Bit of a longer post this week, but if you know me, you know that The Little Mermaid has always been one of my absolute favorite Disney movies. Tiny Me was the target audience for its original release, and whatever the online discourse about it, I have continued to love it.
Is it a perfect movie? No, and I'd be the first to admit that. But I fear it has a chokehold on me that will never let up.
Luckily, there's always been a lot of Little Mermaid representation in the parks:
- at the Art of Animation hotel, the standard rooms have Little Mermaid theming
- you can meet Ariel at various character dining throughout the parks -- including Akershus in the Norway pavilion at Epcot, Cinderella Royal's Table in Magic Kingdom, and formerly at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk
- at Magic Kingdom, you can meet Ariel in her grotto and go 'under the sea' on the Journey of the Little Mermaid ride (also at Disneyland)
- and at Hollywood Studios you can meet 2023 Ariel at Walt Disney Presents and see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid musical experience
Opened in 1992 at MGM-Studios park, The Voyage of the Little Mermaid closed with the rest of Disney World in March of 2020 due to Covid. Over the next few years, there were reports of mold infestations and rumors that the show would be going away completely. Then, around the time of the live-action release in 2023, Disney announced that they were bringing back a refreshed version of the show -- and I have been counting down the days until I had a chance to go and see it.
Luckily, I had that opportunity this summer -- and I kid you not, I saw this show 3 times in one afternoon. Was it because this offered an air-conditioned respite from the Florida heat & humidity? Maybe.
But did I also love it? Yes.
The bones of the old show are there -- rearranged now to follow the plot of the animated film more accurately; the old show started with "Under The Sea" -- but Disney has done some really cool, innovative things with screens and technology to plus the show up.
Before I get into that, I wanted to first look at two key "script" changes that I saw in the show, changes which are subtle but significant to the story.
The first is a small -- literally a single word! -- change during the "Poor Unfortunate Souls" sequence.
In the movie (and the old show), Ursula reveals that if Ariel can share True Love's Kiss with Eric, she'll remain human permanently.
To her credit, Ariel pauses and muses softly, "If I become human, I'll never be with my father or sisters again..."
Ursula replies with the iconic line (one of many in this song, TBH), "That's right...but you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices innit?"
But there's a tiny change in the new stage show which makes such a difference: instead of saying "you'll have your man," Ursula says "you'll have your dream."
Again, it's just. one. word. But the implication here is one which many Little Mermaid defenders -- myself included! -- have been trying to draw attention to: Ariel's interest in the human world has always predated her interest in Eric. Always.
The beginning of the movie is literally Exhibit A: Ariel misses Sebastian's concert with her sisters because she's hunting for human treasures with Flounder. The iconic "Part of Your World" -- where Ariel sings about her desire to see and experience the human world -- takes place before she sees Eric for the first time. So Ursula's temptation to Ariel has always been about her dream to be a part of the human world -- of which Eric is a part, yes -- rather than just about a romance with a guy she's never talked to.
And this change reflects that in a small but powerful way.
The second is a change to the end, particularly to the relationship between Ariel and King Triton.
In the film, Triton's recognition that Ariel really loves Eric and he has to let her go, is told to Sebastian; Ariel and Triton share a look, as he magics her into a human, and while the lack of dialogue at the end of the film does have a powerful impact, I really like this verbal addition to the show.
In the show, Triton directly acknowledges Ariel, admitting that he should've listened to her and apologizes:"I'm sorry you had to lose your voice for me to hear you."
I cannot impress how important it is to show a Disney Parent apologizing to their child. (Is it the best apology? No -- Triton doesn't exactly acknowledge his role in the situation, but then, that's also cut from the 18-minute stage show.) Check that out below:
Okay, onto the creativity and innovation aspects of the show!
The biggest change is the use of screens & technology to help tell the story and move the show along without having to wait for actors to move off-stage, change costumes, etc. Here's what the stage looks like when you enter the theater:
We can see the benefit of this in the opening scene of the show: the old show opened with "Under the Sea," which makes sense, as it's the jazziest number of the movie. But it also occurs 30 minutes into a 90-minute film; a lot of the introductory content of the film was missing. Now, we actually start at the beginning, with Ariel missing the concert. We actually get to see Triton and his other 6 daughters -- in what looks like a possible hybrid of puppets and animation (and maybe even motion capture?):
I sat in the middle of the theater, so I can't speak to the view from closer to the stage, but the perspective from that angle is that Triton is somehow "swimming" onto the stage, and then exiting. It's animation on the screen, of course, but a nice illusion/trick. The same goes for Ariel's sisters: it appears that the seashells rise from the stage and then sink back down, but they're not actually there (reducing the logistics issues + risk of technical malfunctions.)
But then, Ariel herself actually does "swim" onto stage -- which adds a nice fluidity and element of movement to the show. In the past, they just moved the rock seat onto stage, with Ariel already seated.
We also get to see both of these at work in "Under The Sea": the screens are a big upgrade here, creating an overall more vibrant and playful atmosphere as well as a brighter one -- the old show relied on actors moving puppets and so the stage was much darker to more effectively "hide" them. Ariel is also a part of this performance this time -- she sings/interacts with Sebastian a bit and moves around the stage, a notable change from the old show, where she was absent.
And the bubbles at the end are still here. 😊 That was always one of my favorite parts of the old show.
When I was in the theater, I thought that some of the old puppets (with actors in black bodysuits behind them) were still there, specifically the two guys in the bottom right corner, but watching it back, I'm not so sure. (I believe they sold most of the original puppets too, so I'm not sure if these are the old ones, new puppets, or more motion-capture animation.)
The coolest part is absolutely, hands-down the climactic fight with Ursula:
Knowing how to write about the technical elements like the staging and use of lighting is not my forte, but I just thought the overall effects here were *chefs kiss.* The way Disney uses the lightning and the animation to change the perception of the speed of the scene -- the way it appears in slow motion to highlight the dramatic beats of the scene is just really, really cool. I would go back just to watch this part again and again.
Finally, I don't have any videos of this part, but the "Kiss The Girl" scene also gives -- no, shows -- Ariel's personality more. She has one -- has always had one -- but the changes allow the cast member playing Ariel to really play up different aspects of that personality.
I'll hopefully be back in Hollywood Studios in December, so I'll try to prioritize that.
Come back next week -- I'll look at Disney's other new show, this one Villains themed!
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