FOR ROB MARSHALL, DIRECTING a live-action version of The Little Mermaid felt something like destiny. “In 1989, when [the animated movie] came out, it really was the return of the movie musical,” he tells SFX. “When I did [directorial debut] Chicago, I felt a deep connection with Mermaid, because they had kicked the door open for movie musicals, and we then pushed the door even further with a live-action musical. Audiences were ready to accept actors actually moving from scene into song. So when they came and asked me to do this, it felt like fate.”
The original Little Mermaid was, at the time, a bold move for Disney, the company putting its weight behind an untested female-led animated picture. The result kickstarted a decade-long period known as the Disney Renaissance, which saw Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin and all being produced. Of course, more recently, those three movies have all been remade in live-action, and now ’s making the jump. This one, however, is different.
