| The Little Mermaid Live! | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Musicalfantasy |
| Based on | |
| Directed by | Hamish Hamilton |
| Presented by | Jodi Benson |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Alan Menken |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations | Walt Disney Studios,Burbank, California |
| Editors | Bill DeRonde Guy Harding John Zimmer |
| Running time | 83 minutes |
| Production company | Done and Dusted |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | November 5, 2019 (2019-11-05) |
The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!, or simplyThe Little Mermaid Live! is a 2019musicaltelevision special created forABC, based on Disney's 1989 animated feature filmThe Little Mermaid. It is produced byDone and Dusted and directed byHamish Hamilton, who also executive produced alongside Katy Mullan, David Jammy, Raj Kapoor, Ian Stewart, and Richard Kraft, with the original voice of Ariel,Jodi Benson, introducing the special.
Auliʻi Cravalho stars asPrincess Ariel, alongsideQueen Latifah,Shaggy,John Stamos,Amber Riley andGraham Phillips. The hybrid format special was performed in front of a live audience on theDisney lot, where the film was projected on a giant projection surface and interwoven with live musical performances of songs from the film and theBroadway stage version.
The Little Mermaid Live! aired on ABC on November 5, 2019, as part ofThe Wonderful World of Disney brand, and according toNielsen Media Research, was watched by 9.01 million viewers, making it the highest-rated made-for-TV musical on any network sinceGrease Live! in January 2016. It was the highest-rated entertainment telecast since the series finale ofThe Big Bang Theory in May 2019. The special received mixed reviews, particularly for the limited amount of live portions.
Ariel's fish best friendFlounder and Ursula's pet eelsFlotsam and Jetsam appear as puppets, but they are silent.Guillermo Rodriguez fromJimmy Kimmel Live! has a cameo as "dat blowfish" during "Under the Sea".
All music composed byAlan Menken with lyrics byHoward Ashman, except where indicated.
"†" indicates lyrics by Ashman andGlenn Slater
"‡" indicates lyrics by Slater
In May 2017,ABC announced plans to broadcast a live adaptation of the 1989 musical filmThe Little Mermaid for the2017–18 season titledThe Wonderful World of Disney: The Little Mermaid Live. The title is a nod to ABC's long-runningThe Wonderful World of Disney brand used over the years for variousDisney specials. The two-hour special, produced byDone and Dusted and set to air on October 3, 2017, would intertwine the film with live musical performances via cutting-edge technology. It would be similar to the format of the live concerts at theHollywood Bowl, which combined a screening of the film with live accompaniment by guest musicians and celebrities. TheHollywood Bowl's production of The Little Mermaid Live-to-Film featuredLea Michele (as Ariel),Harvey Fierstein (as Ursula),Cheech Marin (as Chef Louis), Joshua Turchin (as Flounder),Peter Gallagher (as King Triton), Leo Gallo (as Prince Eric),Ken Page (as Sebastian) and composer Alan Menken.[5] The special aimed to appeal to the recent trend of live made-for-television productions of Broadway musicals on network television, such as those ofNBC.[6] In August 2017, it was announced that the special had been postponed due to budget issues.[7]
In August 2019, ABC announced that the project had been revived to mark the 30th anniversary of the film's original release, and would air on November 5, 2019. The special was a mix of live action, animation and puppetry, and feature performances of songs from the film and its 2007Broadway stage version. It was produced by Done and Dusted and directed byHamish Hamilton, who is also executive producing alongside Katy Mullan, David Jammy, Raj Kapoor, Ian Stewart, and Richard Kraft.[8]
In August 2019,Auliʻi Cravalho was cast asPrincess Ariel, along withQueen Latifah asUrsula andShaggy asSebastian.[1] The following month,John Stamos was announced as reprising his role of Chef Louis from the Hollywood Bowl production andGraham Phillips joining the cast asPrince Eric.[2] In October,Amber Riley was announced as an original character called Emcee, erroneously reported to be the host of the special.[3] In November 2019,Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel, announced that she would be making a special appearance in the live spectacular.[9]
At theTelevision Critics Association, Hamilton explained that the special will be half-live musical and half-original animated feature—an "interesting hybrid". He elaborated that a live audience would be invited to aLittle Mermaid "dive-in theater" built on theDisney lot inBurbank, California, where the film was projected on a giant projection surface and "when we get to one of [the] songs, essentially we transition beautifully and smoothly into a world of live performance."[10][11] In September 2019, Nick Florez and RJ Durell joined as choreographers.[2]
The Little Mermaid Live! aired in the United States on ABC on November 5, 2019.[8] In August 2019,ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke stated that in addition to marking the film's anniversary, the special would also be used as a pre-launch promotional push for the new streaming serviceDisney+, which would launch the following week. Burke said, "We wanted to launch it in November, in time to coincide with the launch of Disney+. It felt like a great promotional platform to speak to that."[11] The special was subsequently released for streaming on Disney+ on November 27.[12]
In the United States, the telecast received a 2.6/12 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 2.6 percent of all households, and 12 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 9.01 million viewers.[13] The special was the highest-rated made-for-TV musical on any network sinceGrease: Live in January 2016, and was the top-rated entertainment telecast since the series finale ofThe Big Bang Theory in May 2019.[14][15] It ranked fourth in the modern era of live televised musicals among adults 18–49, and seventh in terms of total viewers.[16]
The special received mixed reviews by both critics and social media. OnMetacritic, the special has received aweighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]Deadline's Dino-Ray Ramos called the production "enjoyable" and "could very well be a solid".[18]The Hollywood Reporter's Robyn Bahr criticized ABC's decision to just show the musical numbers live, but applauded the live performances, saying they were "so engaging it's a shame most of this show was spent replaying the animated film".[19] Kelly Lawler ofUSA Today also gave a negative review, saying the special was "a solid, full-throated effort by the actors and chorus members, but a spectacular failure of a live TV event that couldn't get past its own awkwardness."[20] Daniel D'Addario ofVariety, however, was more positive in his review, calling it "often-jittery" but "ultimately charming".[21] Noel Murray ofThe New York Times also gave the special a mixed review, essentially stating that while it worked in concept, and the performers did an admirable job, the execution was muddled.[22] Darren Franich ofEntertainment Weekly gave the special a "D" grade, stating it "felt like watching [the original film] with regular interruptions for commercials and karaoke."[23]
On social media, particular attention was given toward the "creepy-looking" Flounder puppet[24] and Shaggy's costume.[25] In the latter's case, the common complaint was that during "Les Poissons" the audience was wearing crab claws while Shaggy did not during "Under the Sea", even though he was supposed to be portraying a crab. In response to this, ABC senior vice president Robert Mills responded on Twitter that Shaggy did wear crab claws during the dress rehearsal, but they were removed because it was thought they "looked ridiculous", and at the end of the special, shared a photo of Shaggy with the crab claws on.[26]
Queen Latifah was widely praised for her performance,[27] even in reviews criticizing the overall production,[28] withThe Hollywood Reporter calling her performance "the best moment of the evening".[29]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program (Non-Prosthetic) | Bruce Grayson, Angela Moos, Julie Socash, Alison Gladieux, Valerie Hunt, Tym Buacharen, Jennifer Nigh and Robin Beauchesne | Nominated | [30] |
| Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special | Misty Buckley, Joe Celli and Jason Howard | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Special | Iqbal Hans, Rod Wardell, Emilie Scaminaci, Michael Miatico, Damien Tuffereau, Nathanial Havholm, Freddy Frederick, Salvatore Livia, Jofre Rosero, Easter Xua, David Plakos, Patrick Gleason, Keyan Safyari and David Eastwood | Nominated |
| Films |
|  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Television series |
| ||||||
| Characters | |||||||
| Music |
| ||||||
| Adaptations | |||||||
| Attractions | |||||||
| Video games |
| ||||||
| Related | |||||||
