed Some Light on Those "Little Mermaid" Rumors
27. ↑ Halle Bailey Cast as Ariel in Live-Action Reimagining of The Little Mermaid
28. ↑ Halle Bailey Reveals the 1 Thing She Hopes to Bring to Her 'Little Mermaid' Character
29. ↑ V142: HALLE BAILEY MAKES A SPLASH
30. ↑ Harry Styles in Talks to Play Prince Eric in Disney's Live-Action 'Little Mermaid'
31. ↑ Harry Styles Turns Down Role of Prince Eric in 'Little Mermaid' (Exclusive)
32. ↑ WATCH: Harry Styles Explains Why He Isn't Playing Prince Eric In The Little Mermaid
33. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid': 'Krypton's Cameron Cuffe, Jonah Hauer-King Testing For Prince Eric Role
34. ↑ Melissa McCarthy Talks Becoming Ursula for Disney's Live-Action "Little Mermaid"
35. ↑ Little Mermaid Cast, Plus Pinocchio & Peter Pan Films Go to Disney+
36. ↑ Noma Dumezweni Is Hollywood's Newest It Girl
37. ↑ Halle Bailey Opened Up About Being "So Scared And So Nervous" To Audition For Ariel In "The Little Mermaid"
38. ↑ Ariel to Have "More Power" in Live-Action *Little Mermaid*, Whatever That Means
39. ↑ Disney Suspends Film Production Amid Coronavirus Concerns
40. ↑ London shoot on 'The Little Mermaid', other Disney live-action productions on hold
41. ↑ Disney Pausing Production On Features 'Little Mermaid', 'Home Alone', 'Nightmare Alley' & More Until Coronavirus Calms Down
42. ↑ The Little Mermaid
43. ↑ Voice Work Begins for Live-Action 'The Little Mermaid'
44. ↑ Fantastic Beasts Sequel and The Little Mermaid Can Restart Production Thanks to New UK Bill
45. ↑ Disney Confirms ALL Movies Shut Down For COVID Have Restarted Or Completed Filming
46. ↑ Melissa McCarthy Gives Update on Playing Ursula in Live-Action Little Mermaid: 'It's Just So Fun'
47. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Star Daveed Diggs Says He Did More Research for Sebastian Than for Any Other Role in His Career
48. ↑ Disney's The Little Mermaid Remake Has Officially Started Filming
49. ↑ VIDEO: Melissa McCarthy Teases Her Upcoming Role As Ursula in THE LITTLE MERMAID
50. ↑ Disney's Live Action 'Little Mermaid' Set to Shoot in Sardinia
51. ↑ Sardinia, Covid outbreak on the set of the Disney Little Mermaid
52. ↑ COVID Outbreak On 'The Little Mermaid' Set Forces Shutdown
53. ↑ Little Mermaid: Halle Bailey Announces Filming Has Wrapped on Live-Action Movie
54. ↑ [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/disney-the-little-mermaid-live-action-ariel-halle-bailey-first-look-filming-wraps/ The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey Reveals First Look at Live-Action Ariel as Filming Wraps
55. ↑ Live-Action Little Mermaid BTS Images Give New Look At Halle Bailey's Ariel
56. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Live-Action Adaptation Will Be Finished in March |url=
57. ↑ The Little Mermaid Remake Director Teases "Massive" Under the Sea Number
58. ↑ Filmography
59. ↑ The Little Mermaid
60. ↑ The Little Mermaid Remake Director Teases "Massive" Under the Sea Number
61. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' First Look: Halle Bailey Debuts Her Version of 'Part of Your World' to an Enchanted D23 Crowd
62. ↑ 'New Poster For The Little Mermaid Has Halle Bailey's Ariel Pondering The World Above'
63. ↑ Words can’t describe how immensely honored I feel to play the mermaid of my dreams, Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Come under the sea with me, in theaters May 26, 2023
64. ↑ 'Little Mermaid' director says his new take on Ariel spotlights a 'modern woman'
65. ↑ [https://wdwnt.com/2023/01/disney-world-hiring-live-action-ariel-look-alike/ Walt Disney World Hiring Ariel Character Look-Alikes to Portray Halle Bailey's Live Action 'The Little Mermaid' - DW News Today
66. ↑ Disney Parks Seeking to Replace Classic Ariel Meet and Greets With Live-Action Version
67. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Oscar Trailer Offers Best Look Yet At Melissa McCarthy's Cackling Ursula
68. ↑ Disney paid ABC $10M to show 'The Little Mermaid' teaser at 2023 Oscars
69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 The racist backlash to The Little Mermaid and Lord of The Rings is exhausting and extremely predictable
70. ↑ 70.0 70.1 Disney's Choice to Cast Halle Bailey in 'Little Mermaid' Is Mostly Well-Received, Poll Finds
71. ↑ Analysis: A definitive rebuttal to every racist 'Little Mermaid' argument
72. ↑ Racists Are Worried About the Historical Accuracy of Mermaids
73. ↑ Trevor Noah Rips Racist 'Little Mermaid' Criticism: "We're Doing This Again?"
74. ↑ The Little Mermaid and the big casting controversy
75. ↑ Twitter Bans Weirdo Who Shared Video Whitewashing Halle Bailey's Ariel
76. ↑ Lin-Manuel Miranda Blasts Racist 'Little Mermaid' Trolls: 'Halle Bailey Is Perfect for the Part'
77. ↑ We are all losers in the 'woke v racist' Little Mermaid culture war
78. ↑ Halle Bailey, Auli'i Cravalho respond to #NotMyAriel backlash from "The Little Mermaid" casting
79. ↑ Original Ariel Jodi Benson: Halle Bailey 'absolutely amazing' in 'The Little Mermaid'
80. ↑ Why Brandy 'Was a Little Hesitant' to Release Her New Album 'B7'
81. ↑ 'Princess and the Frog' Actress Praises Halle Bailey, Yara Shahidi on Disney Roles
82. ↑ West Side Story's Rachel Zegler Offers Support for Halle Bailey's Little Mermaid
83. ↑ 2,200 adults were polled with a margin of error plus or minus 2 percentage points.
84. ↑ 84.0 84.1 National Tracking Poll #190710 July 08-10, 2019 Crosstabulation Result
85. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Teaser With Halle Bailey Scores Over 104 Million Views (EXCLUSIVE)
86. ↑ Videos of young Black girls reacting to 'Little Mermaid' trailer go viral
87. ↑ 'She's brown like me!': Girls react to seeing a Black Ariel
88. ↑ The backlash against Halle Bailey's Little Mermaid is as silly as it is predictable
89. ↑ 2023's Most Anticipated Movies: 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3' Leads Fandango Survey
90. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Trailer Earns Most Disney Live-Action Views Since 'The Lion King' (Exclusive)
91. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Trailer Earns Most Disney Live-Action Views Since 'The Lion King' (Exclusive)
92. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid': Inside Rob Marshall's Private Screening With Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski (EXCLUSIVE)
93. ↑ The Little Mermaid director on whether there'll be any live-action sequels