Disney’s upcoming live-action movie adaptation of The Little Mermaid is into production and multiple set photos have emerged, revealing some key moments from the original animated film. Walt Disney Studios is not stopping anytime soon in adapting many of the studio’s beloved animated films. Over the years, they have brought new life to classic hits like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, and many more. One of Disney’s upcoming films is The Little Mermaid, based on the 1989 animated musical. Chloe x Halle singer and Grownish star Halle Bailey will be starring as Ariel, the titular heroine, as The Little Mermaid follows her adventures exploring the human world.
Due to the global pandemic, production on The Little Mermaid was delayed from its original production start date in Q1 of 2020. Production on the Disney live-action reboot did not begin until 2021. With Bailey as the lead, The Little Mermaid will also star Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as Ariel’s father King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as the villainous sea witch Ursula. Like most sci-fi and fantasy, set photos for The Little Mermaid have already surfaced online as they’re shooting on location.
Shooting began in Pinewood Studios in Iver, England, and The Little Mermaid has also been filming in Sardinia, Italy. The Italian island was likely chosen due to its seafront views to help capture the setting for some of the memorable moments from 1989’s animated The Little Mermaid. While an official release date has not been announced, set photos have been making the rounds online, involving a closer look at the actors in costume and more.
Ariel & Prince Eric’s First “Meeting”
One of The Little Mermaid’s essential scenes is when Ariel first sees Prince Eric after coming out of the ocean and climbing onto his ship. This took place during Prince Eric’s birthday, but the celebration was cut short when a storm hits the ship. They do not officially meet at first because the prince is knocked out, and Ariel must rescue him from drowning. Set photos show Bailey and Hauer-King together on the shore, a moment occurring shortly after the storm.
The set photos show The Little Mermaid’s Bailey and Hauer-King both wearing swimsuits, so they were likely taken when The Little Mermaid cast was rehearsing for that scene. However, Bailey was also spotted with red hair and wearing a mermaid tail. In the animated film, Ariel brought an unconscious Eric to the shoreline and she sings to him before he wakes up. Based on the images, even if it was just rehearsal, it looks like Ariel singing to Eric after rescuing him will be honored.
Ariel Walking For The First Time Post-Transformation
While Melissa McCarthy’s villainous sea witch has so far not been spotted in any set photos for The Little Mermaid, new images have highlighted the transformation that Ariel goes through thanks to Ursula. Ursula’s deal with Ariel to grant her legs meant she both had to give up her angelic voice, and she had only three days to win Eric’s heart. Unless Ariel could get Eric to kiss her, she would be transformed back into a mermaid, and she would officially belong to Ursula. After agreeing to this deal, Ariel was taken to land and started learning how to walk with human legs for the first time.
Through a batch of set photos, Bailey was seen walking around in her self-made burlap outfit. This hearkens back to the scene in The Little Mermaid where Ariel had to improvise after becoming a human and dress in whatever she could find. The main difference between the animated and live-action looks is that Bailey’s burlap is brown, whereas the Disney princess wrapped herself in white burlap in the cartoon. In addition to that, the set images focused on Ariel hiding inside a carriage, supposedly getting a ride into town. That is a slight departure from the animated film where Eric finds a voiceless Ariel on the shoreline.
Prince Eric Looking For His Savior
While early The Little Mermaid set images showed Bailey and Hauer-King rehearsing the iconic scene on the shoreline, there are now also photos of Eric in full costume after Ariel’s rescue. The cartoon version saw Ariel singing to knocked-out Eric before he started woke up. In this moment, Ariel heard Eric’s people and their dog were approaching, Ariel had to jump back into the ocean so she wouldn’t be spotted. Even though Bailey couldn’t be seen in these specific set photos, Hauer-King’s Eric is joined by several other cast members. Eric is wearing ripped clothes and constantly looking around, so this moment could occur right after he woke up and Ariel had jumped back into the water.
The photos not only show Eric standing in the ocean looking around for his savior, they also show Noma Dumezweni in full costume getting into the water with him. While Dumezweni has been reported to be playing an original character in The Little Mermaid, it looks like she could be playing a queen, which could make her Eric’s mother. The images also reveal the first look at Jude Akuwudike as Grimsby, Eric’s caretaker, who finds him on the shoreline in the animated Little Mermaid movie. Another in the photos include Emily Coates, whose character is yet to be revealed. Based on her costume, Coates could be playing one of the housekeepers from the 1989 animated counterpart.
Coates and two other actors looked to be observing Eric and Dumezweni’s characters in the water. The unknown male actor who is seen in the photos is also wearing royal attire, perhaps alluding to him being someone that Eric knows, hence why he is there to see Hauer-King’s prince in the ocean. As production is continuing, Walt Disney Studios will hopefully release a teaser trailer for The Little Mermaid at some point in 2021.
