Little Mermaid Live!

Little Mermaid (1989) was really the start of the second period for Disney Animation.  It brought back Disney princesses, fairty tales, and re-energized it with contemporary music.  Little Mermaid Live is a production right after a slate of Dusney films based on classics; Dumbo, Aladdin, and Lion King.  Also, there were a number of live television musicals; Rent: Live! (Fox), The Sound of Music: Live! (NBC), and Grease: Live! (Fox).  They were very live performance based, but Little Mermaid Live! runs the animated film to where it feels like a theme park production.  This is released under the Wonderful World of Disney which presented television specials.  Of course, the animation has moments that may be essential to this retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.  The problem is that the humor and emotional moments are in cartoon form so the live performers sing the songs, but not play the characters.  Also, it is nice to hear the voices of Jodi Benson (Ariel), Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian), and Pat Carroll (Ursula).  Glenn Slater contributed additional lyrics.   

Jodi Benson introduces the production.  It shifts from the animation of the ship at sea.  We get Prince Eric with Graham Phillips singing, new with additional lyrics, first with “Fathoms Below”.  Philips was in the Broadway musical 13 (2008).  Prince Eric was so undeveloped that I like the role here.  The animation hybrid must be like the 2016 Hollywood Bowl performance, but it just doesn’t give the live actors a chance to perform the dramatic parts.  The stage is woven in circles with the audience taking part waving blue scarves to show waves.  It may be that Ariel’s song is heard so Auli’i could have been heard early.   This moves to the “Daughters of Triton” where the daughters have some singing parts while Amber Riley from Glee introduces them.  Then, an extended cartoon sequence.  We get Auli’i Cravalho in full costume, suspended above her lair.  Of course she filled the Disney princess role with Moana.  Her rendition of “Part of Your World” includes some high notes and some dancers in the dark like a musical box. Cravalho has great vocals, but again she doesn't get a chance to handle the dramatic part and the romance is in the cartoon.  

The reprise on the beach loses the animation where you could see Ariel has fallen deeply in love with Eric.  Then, of course we get Sebastian trying to cheer up Ariel with “Under the Sea”, complete with bubbles, puppets, aerialists, and Shaggy in shiny, red armor than anything like a shell or crab-like claws.  Shaggy gives some fun vocals in his style that started with “It Wasn’t Me” (2000).  The next scene has Ursula now in the form of Queen Latifah singing “Poor Unforunate Souls” with so much fun she almost steals the show!  Latifah is an actress and rap icon from her single “Ladies First” (1989).  Philips has his solo with “Her Voice.”  Long time Disney fan, John Stamos, is Chef Louis, singing and dancing “Les Poissons” with crabs!  More animation until we get to Shaggy Sebastian serenading Eric and Ariel with “Kiss the Girl.”  Auli’i gets a solo with “If Only” which she sadly sings in her room, it revolves so we can get Eric picking up the song on a bench by a stone wall.  This is two actors getting their moments.  The mute part of Ariel should be handled in the live action adaptation, an interior voice, some reflection where she can heard.  The cast appeared at the end to “Under the Sea” to take their bows.  Voyage of the Little Mermaid is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  It plays the animation, uses effects like lasers and also puppets, which is a live production at a theme park that is currently playing. I found the singing, just Ariel and Ursula, and the effects, Ariel shifts to mermaid to dress in the blink of an eye, all in 17 minutes! Little Mermaid Live! ran at 2 hour, 58 seconds.   

Three Dinglehoppers out of Five!   

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