Disney's The Little Mermaid is the newest in line of Disney live-action remakes, and is very different from its animated counterpart. The Little Mermaid re-imagines the original 1989 animated film with several modern twists. The Little Mermaid incorporates some of today's sensibilities into these timeless characters. With Halle Bailey in the titular role and Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda ing the team to write some new songs for the film with The Little Mermaid's original composer Alan Menken, the hype for The Little Mermaid remake has been well deserved.
Even with the hype from Disney fans, there was some backlash regarding some of the movie's changes, such as casting a woman of color as Ariel, since she does not have pale skin and bright red hair like the animated mermaid. Others have criticized the realistic design of Flounder and Scuttle, as well as the dark color palette of the trailer. Ultimately, however, the changes made to The Little Mermaid serve the story being told, which doesn't differ drastically from Disney's 1989 animated story.
20 The Movie Opens With A Quote Honoring Hans Christian Andersen
The original story of The Little Mermaid was written by Hans Christian Andersen and the tale is much more tragic than the one that Disney tells in its animated movie. Despite the two being drastically different, The Little Mermaid live-action remake honors Andersen by placing a quote from his original story at the movie’s opening:
“But a mermaid has no tears… therefore she suffers so much more.”
The quote highlights one of the themes of the movie, the differences between mermaids and humans. Mermaids are seen as something “other,” a creature that doesn’t have the same feelings as human beings. Likewise, the mermaids initially see the humans as “other,” violent beings who would come after them if given the chance. By seeing one another as something outside the norm, both groups of people lack connection. That’s where Ariel and Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) are different in the movie because the two are comionate and see the good in both humans and mermaids, bringing them together.
19 Scuttle, Sebastian, and Flounder Have Design Changes
In the original animated film, Scuttle is a seagull who assists Ariel in finding items for her collection. He gives her the wrong information about the items, but his heart is in the right place. However, for The Little Mermaid remake, Scuttle is a female northern gannet (voiced by Awkwafina), which is a large white seabird. Changing the gender of the character as well as the species may seem strange, but the creators wanted to feature a bird who could be in underwater scenes. While a seagull is an iconic beach bird, for practical reasons, it makes much more sense for Scuttle to be a seabird.
Flounder (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) and Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) also undergo design changes in the new movie. Flounder looks like a more realistic fish instead of a cartoon fish in keeping with the design of all the underwater creatures. Sebastian is modeled after a tropical ghost crab. While that crab doesn't survive in the water in reality, the design makes sense for the film since it allows for a more expressive face than other crabs would have.
18 A Two-Hour Runtime Means The Little Mermaid Is More Detailed
1989's The Little Mermaid's runtime is an hour and 23 minutes, which is notably shorter than The Little Mermaid remake's runtime of 2 hours and 15 minutes. While this isn't unique to this particular live-action adaptation - Beauty & The Beast was 2 hours and 19 minutes - it does leave more time to develop other characters. While an hour and 23 minutes is a good running time for children's movies, extra time certainly allows for extra character development and expansion of moments that otherwise could need to be cut.
Since the other live-action remakes' running times haven't deterred any fans from enjoying it thus far, The Little Mermaid was also free to extend the running time of the original. Additionally, there also needs to be room for the three brand-new songs. Those extra minutes allow Ariel and Eric to spend more time getting to know one another, for Eric's mother to be highlighted in the movie, and for new characters to help flesh out the personalities of the characters in the original movie.
17 Ariel’s Voice Is Called A Siren Song
Music has been a large part of Disney’s animated movies since the very first one: Snow White And The Seven Dwarves. The music hasn’t, however, been part of the story in the animated movies in that the song is caused by a curse, or is, itself, magic. That’s not the case here. One of The Little Mermaid changes made is that the characters are very much aware of Ariel’s songs, not just her voice because she has the mermaid gift of “Siren Song.”
Ariel’s song is distinctive enough that the movie names it and has Eric searching for her voice specifically after she saves his life. It also appears to be her song that revives him after he nearly drowns in the storm early in the movie. A big deal is made out of Ariel giving the “gift” of her Siren Song to Eric by both Sebastian and her father, indicating that it isn’t something all that common among the merpeople either.
16 Eric Is Adopted (& His Mother Is Still Alive)
In 1989's The Little Mermaid, there isn't much known about Prince Eric. He is a Prince who loves the sea and adventure, but that's about the extent of his personality in the original. To make Eric and Ariel's romance feel natural, the filmmakers decided to include a backstory for Eric and feature his mother, in order to help build his character. Prince Eric's mother is a new character in the story, but she is important to understand Eric's longing for adventure. Like King Triton (Javier Bardem), she wants to do everything to keep her child safe, and Eric rebels against her wishes.
Noma Dumezweni plays Prince Eric's mother, Queen Selina. Dumezweni is known for her roles in Mary Poppins Returns as Miss Penny Farthing and Theodora Birch in The Watcher.
15 Ariel’s Dead Mother Plays A Bigger Part In The Plot
Disney is known for having only one parent, or even no parents, in its Princess movies. The original Disney animated version of The Little Mermaid only features Ariel’s father King Triton and never goes into detail about her mother. The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid changes this to make it clear that Ariel’s mother is dead.
In fact, the death of Ariel’s mother is a big reason Triton treats Ariel the way he does. He doesn’t want her going outside of her designated kingdom, and he definitely doesn’t want her going to the surface. His fear of something happening to Ariel is a result of her mother’s death. She was killed by a human, and though the audience doesn’t learn much more than that, it’s clear that her death motivates Triton’s decisions. He wants to keep the kingdom safe so that no one suffers the same fate as she did.
14 Prince Eric Gets His Own “I Want” Song
Disney Princess musicals nearly all feature the main character detailing their woes in an “I want” song. For Ariel, that song is the famous “Part Of Your World.” Eric doesn’t have an “I want” song in the original movie. He likes to sail, plays music, and has a dog, but that’s all the audience really gets to know of him in the animated movie.
In the 2023 The Little Mermaid changes are made to allow the audience to get to know Eric better. One of those changes is giving him his own “I want” song. His is “Wild Uncharted Waters.” The song makes it clear that he has the same curiosity and adventurous spirit that Ariel does. He also is just as interested in her as she is in him. He wants her to come find him, and he wants to learn more about her the same way he longs to know more about the sea and the places that exist in those “uncharted waters.”
13 Ursula Is Triton’s Sister
The Little Mermaid also picks up a dropped bit of backstory from the original movie. While Ursula is simply the sea witch that Triton has banished in the original movie, 2023’s The Little Mermaid changes their relationship beyond them being enemies. They’re also family.
Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) is Triton’s sister in The Little Mermaid. The same bit of backstory has been used in books inspired by the animated movie and in the Broadway show. Ursula wants the power that Triton commands in his trident and Triton doesn’t trust his sister. Exactly what soured their relationship in the movie isn’t specified, nor is whether they had other siblings at one point, but what’s made clear is that Ursula wants her brother’s power, his crown, and she wants him to suffer just like she has.
12 There’s No Poor Unfortunate Soul In Ursula’s Lair
One of the most surprising The Little Mermaid changes is to Ursula’s lair. In the animated movie, and even in the children’s books and comics that were developed after, she had the titular “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from her song transformed into small aquatic creatures that she held prisoner in her lair. These creatures were merpeople who had gone back on their deals with her.
Instead of those creatures in her lair, there is evidence of her still being violent toward other merpeople outside of her lair. When Ariel first swims in, she finds the bones of merpeople at the entrance. Ursula also has several skulls in her lair, indicating that several merpeople have perished by her hand over the years. Even without the “poor unfortunate souls” trapped under spells in her lair, it’s still made very clear that Ursula is dangerous.
11 Ariel Can’t The Spell Or The Need To Kiss Eric
When Ariel makes her deal with Ursula, she trades her voice for legs. The of the spell that Ursula places on her are that she has three days to get Eric to kiss her, and for it to be true love, or she forfeits her legs and belongs to Ursula. In the original movie, Ariel re the spell and her deadline, and she has Sebastian around to help her.
Disney’s new live-action The Little Mermaid changes the effects of Ursula’s spell on her. While Ariel still trades her voice for legs, she doesn’t her deal with Ursula at all. Ariel doesn’t the deadline or the need to kiss Eric. Even when Sebastian tries to talk to her about it, Ariel’s mind goes completely blank. It adds a layer of conflict to the movie as Sebastian tries to help Ariel without her knowledge.
