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Plans for a remake of 1989's The Little Mermaid were confirmed in May 2016. In December 2017, Disney announced Marshall was being courted to direct the film. Bailey, Hauer-King, McCarthy, Bardem, Diggs, Tremblay, Awkwafina, and the rest of the cast signed on between July to November 2019. Production was expected to begin in London between late March and early April 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming ultimately took place primarily at Pinewood Studios in England and on the island of Sardinia, Italy, from January to July 2021. Composer Alan Menken, who worked on the original film's soundtrack, returned to compose the score and write new songs alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, who serves as a producer with Platt, John DeLuca and Marshall. The film is dedicated to the late Howard Ashman, who co-produced and co-wrote the songs from the original film.
The Little Mermaid premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023, and was released in the United States on May 26. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast and the musical sequences but criticized the visual effects and character designs. The film has grossed $560 million worldwide against a total production budget of $250 million, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2023. Amongst Disney's live-action remakes, the film is the second-most-expensive and seventh-highest-grossing readaptation to date.
Plot
Ariel is a mermaid princess and the youngest daughter of King Triton, ruler of the merpeople of Atlantica. She is fascinated with the human world despite never having seen it, as Triton forbid all merfolk from going to the surface after Ariel's mother was killed by a human. Ariel collects human objects with the support of her best friend, Flounder, a sergeant major, and Scuttle, a Northern gannet.
Ariel misses the Coral Moon meeting that she was supposed to attend with her sisters, and is scolded by Triton. Afterward, she sees fireworks above the ocean and surfaces to see it up close. The fireworks come from the ship of Prince Eric, a prince of a nearby island kingdom. Ariel overhears Eric telling the kingdom's Prime Minister, Grimsby, about his wish to explore the unknown and help the people of his kingdom. A storm arrives and the ship crashes against the rocks, forcing all to go for the lifeboats. Ariel rescues Eric and brings him to shore, where she sings with her siren voice to help save his life. She flees before he can regain full consciousness. After Eric recovers, his adoptive mother Queen Selina forbids him from sailing again.
Ariel's absent-minded behavior is commented on by her sisters. Overhearing this, Triton questions his advisor Sebastian the crab, who tells him that she saved a human's life. Outraged, Triton travels to Ariel's grotto to confront her; when she refuses to swear to never go to the surface again, Triton destroys her collection of human objects. After Triton leaves, Ariel is approached by a pair of moray eels who show her an image of the sea witch Ursula, Triton's estranged younger sister and Ariel's aunt who was banished from Atlantica 15 years prior and she offers to help Ariel.
Ariel follows the eels to Ursula's lair, where the sea witch presents a deal: she will transform Ariel into a human for three days, during which Ariel must receive a "true love's kiss" from Eric to remain human permanently. If she fails, she will transform back into a mermaid and Ursula will claim her. To become human, Ariel must give up her tail, the ability to breathe underwater, and her siren voice, the last of which Ursula will keep in a nautilus shell. Ariel accepts the deal and is given human legs. She is taken to the surface by Flounder and Sebastian, and is rescued by a fisherman, who takes her to the island kingdom and to Eric's castle. Eric, who has been frantically searching for the woman who saved his life, rushes to meet Ariel when he hears of her arrival. Ariel is excited, but her lack of voice has Eric immediately turning away. Later that evening, Ariel explores the castle and finds Eric's collection of items he'd accumulated over his travels. Eric and Ariel spend time together poring over his collection.
The next day, Eric takes Ariel sightseeing around the kingdom. Sebastian, who has followed Ariel on land, realizes that Ursula has put a cheat in the spell that's causing Ariel to forget that she needs to kiss Eric. Along with Scuttle and Flounder, Sebastian takes it upon himself to get the pair to kiss. They are almost successful, but are thwarted by Ursula's eels. Ursula is enraged by the close call, and transforms herself into the guise of a beautiful young woman named Vanessa, and uses Ariel's siren voice to hypnotize Eric. Back at Atlantica, Triton had the kingdom search for Ariel. Once he ordered his remaining daughters to continue the search, he began to regret his actions towards Ariel and for not listening to her.
The next morning, Ariel and her friends discover that Eric will be announcing his engagement to Vanessa later that day. Scuttle discovers Vanessa's true identity and informs Ariel, who rushes to the engagement party and confronts Ursula to break the nautilus shell around her neck. Ariel's voice is restored to her and the enchantment on Eric is broken. But before they can kiss, the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Ursula reverts to her original form before grabbing Ariel and diving back into the ocean.
Ursula is confronted by Triton, who orders her to let Ariel go. However, Ursula reveals that the deal that she made with Ariel is unbreakable. Triton trades himself for Ariel and is turned to dust by Ursula's eels, much to Ariel's horror. Ursula claims Triton's trident, but before she can kill Ariel, Eric arrives and distracts her; in the melee, Ursula accidentally kills her eels. Enraged, Ursula uses the trident to grow to a monstrous size and summons a storm to threaten Ariel and Eric. As Eric distracts Ursula, Ariel pulls herself onto a surfaced ship and turns the helm at the right moment to impale Ursula with its splintered bowsprit. Once Ursula is killed, Triton comes back to life; he and Ariel recognize the other's sacrifice for them. Eric manages to return home, where Selina acknowledges that Eric and Ariel's love was real.
Triton eventually accepts that although Ariel has returned home as he wanted, she is unhappy without Eric. On Sebastian's advice, Triton transforms Ariel into a human permanently, and she reunites with Eric. The pair decide to travel together, with the blessing of both their parents and the support of people from both their worlds.
Cast
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Bottom row: Noma Dumezweni plays Queen Selina, while Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina voice Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle
- Halle Bailey as Ariel, a curious, adventurous, and headstrong mermaid princess and King Triton's youngest daughter who is fascinated with the human world. Bailey was announced to have been cast on July 3, 2019. In the early stages of the film's development, Lindsay Lohan expressed interest in playing the role. Zendaya was reported to have been offered the part in August 2018, but she herself eventually stated that this was "just a rumor". Bailey was the first to audition for the role after Rob Marshall saw her perform Donny Hathaway's 1972 single "Where Is the Love" at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. According to Marshall, hundreds of other girls also tried out for the part, but she "set the bar so high that nobody surpassed it."
- Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, an adventurer and free-spirited human prince whom Ariel falls in love with after saving him from drowning. Hauer-King was announced to have been cast on November 12, 2019. Hundreds of candidates auditioned for the role, including actors Asher Angel, Gavin Leatherwood, Christian Navarro,Jack Whitehall, and Cameron Cuffe, with the latter, along with Hauer-King, doing a screen test alongside Bailey. Harry Styles was in early negotiations to play the part, but ultimately turned it down in favor of doing a concert tour. Marshall later elaborated that Styles also refused because he wanted to do darker, non-musical roles. Hauer-King described his character as "restless and inquisitive about where he is in the world, like Ariel... He's quite isolated and sensitive."
- Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, a treacherous and conniving sea witch and King Triton's estranged sister, with whom Ariel makes a deal to become a human, which is secretly part of Ursula's plan to conquer Atlantica. McCarthy was announced to have been cast on June 28, 2019. She described her character as "so funny. There's wit, there's manipulation. She's a great broad and at the same time, I have to think about what armor does she put in? And I don't think her mental health is great." Lizzo also auditioned for the role.
- Jessica Alexander as Vanessa, Ursula's human alter ego, which she uses to sabotage her deal with Ariel. Alexander was announced to have been cast on March 1, 2021. She described her character as "a seductress, a temptress, the definition of a femme fatale and a sexy female villain." Kacey Musgraves was also considered for the role.
- Javier Bardem as King Triton, Ariel's strict and overprotective father and the ruler of Atlantica who is prejudiced against humans due to the death of his wife at the hands of one of them. Bardem was announced to have been cast on July 17, 2019. He described his character as "a little bit less grumpy than the original because we were intending to bring more conflict to his behavior, like his fear and insecurity as a father. Being scared of letting his last daughter leave home ends up translating into being angry or too controlling."
- Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, Eric's adoptive mother and the ruler of a Caribbean island kingdom. She is a new character for the film. Dumezweni was announced to have been cast on January 5, 2021. She described her character as a "loving queen and a mother queen and a parent and a land lover learning about herself through letting go of her children."
- Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, the prime minister of Selina's kingdom and Eric's loyal confidant who acts as a father figure to him.
- Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, a loyal crab and King Triton's majordomo who watches over Ariel. Diggs was announced to have been cast on October 8, 2019.
- Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, an anxious yet noble sergeant major who is Ariel's best friend. Tremblay was announced to have been cast on July 1, 2019.
- Awkwafina as Scuttle, a dimwitted northern gannet and a friend of Ariel's to whom she provides inaccurate descriptions of any human/surface world object Ariel finds. The character is portrayed as a female diving bird instead of a male seagull as in the original to feature the character in underwater scenes. Awkwafina was announced to have been cast on July 1, 2019.
Additionally, Martina Laird appears as Lashana, one of the maids in Eric's castle, who is based on Carlotta from the animated film; Emily Coates appears as Rosa, a young girl who works as a maid in Eric's castle; Christopher Fairbank and John Dagleish appear as Hawkins and Mulligan, two of Eric's shipmates; Jude Akuwudike appears as Joshua, a fisherman who discovers Ariel in her human form; and Russell Balogh and Adrian Christopher appear as two of King Triton's guards. Also appearing as the daughters of Triton and Ariel's sisters (renamed for the film) are Lorena Andrea as Perla, Simone Ashley as Indira, Karolina Conchet as Mala, Sienna King as Tamika, Kajsa Mohammar as Karina, and Nathalie Sorrell .Eric's Old English Sheepdog, Max, is portrayed by dogs Gary and Edna, with the latter being uncredited.
Flotsam and Jetsam, Ursula's green moray eel minions appear. Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel in the animated film, cameos as a market vendor who hands Ariel a fork during her tour of the kingdom.
