Unveiling the Truth: The Little Mermaid's Live-Action Ratio
Discover the magic behind the scenes of The Little Mermaid 2023's filming of the iconic Under the Sea scene From intricate set designs to stunning special effects, this live-action adaptation is sure to leave viewers in awe
The Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea" sequence underwent a major transformation in the new live-action remake, which premiered on May 26 and features Halle Bailey as Ariel. The film includes both classic musical numbers from the original, such as "Part Of Your World," "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl," and "Poor Unfortunate Souls," as well as new songs co-written by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Recently, Michael Cook shared a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the "Under the Sea" sequence on Twitter, revealing Bailey sitting atop a greenscreen-suited person who simulates her movement through the ocean, along with a small figurine of Sebastian the crab and other crawling figures. The post has since sparked a humorous response on social media.
How Much of The Little Mermaid is Live-Action?
Although commonly referred to as "live-action remakes," not all of Disney's reboots fit this description. Take, for example, 2019's The Lion King, which is a fully computer-generated animated movie despite its photorealistic appearance. Similarly, The Jungle Book from 2016 also relied heavily on CGI to create the environments surrounding Neel Sethi's character, Mowgli.
In The Little Mermaid remake, much of Ariel's underwater world and her own body are computer-generated. However, once she ventures onto land and interacts with Prince Eric, the shots become largely live-action with real humans and costumes. The use of computers is still present in the background production design, but the transformation from behind-the-scenes to the final product offers an interesting glimpse into how much of what we see onscreen is real.
