New Details Regarding ABC's THE LITTLE MERMAID LIVE Which Will Incorporate The Animated Film
We recently learned that ABC was reviving The Wonderful World of Disney Presents: The Little Mermaid Live and now we have some additional details thanks to director and executive producer Hamish Hamilton.
According to Hamilton, The Little Mermaid Live will feature a broadcast of the animated film, but when it comes time for a musical number, we’ll cut over to the theater with the live cast performing the songs.
“We’re celebrating this incredible animated feature, and we’re gonna do it on the Disney lot. We’re going to do it live to air in front of a live audience in a room that we’ve created.”
In addition, there will be key moments such as Ariel on the rock that are recreated with the new actors.
“So how we are actually getting between the feature and our world, so just imagine that that’s a live fish and a live sailor on our stage. We are going to recreate Ariel’s cave around her in the room and reveal it in a clever and wonderful way.
So there will be visual signatures all the way through that will reinforce the original feature. We may or may not have beautiful jellyfish hanging from the ceiling. We may or may not have beautiful schools of fish running through the scene [via] puppeteers.”
Also, there will be some additions made to the musical score and a couple of the Broadway songs will be used as well. I just hope that Scuttle’s song “Positoovity” is not included, but it probably will be.
“There are two or three songs from the Broadway musical. We are not creating any new songs or any new characters or any new environments. We are celebrating the animated feature, but we are also celebrating the great world of The Little Mermaid.”
The costumes for the live performers were not revealed, but it sounds like they will not be very extravagant.
“I would rather not give that away. What I would say is that we’re not going to take too much of a departure from the original. We’re not people aren’t going to be out there in space costumes. If you interpret that as you will.”
If you’re wanting to see the show live, chances are you’ll have to be living on the east coast as it sounds like the show will only be done live once.
“Hopefully, we are only going to do it once. We’ll do it once, and I think there are 10, maybe 11 live musical moments or numbers within. It’s still fluctuating a little bit, but I think it’s 10 or 11.”
Finally, Hamilton has also said that the live performers will not be overdubbing over the animated film when that is being shown.
“So the animated feature, when it is the animated feature section, will play in its entirety. We are not asking these guys to re-voice the original feature, no.
What I would say is the entire movie is being scored again so there’s a continuity of musical flow.”
What do you think of these plans for The Little Mermaid Live? The performance is set to air on November 5.
Via: /Film