The Wonderful World of Disney: The Little Mermaid Live! (ABC) - General Discussion

[bmoore4026]

So far Queen Latifah has been the best part.

[toomuchtv]

Queen latifah is my favorite so far

[In2You]

Queen Latifah is having fun with it

[bmoore4026]

Awww, Max go bye-bye

[In2You]

This Prince Eric song is awful!

[bmoore4026]

2 minutes ago, In2You said:

This Prince Eric song is awful!

It's the singer, I think.

[bmoore4026]

Sebastian is played by a woman now and not Shaggy?

I'll say this much - John Stamos has been the second best part of this whole thing.

[Bessiesue]

We are about 20 minutes behind, but agree with the switching from the cartoon, and live action.

[Vanderboom]

8 minutes ago, In2You said:

This Prince Eric song is awful!

Disney Exec: Let's flesh out this relatively boring character with an even more boring song! 

[toomuchtv]

Queen latifah, John stamos both seemed to have a lot of fun with it. Maybe because they’re older, more seasoned, more confident... or just like eff this I’ll do what I want

[Snow Apple]

How are they suppose to end this on time? Didn't they plot this thing out?

[In2You]

2 minutes ago, Vanderboom said:

Disney Exec: Let's flesh out this relatively boring character with an even more boring song! 

They can leave this song out  of the live action movie. Eric's job is to look pretty

[Bessiesue]

No live action King Triton.

[In2You]

Just now, Snow Apple said:

How are they suppose to end this on time? Didn't they plot this thing out?

Well I'm recording it for my aunt and My DVR warned me to add an extra 30 mins because it's likely to run over the scheduled time.

[Spartan Girl]

Queen Latifah was great. Is it too late to cast her in the live action movie.

I hate to admit it, but Stamos killed it. And I love the live Max. We needed more of him.

I agree that switching from the movie to the stage is weird. They should just do the whole thing on stage.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[bmoore4026]

Prince Eric looks like he's  struggling with that rowboat.  Isn't he supposed to be an expert super sailor or something?

Well, they took my third favorite song in the movie and made it shit.

Edited November 6, 2019 by bmoore4026

[Machiabelly]

I love this song. And Shaggy did well with it.

[Bessiesue]

We are up to Queen Latifa, I meant Ursula.  She is great.  

[Spartan Girl]

I like the puppet fish and frogs. And the "If Only" song from Broadway.

[In2You]

Everytime I see Shaggy I think of Thriller with this outfit

[Bessiesue]

34 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Queen Latifah was great. Is it too late to cast her in the live action movie.

I hate to admit it, but Stamos killed it. And I love the live Max. We needed more of him.

I agree that switching from the movie yo the stage is weird. They should just do the whole thing on stage.

 

Agreed with everything.  Stamos was great.

Eric looks terrified to be around Ariel in the rowboat.  

[In2You]

[bmoore4026]

They are going to have to put the pedal to the metal for this to get done in seven minutes.

[bref]

on a delay here in Mountain time. Latifah is awesome!

[bmoore4026]

Well, I feel like I wasted my time besides Queen Latifah and John Stamos.  Tomorrow, I watch the movie in the comfort of my room and make my thoughts known on a different forum here.

Edited November 6, 2019 by bmoore4026

[chitowngirl]

And we’re out on time!

[In2You]

I feel like they had more planned at the ending since they had the costumes but realized they were running out of time and scrapped the ending. Another channel would've just continued until it finished.

[Bessiesue]

34 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

So basically the "live action" equated to 10 minutes of the entire movie.

[Rickster]

6 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

No but if there's football on, everything else must bow down and work around their schedules. And if there's overtime? You won't see your program at all because they don't often reschedule. This one is live so why risk it?

But no pro football on ABC, and no football at all on ABC on Sunday

[chitowngirl]

19 minutes ago, In2You said:

I feel like they had more planned at the ending since they had the costumes but realized they were running out of time and scrapped the ending. Another channel would've just continued until it finished.

They probably had a more elaborate “final bow” number with more singing. And THEN the credits.

[meatball77]

Watched the second half with my finger on the ff button.  Much better that way.

The Queen and Uncle Jessie were great.  The rest was blah

[Unraveled]

This was really bad. Including the animated parts makes it look like they didn't have enough money to do the actual musical. There were elaborate costumes, and it looks like they spent a big part of the budget to get wires to get everyone to fly. Maybe they could have done the rolling thing instead so we can see more of the actors live.

I was looking forward to "If Only" (Broadway number), but it turned out to be a duet only. Broadway version has Sebastian and King Triton singing too.

Most of these live productions do have a problem with microphones and getting the sound balance right. I could barely hear Amber Riley and she is a belter. Graham Phillips had a nice enough voice, but the acting was a little weird and I could barely hear him sing. I like Shaggy's singing of the Sebastian songs, but I think he looked a little robotic in "Under the Sea."

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Did John Stamos mean to screw up during his 'Little Mermaid Live' performance?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

What Disney has posted on their youtube channel so far:

Jodi Benson intro

Fathoms Below

Part of Your World

Under the Sea

Poor Unfortunate Souls

Les Poissons

[Kiki777]

7 hours ago, In2You said:

Everytime I see Shaggy I think of Thriller with this outfit

I am now picturing him doing the Thriller dance with all the crustaceans.  It would have certainly made things interesting.

I’m ‘meh’ on most of it.  Queen Latifah was the bright spot for me, despite the mic issues.  She truly is a performer and was having fun with it.

Wait I lied.  Another bright spot was the doggie!  So cute - and I was amazed at his ability to keep it cool with all the screaming audience members and extras in big costumes.  Good boy!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, In2You said:

Everytime I see Shaggy I think of Thriller with this outfit

I was wondering how (and why) he stole Eddie Murphy's outfit from Delirious.

[Eolivet]

I believe that's what the kids would call a hot mess.

The direction was bizarre for television. "Kiss the Girl" looked like someone put a camera on a Disney boat ride. Or like the pylon cam during NFL games. At one point, I swear they panned across Sebastian singing before he drifted out of frame. There was no sense of perspective.

But it was interesting to see the movie again. One thing that stood out is that Disney animated movies were so much better when they hired true voice actors, not random celebrities they could promote in the TV ads (who don't really know how to voice act). Robin Williams should've been a one-time exception, not the beginning of a new rule.

[chitowngirl]

I think Queen Latifah and John Stamos worked best because they played to the back of the room, not to the cameras.

[alexa]

I saw bits and pieces and could only wonder, why did they waste their time with this nonsense?  It was pretty bad.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

One thing that stood out is that Disney animated movies were so much better when they hired true voice actors, not random celebrities they could promote in the TV ads (who don't really know how to voice act). Robin Williams should've been a one-time exception, not the beginning of a new rule.

ITA - the really stupid thing is that people were already going to see Disney animated movies in droves without the celebrity stunt casting so they really didn't need to resort to casting celebrities instead of voice actors.

[K-9]

Loved the energy and cheers of the audience during the performances! 

[Blue Plastic]

14 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

And are they editing parts of the movie?

I think so. I could swear Ariel had longer than 3 seconds to enjoy the Prince Eric statue in her cave.

I didn’t care for this. The original is still great but the live action parts were just shoehorned in and awkward. Live action Ariel was almost a non-presence. 

[Retired at last]

I thought this was one of the better live shows they have had (which, I know, isn't saying much). That said, I don't know who this Shaggy is, but he wasn't Sebastien, and I didn't think he could sing. The girl who played Ariel was fine (not great, but fine), Prince Eric was pretty sad (and why did they give him an extra song from the Broadway show???).

As soon as they announced that Queen Latifah was going to be Ursula, I immediately smiled and was looking forward to this. She was wonderful. But, if they could give the lifeless Eric a Broadway song, why the heck didn't they take "I want the good times back" and give it to the person they knew would be the best?

I actually kind of liked the format, but agree with all of the comments about the stupid audience. I get that they want it to have a live audience feel, but stop making all of these people think they are watching American Idol! Broadway shows do not need audience participation!!!

I was disappointed that they didn't show Ariel swimming and losing the mermaid tail and getting legs. They do this on Broadway, so they certainly can do this staging.

All in all, I didn't think it was as BAD as many of the reviews are stating. And I am not sure when the next version is supposed to be out, but I am not looking forward to Melissa McCarthy as Ursula (if that is actually the final cast) and wish the Queen could always be her!

John Stamos was fine, but that whole segment appeals to the little kids, so that is usually when I take a break or get the laundry, etc. Watching it on Broadway, it is lovely hearing the children having such a good time and laughing at the silliness.

[MaggieG]

I enjoyed this for the most part, Queen Latifah was awesome. I was wondering why the ending felt so rushed, did they run out of time? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

39 minutes ago, Retired at last said:

I don't know who this Shaggy is, but he wasn't Sebastien, and I didn't think he could sing.

Shaggy had some hits in the 90s & 00s, but I would call him a musical artist rather than a singer (he talks rather than sings). I am pretty sure the reason that they turned "If Only" from a quartet back into a duet is because Shaggy does not have the range to sing an actual song like that (well, and they couldn't be arsed to cast someone as King Triton).

These are the songs Shaggy is known for:

Oh Carolina (1993)

Boombastic (1995) - this song was used in several commercials and movies

Luv Me Luv Me (1998) - duet with Janet Jackson, used in How Stella Got Her Groove Back

It Wasn't Me (2000)

Angel (2000)

[Spartan Girl]

Poor Auil'i did the best she could.  But I really didn't like the wedding dress they put her in at the end, the skirt was too big and it made her look like a damn seashell.

If Disney does this again, they should just stick to the stage stuff and less movie.  If we wanted to watch the movie, we'd just dig out our Blu-Rays or stream it.

[Snow Apple]

The individual songs were fine but I felt nothing for the live actors because they didn't interact with each other. Cartoon Ariel and Eric talked to each other and got to know each other and saved each other so I can believe they fell in love. The live actors didn't have that. The didn't have cute and funny moments which is a disservice to them and the audience. It felt like I was watching two strangers who randomly popped up in the middle of someone else's story to sing for no reason.

Live Ariel had the fork. Why didn't they have the live actors act out the combing hair scene? Even that small scene would have gone a long way to make me feel something for the two of them.

[ancslove]

An interesting experiment, but didn’t really work.  And oddly enough, I think playing the animated movie probably did more to take the wind out of the sails of the upcoming Live Action than just doing the full stage show.

I don’t know why they didn’t do more speaking scenes live.  They had a Grimsby in Fathoms Below!  Why not keep him and do more of his scenes with Eric and Ariel? And actually cast Triton and show him onstage worrying about Ariel and regretting everything.  

I know dialogue has often been a weakness in these events, but then they should just keep choosing sung-through musicals like JCS.

[Retired at last]

Unfortunately, as has been the case  in all of these remakes, the producers go for "names" that the younger demographic have heard of, rather than cast people who may be unknown to them, but have talent. That is too bad and they will never be exposed to some of these skilled B'way performers (who can sing, dance, and act - often at the same time!). Even if some of these people might be able to sing, that doesn't mean they can act or emote or share a stage. Somewhat off topic, but the casting of Will Smith as the genie in Aladdin was a huge mistake and he was, by far, the weakest part of the movie. And I cringe just thinking of the CATS movie.

I understand the stunt casting to get views or sell tickets, but it is not doing the audience or the arts any favors. 

[ancslove]

The weird thing is that 90% of the time, they aren’t netting huge stars for these Live! events, anyway.  They’re usually grabbing one or two big names, and then filling the rest with smaller stars, who often are already contracted or otherwise involved with the network in question.  

Like this one, you’ve got Queen Latifah, and then the one-scene cameo of John Stamos.  And then lesser-known ABC/Disney actors Auli’i and Graham, plus Shaggy, who isn’t quite a mainstream household name.  

In the past, Vanessa Hudgens and Aaron Tveit and Julianne Hough and even Stephen Moyer had a level of name recognition and very dedicated but more niche fan groups, but none of them are A-list.