Will New Songs From ‘The Little Mermaid’ Remake Be Enough to Charm Fans?

in Disney, Movies, Music

the little mermaid live action

Credit: Disney

In an Entertainment Weekly one-on-one, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken tease a few new songs that audiences will hear in the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid (2023). Will it be enough to charm the fans or annoy them even more?

Lin-Manuel Miranda Alan Menken
Credit: Disney

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When it comes to the live-action adaptations of Disney classics, the music is always a crucial element. Since the peak of their popularity with The Jungle Book (2016), the timeless songs from everyone’s childhood have found new renditions in the Disney remakes. Whether you love the new versions or not, it would be rather disappointing if your favorite song from the original didn’t make an appearance. The most notable movie to commit this crime was Mulan (2020), which featured zero of the songs from the animated film.

Since live-action versions tend to be longer and more fleshed out, Disney has taken the liberty of adding new songs to several of their remakes from time to time. While some of the new songs don’t become instant classics, there are a few fans do tend to enjoy, such as “How Does A Moment Last Forever” from Beauty and the Beast (2017) and “Speechless” from Aladdin (2019).

Speechless from Aladdin
Credit: Disney

For The Little Mermaid (2023), Disney brought two musical icons together to create four new songs for the retelling of Ariel’s story. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken team up for their first Disney collaboration. Miranda has already created some new Disney classics with his work on Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021), while Menken is a Disney legend, composing the music for The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and so many more.

Now the two musical geniuses discuss some of the songs audience members will discover for the first time. Ironically, “For The First Time” is the name of one of those songs and will be a new song for Ariel. Miranda and Menken wanted a song for the mermaid-turned-human to sing when she discovers what the world outside of the ocean is like. It will be interesting to experience Ariel singing above the sea since that was not what she did in the cartoon; she was voiceless after all.

The Littler Mermaid images
Credit: Disney

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A trend that Disney has been doing with their live-action movies is giving characters who didn’t have songs in the original a chance to express their emotions through music. Prince Eric will also be getting a song, a ballad Menken called “very much in the Ashman-Menken Wheelhouse.” Menken, of course, referring to his old songwriting partner and late Disney legend, Howard Ashman, who wrote the original songs for the animated version.

Miranda and Menken also touched on the Hamilton-esque rap, which will be performed by Scuttle, everyone’s favorite seabird. That will also be an exciting experience since Awkwafina used to consider herself a rapper as well.

awkwafina as scuttle
Credit: Disney

Audiences can hear all the new songs, and the revised versions of the originals, when The Little Mermaid swims into theaters on May 26, 2023.

Are you a fan of the new songs that Disney has added to the live-action remakes? Let us know in the comments.

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