Disney's Live Action Little Mermaid New Songs Include Prince Eric Solo Last updated on March 23, 2020 by Cooper Smith

Disney's animated classic, The Little Mermaid, is being remade into a live action movie, set to start production in a few months. And news broke yesterday about fresh, new songs that will be included in the 2021 version. Read on for more info!

The Little Mermaid (2021)

Although the release date for The Little Mermaid has not been confirmed yet, there are basically two options. The May 28, 2021 release date has been taken by Cruella, so expect to see live action Ariel on the big screen in either March or October 2021. Halle Bailey (Let it Shine) is set to play the famous mermaid, which caused Disney to take some backlash due to her race, whether it was warranted or not. Other actors who will star in the movie include Melissa McCarthy (Ghostbusters, Spy) as Ursula, and Jacob Tremblay (Room, Good Boys) as Flounder. The rest of the cast includes Awkafina, Idris Elba, and Keith Powers. Production was originally supposed to start April 2020, but due to COVID-19, it is going to be pushed back for multiple weeks. The coronavirus is suspending many filming TV shows and films, and The Little Mermaid is not immune to that.

The Little Mermaid New Songs

TheDisInsider.com has reported Menken explained that not only was he done recording the film's songs (along with Lin-Manuel Miranda), but he also said there were going to be four new songs in the movie. One of these four apparently included a solo song for Prince Eric.

Prince Eric's Solo Song

Prince Eric is known to be a relatively simple character, and while the new adaptation might try to make him a little bit more complex, his song probably won't be complicated. If this remake stays close to the animated movie, story-wise, we can predict Prince Eric's solo will likely be about his confusion with Ariel. Remember, in the original 1989 version, she can't even speak to him.

The even likelier option is that it's just about how much he loves her. Giving the film's love interest a solo song the character didn't get in the animated original has happened before in Alan Menken's movies. In Beauty and the Beast (2017), the Beast got a song "Evermore" to sing by himself. Similarly, in the live action Aladdin, Jasmine got a solo song, "Speechless". This seems to be a working strategy Disney has thought up. So whatever the subject of Prince Eric's song ends up being, we hope it turns out okay!

Ruining the Original?

Like all live action remakes Disney has done in the past, there is the fear of the new adaptation tainting people's image of the original film. We hope any of the new songs Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda have added are good. Based on both of their track records, we think they'll at least be decent. Ever heard of Hamilton? Yeah. As for non-music components of the upcoming remake, that is still up in the air. All we're hoping for is that COVID-19 will die down soon enough it doesn't delay production forever.

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