Ragesh Dipu
Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina have joined Disney’s live-action adaptation of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ reports Variety. Tremblay will lend his voice to Flounder the fish, Ariel’s best friend, while Awkwafina will voice Scuttle, a seagull Ariel meets during her journey on land. Flounder and Scuttle were voiced by Jason Marin and Buddy Hackett respectively in 1989 animated musical of the same name.
Described as a tribute to the original animated classic, the upcoming film will feature original tracks composed by Alan Menken for the first movie along with new tunes and lyrics from Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The movie will be directed by Rob Marshall, best known for ‘Mary Poppins Returns,’ from a screenplay adapted by David Magee. Jane Goldman developed the first draft of the adapted screenplay. Miranda produces the project along with Marc Platt, Marshall and John DeLuca. The movie also marks Miranda’s second collaboration with Disney after the 2016 flick ‘Moana.’
Melissa McCarthy is reportedly in talks to play the iconic Disney villain Ursula the sea witch in the movie. The plot follows a teen mermaid named Ariel who loves a beautiful human Prince and wishes to live with him on land. She approaches the sea witch Ursula to grant her the wish. But the villainous witch demands the mermaid’s seductive voice in return for the boon.
Ariel makes a deal with the witch according to which she trades her voice for legs. The deal also holds the condition that if Ariel manages to make Prince Erik fall in love with her in three days, she can keep both her voice and legs. If she fails, she will be trapped inside sea kelp forever. The original movie was a blockbuster in 1989 grossing $84.5M globally.
Awkwafina’s upcoming movies include Sony’s Jumanji sequel, ‘Jumanji: the Next Level’ and ‘The Farewell’ from Lulu Wang. The rapper also lends her voice to a character in Netflix’s upcoming series, ‘Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.’
Tremblay emerged into prominence with Lionsgate’s hit ‘Wonder’ in which he played the central character alongside Julia Roberts. The young actor’s upcoming movies include the sequel to the horror classic ‘The Shining,’ titled ‘Doctor Sleep’ from Warner Bros.
‘The Little Mermaid’ reboot is scheduled to kick start production in April 2020. According to reports, the major filming locations are the Cayman Islands, South Africa, as well as Maro, La Cala, Torre del Mar, Almayate, Chilches, Benajarafe, and Torrox.
Cover Image Courtesy: Warner Bros. (Crazy Rich Asians).
