When you think of Disney’s live-action remakes based on the back catalogue of animated classics, ‘crazy’ is hardly the first word that comes to find. The majority of them are perfectly acceptable and very safe retreads that offer nothing new or original to a story that everybody’s already more than familiar with.
A couple of subplots are typically added to pad out the running time to a more palatable and feature film-friendly length, but almost everything remains the same, from the story and characters right down to the dialogue and songs, which are often lifted verbatim from their animated counterparts.
Even Cruella hit plenty of familiar beats despite being a prequel origin story, so it’s intriguing to hear The Little Mermaid star Daveed Diggs describe the musical fantasy film as the craziest thing he’s ever seen. While the actor is obviously sworn to secrecy on specifics, he did hint that the project could be much more than a simple facsimile of the classic 1989 original.
“It was quite an undertaking. I’m excited too, I haven’t seen anything. It’s not like Disney’s giving me private screenings, I’ve seen nothing. I’m super excited because some of the stuff we were doing when we were on the stage were some of the beautiful, like, craziest filmmaking I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait. And Halle’s a star. She’s really, really special.”
Disney veteran Rob Marshall is at the helm of The Little Mermaid, and while he’s got plenty of experience when it comes to effects-driven fare from the studio having directed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that none of those movies are particularly remarkable in any way.
As always, though, there’s a solid ensemble in place that sees Halle Bailey as the title heroine with support coming from Diggs, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina and others, so The Little Mermaid definitely has the potential to stand out from the pack.
