Twenty seven years ago, Disney's "The Little Mermaid" swam and sang its way into the hearts of children and families around the world. Now, this timeless classic is making its way to the big screen once again as a live action film. However, it may not be the story audiences so fondly remember.
Universal studios, partnering with Working Title, recently announced that they are in the early stages of reviving "The Little Mermaid" as a live action feature. Directed by Rebecca Thomas, screenplay by Richard Curtis, and starring Chloe Grace Moretz as The Little Mermaid, this film revival announcement got fans buzzing with excitement. With the overwhelming success of the latest Disney revivals including "Cinderella," "Maleficent," "The Jungle Book," "Alice and Wonderland" and upcoming "Beauty and the Beast" as well as "Tarzan," it was only a matter of time before a live action Little Mermaid breached the surface.
The 1989 animated adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" was the start of Disney's Golden Age in animation and ushered in a renaissance that brought us "The Lion King," "Aladdin," "Beauty and the Beast," "Mulan," "Hercules" and "Tarzan." Disney's "The Little Mermaid" told the story of a mermaid and prince who fall in love and live happily ever after, despite coming from two completely different worlds: the land and the sea.
TLM was the stepping stone to Disney's greatest successes and made audiences a part of a whole new world outside of their own. This new upcoming live action version of the story, however, may not have such a happy ending.
CinemaBlend reported that Universal and Working title have chosen to tell the story of The Little Mermaid from the pages of the original tale rather than the musical Disney adaptation. The story of "The Little Mermaid" was first written by Hans Christian Anderson in 1836.
The plot-line is very similar: a young mermaid falls in love with a human prince and makes a deal with the sea-witch to become human and win the prince's heart. The ending, however, is vastly different. The price falls in love with a human princess and marries her. The little mermaid is heartbroken and her sisters give up their long hair to the sea-witch in exchange for a dagger. They tell their little sister to kill the prince with the dagger and the little mermaid will turn back into a mermaid and live out her days with her family. Instead, a love-sick little mermaid throws the dagger and herself into the ocean where she then becomes a "Daughter of the Air" where she will live out her days doing good deeds in the hopes of entering the gates of heaven.
This is no guarantee that the live action version will have the same Anderson ending for the little mermaid but in an interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Moretz, the star of the film, gave some insight into what audiences can expect.
"...a modern, revisionist tale is kind of what we're going after," said Moretz. "...and making it progressive for young women in this day and age.
In a more recent interview, where Moretz was asked whether or not the new film will carry the same dark themes as Anderson's tale, she says the team wants to take a more naturalistic view of the story, similar to the book. "We want to keep it more grounded and more realistic but also make it a real heroin story and a true story for young women to look at and be proud of," said Moretz. "That's my main goal."
Some fans are enthused by the idea of a more real and hard-hitting story of this classic fairy tale coming to life. A more mature tale matching the current adult age of the original Little Mermaid audiences seems fitting. On the other hand, there are some who are less enthused about the change.
Many fans, such as Jacob Hall writer for SlashFilm, believe that "The Little Mermaid" should be a tale kept in sacred Disney hands. "The Little Mermaid holds a special place in Disney history..." wrote Hall. "and the soundtrack is one of the absolute best in the company's entire animated canon. It would be foolish for any live action version not to be a musical."
Since Universal and Working Title's announcement to remake TLM, Disney's production chiefs have begun the process of considering producing their own live action version of the film following their movement of reviving their golden age animations. This would be a musical version true to the 1989 animated classic.
For fans who grew up with songs such as "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl," and, of course, "Part of Your World," it has been a long 27 year wait for this oceanic world to be brought to life, now at last possible with the latest CGI technology. The desire for film-makers to stay true to the Disney version is strong among long-time Disney fans. No matter how "unrealistic" the Disney story may have been, it's what most now grown-up Little Mermaid fans have known and cherished.
Without knowing what to fully expect from Universal's Hans Christian Anderson's live action version and its competition with a highly possible Disney production underway, The Little Mermaid is once again stirring the hearts of eager audiences who anxiously await for a young mermaid to be part of our world once again.
