Rob Marshall on turning The Little Mermaid into a total underwater musical: “It’s Never Been Done Before” – Exclusive Image

Sort of a live-action version of (sort of) Disney The little Mermaid it feels like a no-brainer, especially when most of the studio’s animated classics are being reimagined. But, of all the Disney Renaissance films, the story of Ariel and her quest to grow legs presents some of the greatest challenges. It’s not just that the original is legendary: it’s the idea of ​​making a fish-centric musical fantasy film that takes place largely underwater, where half the characters are rendered sea creatures in VFX by an army of photorealistic entities.

For veteran director Rob Marshall, behind artists like Chicago, in the woods AND Mary Poppins Returns – the near impossibility was part of the appeal. “How do you start creating an underwater musical? » think, talk with Empire. “This has never been done before. This fear triggered something in me. And he anchored his responses to the rules of musical cinema. “We introduced underwater singing,” he explains. surreal world. We open the water film, and then we enter this other world, and you accept these things immediately. It is necessary to create the operating rules.

Part of the answer was also to base everything on something tangible, including the spectacular seabed of “Under The Sea,” which Marshall says is “the most complicated musical number I’ve ever done.” Although the creatures are CGI, the filmmakers used reference material choreographed by African-American modern dance troupe Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. “I wanted to create the whole musical number [with] their bodies,” Marshall says. “I thought about it [how] Walt Disney had worked with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo when he created it Fantasy – you have to work with the dancers to use the S shapes.” She begins to warm up the strip of hot crustaceans.

Light EmpireIs full The little Mermaid feature film, speaking with Rob Marshall, musical legends Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast members Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King and Daveed Diggs, in the next June 2023 issue, on sale Thursday, January 13. April. become a Empire member now to access the full issue on the day of release, or pre-order a hard copy here. The little Mermaid arrives in UK cinemas from 26 May.