One of the most anticipated films for this 2023 is the live action remake de The little Mermaid directed by Rob Marshall, scheduled for May in theaters worldwide. The anticipation for this movie is huge for various reasons. The main one is really linked to the “original” work.
The little Mermaid it was in fact a fundamental Classic for the company. Released in 1989 started the so-called Disney Renaissancewith masterpieces such as The beauty and the Beast And The Lion King. A Disney that had risked being absorbed by other companies, after two decades of box office failures.
The first trailer for the live action remake dropped last September, receiving a very enthusiastic reception on the one hand and rather cold or lukewarm on the other. Not much else has been known about this film since then, until the last few days. Indeed on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk books that will accompany the feature film can be booked. And the covers of these volumes show us precisely the design that the main characters will have in the live action de The little Mermaid!
The design of Flounder, Sebastian and the daughters of Triton in the remake of “The Little Mermaid”
It is not new for Disney to anticipate its Classics and live action feature films with books for children and teenagers. With The little Mermaid he did not miss the tradition and on April 11th 4 books will be released to accompany the remake.
The news went rather quietly, but it shouldn’t be underestimated why the covers of these volumes reveal fundamental details in view of the film: such as the appearance of the protagonists. Ariel we already know her from the trailer and she will be played by Halle Bailey.
The first book titled The Little Mermaid: Make a Splash by Ashley Franklin and illustrated by Paul Kellam shows us right Sebastian And Flounder (links). Tritonw’s sympathetic conductor and sidekick shows a decidedly different look from the animated film, aiming for a realistic design. In short, it is a crab through and through.
Flounder, on the other hand, had already been glimpsed in the trailer but not as clearly as on the cover of Make a Splash. Her character design is very reminiscent of that of the Cleo fish from the live action of Pinocchio.
The second book of The little Mermaid important for its cover is The Little Mermaid: Guide to Merfolk by Eric Geron, which shows six girls around Ariel (links). Their identity is not stated in the Amazon volume description, but it is quite clear: they are almost certainly Ariel’s six sisters. This for two clues.
The first is their number: even in the 1989 Disney Classic there were 7 daughters of Triton (Ariel and her six sisters: Aquara, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adelia and Alana). The second clue is the content of Guide to Merfolk. In fact, the book will talk about the Seven Seas and the mermaid princesses who govern them. And indeed Ariel and her six sisters would represent the Seven Seas even in the Disney Classic.
The main novelty would seem to be the ethnic groups of the six sisters. If in the Disney Classic they all had Caucasian features, from the cover of Guide to Merfolk it appears that each of Triton’s seven daughters will be of a different ethnicity. Based again on the description of the volume, it could be a solution that symbolizes the belonging of each princess to one of the Seven Seas scattered around the globe.
We are obviously talking about illustrations, not images of the actual film. But it is natural that the final design of Flounder, Sebastian and Ariel’s (theoretical) sisters will be the one seen in these books. All that remains is to wait for May or the next trailer de The little Mermaid to find out more details of the live action
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