DVDizzy Forum

EXCLUSIVE– Execs at Disney are in the early stages of reviving Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid as a live action feature. Disney production chiefs recently heard a new take and are currently evaluating whether to proceed with the idea. Deadline understands that initial discussions have also taken place with some major producers, including some with a strong connection to the studio.

The Little Mermaid holds special significance for the Mouse House, which previously produced an animated version of the story in 1989. That pic, which followed the adventures of Ariel the singing mermaid, gave viewers classic songs such as Under The Sea and helped usher in a new golden age of animation at Disney. That streak would include Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. The teaser for Disney’s live action version of Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson, was viewed almost 92 million times in its first 24 hours alone this week, beating the previous record holder for most viewed teaser Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as the latest instalments of Marvel titles Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Age of Ultron, all of which are Disney movies.

That, along with the sensational performance of The Jungle Book– with a worldwide gross to date of $860 million- has buoyed Disney execs to look through their back catalogue for more live action adaptations.

Should Disney execs decide to move forward with their version, they’ll find strong competition from an existing live action project being led by Brit production powerhouse Working Title. That Little Mermaid project, set up at Universal, has Chloe Grace Moretz attached to star and highly-rated up-and-coming filmmaker Rebecca Thomas set to direct from a script by Richard Curtis.

Disney is moving forward expansively with its live action slate in general. In April it dated a number of films, including Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 27) and Beauty and the Beast (17 March 2017), as well as this summer’s Pete’s Dragon (August 12). The live action slate includes Cruella with Emma Stone set for the title role and Kelly Marcel writing; A Wrinkle in Time with Ava DuVernay attached to direct and Jennifer Lee writing; Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson set to star and John Requa and Glenn Ficarra writing; Dumbo with director Tim Burton and writer Ehren Kruger and a sequel to Mary Poppins with director Rob Marshall, starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Also in the pipelines are Maleficent 2 with Angelia Jolie set to return in the title role and Linda Woolverton writing; The Nutcracker and the Four Realms with director Lasse Hallstrom and writer Ashleigh Powell; The Jungle Book 2 with both director Jon Favreau and writer Justin Marks returning and a Tinker Bell project with Reese Witherspoon set to star and Victoria Strouse writing

Sotiris wrote:If they don't make it a musical, I'll be furious.

TheSequelOfDisney wrote:it better be a musical

disneyprincess11 wrote:But, I think they'll need a stronger singer for Ariel than Sarah Banellias.

Mooky wrote:

Sotiris wrote:If they don't make it a musical, I'll be furious.

TheSequelOfDisney wrote:it better be a musical

I keep seeing this kind of request (along with hopes that all of '90s DACs will be remade as live-action movies), and I'm just genuinely curious as to why you guys feel that way. The musical version already exists so what's the point in treading the same ground, especially since, a) the 1989 film is arguably the definitive version of the tale, b) it's pretty much given that a live-action version won't reach the quality and cultural impact of the animated one, and c) it kind of implies there was something wrong with the original one (and by extent, with hand-drawn animation) to warrant a full-on remake. To me, there's practically no difference between a live-action carbon copy of TLM '89 and Micheal Eisner's idea of remaking DACs in CGI.

Warm Regards wrote:I am calling it right now: Ursula and King Triton will be siblings in this version.

And wild fan theory: Ursula will secretly be infatuated with Prince Eric. Hence why she works extra hard to prevent Ariel from getting him.

WonderNeverOz wrote:I want them to make it a beautiful tragic story like hans christian andersen's original story, while still using alan menken's music. I want them to use the sad version of part of your world which they originally had.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=345q0kk51U0[/youtube]

Disney's Divinity wrote:

disneyprincess11 wrote:But, I think they'll need a stronger singer for Ariel than Sarah Banellias.

They’d never hire Sara Bareilles, but not being able to sing couldn’t be the reason. Besides, like every other Hollywood musical, they'll be going for stars they can autotune, not singers.

I'd love if they got Amanda Seyfried. She's gorgeous and has big eyes just like Ariel, and I thought her voice was decent in Mamma Mia! Sierra Boggess was nice in the musical (and JoAnna Garcia was great on Once Upon a Time), but I'm not sure I'd want either of them for the film, personally. Ultimately, I'm more concerned with who they'd get for Ursula.... I'll lose all interest if they get someone young, thin, and bland to play the character. I’m not sure who they could get for that. Bette Midler might be a little too old (unsure)? Kathy Bates is a great actor and she was in one of the Annie remakes, but she’s a little stiff to play Ursula to me. I can’t see her sashaying or shaking her body all over the screen. You know, since that took me to American Horror Story, I’d probably make an exception for someone who was thin/young(er) if they got Angela Bassett. She would knock this out of the park. I could possibly see Octavia Spencer. I'm not sure I'd want Queen Latifah, but she'd probably be okay... Triton though... Hmm? I could see Donald Sutherland pulling off the mix of powerful, threatening, and loving, but maybe I'd think of THG too much... I know this is totally WTF, but I could see Peter Dinklage playing Grimsby if that character was kept in this.

I'd love if they carried "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" or at least "One Step Closer" over from the musical.

EDIT: Thinking about who could play Ursula.