For the past few years, Disney has been adamant about recreating the magic of their original classics in the form of live-action and hasn’t fully succeeded yet. And following their upcoming live-action adaptation of one of their most beloved movies, The Little Mermaid. It seems that the Halle Bailey-led movie might have some substantial changes in comparison with the original.
Apart from the controversial change in Sebastian Crab’s character design, two songs from the original movie have reportedly been tweaked to avoid controversies among modern audiences.
Disney changed two iconic songs in The Little Mermaid to avoid controversies
The practice of new adaptations of older works going through changes to sit well with the modern audience isn’t something new and has been pretty common in the industry. And in The Little Mermaid’s case, it seems that two songs from the 1989 version, Kiss the Girl and Poor Unfortunate Souls will comprise new lyrics. The reason behind the change was explained by Composer Alan Menken, as he explained that the old lyrics might not sit well with the modern audience. He said,
“There are some lyric changes in “Kiss the Girl” because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]. We have some revisions in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”
Although the movie will comprise the same plot as the original, the change in lyrics isn’t the only deviation that the Halle Bailey-led movie is going through and the lead actress has commended its new approach.
Halle Bailey is confident about her version of the character
Following Disney’s approach of retelling the iconic story in the medium of live-action, Halle Bailey hasn’t backed away from expressing her excitement for her version of the character. According to the actress, the movie will provide a new perspective on Ariel’s desire to leave the ocean and it will not be just exclusive to Prince Eric. She said,
“It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants… As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above.”
Following some of its deviations from the original movie, fans have mostly been divisive about the movie. But considering that Disney is trying to add some new flair to the live-action adaptation instead of blindly recreating the original movie, fans might get to experience a satisfying experience.
The Little Mermaid will hit theatres on 26 May 2023.
Source: Vanity Fair
