The live-action movie’s lyrics for “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” were modified, according to composer Alan Menken, who also wrote the music for the original Little Mermaid movie. The soundtrack for The Little Mermaid: Live will be modernized.
According to an interview with Vanity Fair that was published last week, composer Alan Menken, who created the music for the first Little Mermaid picture, claimed that he and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda changed parts of the songs’ lyrics for the live-action movie due to their derogatory content.
Because of the increased sensitivity surrounding the notion that would somehow force himself onto, portions of the lyrics in “Kiss the Girl” have been changed, according to Menken, 73. The author said, “We have some adjustments in ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ regarding lines that can inadvertently give young females the impression that they shouldn’t speak up, even though Ursula is obviously coercing Ariel into giving up her voice.
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Although Ariel strikes a pact with the sea witch Ursula in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” to see the humans on dry land, Sebastian the crab encourages Eric to kiss the tiny mermaid in “Kiss the Girl,” where they are on a romantic boat ride. When the live-action project was initially revealed in 2016, Menken and Miranda were tapped to create additional music.
The music director described how 43-year-old Miranda joined the movie by announcing his admiration for Menken. Menken told Vanity Fair that Lin did numerous interviews focusing solely on that. “One of those interviews was heard or read by Sean Bailey, the studio’s head of film production.
Neither did he ask me. He simply went to Lin and requested him to help with the film. So, in this instance, I believe, I learned that I would be working with Lin. We had a wonderful time.” With reference to working with Miranda, he said: “He is quite wise. He has a deep appreciation for theater.
He has a broad range of extremely deep understanding. Hip-hop, rap, and other classic musical genres are all incorporated into his brilliant artistic choices. Even though Lin, the lyricist, and I are the composers, all those influences permeated the band when we were together.”
Menken recalled the first song they co-wrote as follows: “We talked about Rob Marshall’s preferences with the director. One was the track “Wild Unknown Seas” by Prince Eric. Then there was the song that Ariel sings when she has legs but no voice, in which she expresses her views about all the firsts she is observing.”
And he said, “For Scuttle and Sebastian, there was a line called “Scuttlebutt.” They hear reports that the prince has chosen to marry, so it’s this absurd [song] for them to attempt to figure out what’s going on. They believe it to be Ariel, but it is actually Ursula, disguised as Vanessa. All this delightful imagination, that’s what. I could die over Lin’s lyrics.”
Menken spoke to the magazine about whether the Broadway musical’s songs from The Little Mermaid will be adapted for the live-action film “The Broadway production had a song called “Her Voice.” Rob, however, was desperate for a brand-new tune to fit the current oceanic scene with its huge waves. She was the girl who saved life, thus she served as a representation of that.”
Disney discovered its Ariel in Halle Bailey in 2019. Bailey is best known as a member of the R&B duet Chloe x Halle and has also been on the Freeform series Grown-ish. The film’s official trailer, which debuted during the Oscars and included Bailey’s performance of “Part of Your World,” has now been released by the studio, along with a few other peeks of the set.
British actor Jonah Hauer-King will play Prince Eric, while Melissa McCarthy will play Ursula, in addition to Bailey’s portrayal of Ariel. The cast also features Noma Dumezweni in a new role, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Awkwafina as Scuttle, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Javier Bardem as King Triton.
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