We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
No spoilers here.
The Little Mermaid is out now in cinemas, with Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King taking on the lead roles of mermaid Ariel and human Eric in the live action adaptation of the Disney animated classic.
The new movie follows Ariel’s adventures under the sea as she spends her time dreaming of a life above the ocean waves, and comes to the rescue of Prince Eric when his ship crashes into rocks during a terrible storm.
The movie is the latest of Disney’s re-imaginings of their own animated movies, that have included Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Lion King, Dumbo and Aladdin.
Like those movies that went before, we’re here to confirm that The Little Mermaid doesn’t have any credit scenes.
It does, however, feature some classic Disney songs, including Sebastian the crab’s big number, ‘Under the Sea’. In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Hamilton star Daveed Diggs – who voices Sebastian – teased how the new version of the song differs from the original 1989 rendition.
In the new movie, Ariel joins in with Sebastian, and Diggs explained that this came about because Halle Bailey was in the studio the day he recorded it, and composer Alan Menken asked her to go into the recording booth and improvise.
“Alan was like, ‘Why don’t you just, you know, just go in and improvise’. And I was like, ‘You traitor, don’t make me sing with her!’ Then immediately she came in and did like two trills and I was like, ‘Well, I’m done, we can stop now, there’s no reason for me to record any more’.”
As well as updating Little Mermaid classics like ‘Part of Your World’, ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ and ‘Kiss the Girl’, composer Alan Menken collaborated with Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda on three new songs that are in the remake – Prince Eric’s love song ‘Wild Uncharted Waters’, fun rap/pop song ‘The Scuttlebutt’, featuring Awkwafina (as gannet Scuttle) and Daveed Diggs, and a new song for Ariel, ‘For The First Time’.
Miranda has admitted that working on the movie with Menken was a dream come true.
“Alan is the reason I’m in this business,” he told Collider. “I’m here because the [1989] Little Mermaid blew my mind.”
“So much of my work on The Little Mermaid was that wish fulfilment. I didn’t write any new songs for Sebastian the crab, because I love his songs so much. I was like, ‘I can’t. Nope, not me. I can’t do it’. I did get to write for some of the other characters in that movie. Every song you love in The Little Mermaid is still in The Little Mermaid, we just found some new moments to musicalise.”
The Little Mermaid is in cinemas now.
Little Mermaid LEGO - Royal Clamshell (LEGO 43225)
The Little Mermaid Story Book (LEGO 43213)
The Little Mermaid - Ariel deluxe mermaid doll
Little Mermaid LEGO - Ariel's Treasure Chest (LEGO 43229)
Little Mermaid Ariel, King Triton & Ursula doll trio
Jo Berry
Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
The Little Mermaid
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
