Disney's The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[Bill1978]

Just listened to Part of Your World. As expected, I loved the extra orchestra the song was given compared to the bare bones orchestra the original got. But as others have said, the word emphasis is all over the place. Not a fan of the way she sings words that were originally spoken and I will never ever enjoy the above-ove-ove-ove change at the end of the song. Not Halle's fault, she would have been directed to sing the song the way she did. I will give them credit that the tempo still feels the same unlike most of the songs in The Stockholm Syndrome. My other issue is that it is very clear Halle is just singing the song, compared to Jodi who was clearly acting the song.

[Daniel]

Here's the full song for convenience:

[ShyViolet]

My other issue is that it is very clear Halle is just singing the song, compared to Jodi who was clearly acting the song.

That’s a really good way of putting it. She just sings it so…formally. (Not sure if that’s the right word.). I mean her voice is beautiful, but there’s so little emotion compared to Jodie’s breathless, almost desperate dreaming of what she wants so much. I just don’t feel it with Halle.

[Farerb]

I agree with both of you. She's talented but she doesn't sing the song as if it's part of a story.

[Ben]

This is the difference of *experience*, between being a talented enough young singer, and being a professional Broadway actor who’s done this over and over before landing a defining role later in her career.

Also, "formally" is a pretty decent description: this is the difference between singing R'n'B tracks and musical theatre, where the syncopation is inherently different. Here she’s almost hitting Every. Single. Word. On. A. Beat, as opposed to feeling the song and acting it, so it comes off sounding quite mechanical instead of emotional. Again, singing vs acting with experience.

This also reveals quite a "hard" voice, because she hasn’t got someone like Ashman there telling her to smooth her vocal out. I would honestly have done take after take and waited until she was very tired and emotionally raw to try and get the right performance for this song specifically.

As it is, I’m reminded, sadly and badly, of Beauty And The Beast, but not in the way you'd think. See, there it was the other way around: an actress who could emote, but couldn’t really sing (there’s a difference, naturally, between "carrying a tune" and singing). In many differing ways, these are as similar as they are different, in the end result and reaction.

I'm also not feeling the fuller orchestra. It’s over stuffy, full of flourishes that don’t need to be there, and probably shouldn’t. Again, this isn’t some live big stage show rendition: this should be about the emotion, and the smaller, intimate way the original handled it was perfect for the smaller, intimate moment this is. This is Ariel's internal monologue; she is supposed to be singing to herself (with Flounder and Sebastian as bystanders), not belting out to the whole ocean Ethel Mermaid style (see what I did there?).

I was going to type that as "not BELTING OUT TO THE WHOLE OCEAN", but thought it made it sound like I was hammering the song. No, it was to emphasize the huge nature of this, from the big orchestra and big voice, which for me takes away from the whole point of this moment. After the Pan And Wendy letdown, definitely waiting for this on D+, probably around Christmastime.

[ShyViolet]

Also, I don’t understand why, when Ariel is singing about “that world”: why do we see so much of the ocean floor? I mean it’s lovely and all but I thought this was supposed to be about the surface! Just watched the Disney version again and so many shots are of Ariel literally reaching out to this beautiful mysterious glow right above her: so near, yet so far.

It’s the other song that celebrates the ocean floor, not this one!

[Ben]

Yes, exactly, like I mentioned, she’s signing to the whole ocean about how much she hates it down there, not just to herself about the longing for what she can’t attain above.

It’s almost like your sig, Vi: "you can’t just have your characters announce how they feel!"

[ShyViolet]

[Bill1978]

I'm also not feeling the fuller orchestra. It’s over stuffy, full of flourishes that don’t need to be there, and probably shouldn’t. Again, this isn’t some live big stage show rendition: this should be about the emotion, and the smaller, intimate way the original handled it was perfect for the smaller, intimate moment this is. This is Ariel's internal monologue; she is supposed to be singing to herself (with Flounder and Sebastian as bystanders), not belting out to the whole ocean Ethel Mermaid style (see what I did there?).

Having gone back and relistened to the song with your statement in mind Ben, I know totally agree with what you are saying in regard to the orchestra for this song and how it doesn't actually wrong for such introspective lyrics. But I'm a sucker for a lush orchestral arrangement of a song, so if there is an instrumental version of this rendition, I know I will adore it. But it definitely should be quieter for the actual movie.

And as much as I enjoy the original score, listening to it after say the original Beauty and The Beast or even Aladdin, the score does suffer from being performed by a smaller orchestra. So, I am keen to hear a larger orchestra tackle Menken's score, especially since the original is why later movies were given a larger orchestra to play their score. So, it's only fair the score gets its due (although one could argue it won enough awards that it has gotten its due already)


Someone made a nice little comparison of animated vs broadway vs tv special vs live action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTY6ij0FQP8

After viewing,my initial reaction is to rank them Animated, Tv Special, Broadway, Live Action. With the first two being infinitely superior and it really shows that Auli'i knows how to act a song. I give Sierra a slight pass with her vocals cause Broadway is always about the belting even in quiet moments.

[Farerb]

Saw another TV spot with Scuttle and Awkwafina is very annoying in it. She talks as if the movie takes place in 2023, they probably let her improvise again

[Daniel]

Very well done comparison. My ranking would mirror yours!

[Ben]

For me it’s the order they first debuted, though there’s not much between both "live" versions.

The animated is untouchable, natch. It’s the original that all others must copy and be compared to. Broadway has to fill a theatre and yet Boggess remembers that this is ultimately a small and introverted character moment. She pushes it, but doesn’t break the boundary. On the TV special, Cravalho still brings the emotion, even if it’s a *little* too big, but still hits all those moments. It’s possibly a little "better", but I’d rate them equally for different reasons, no denying the incredible talents there.

Lastly, in the new film, Bailey's — especially played close in comparison to the others — is actually, sadly, pretty terrible. The big “and" (she never actually finishes singing "stand"!), the rise on "above" (which the music itself highlights and supports much more nicely in the stage version), and melisma on "be" make the song more about Bailey and her singing of it, rather than the character and how she, as that character, is feeling. I don’t want to slam it, but just for doing these things to be "different", it is an epic fail.

[Farerb]

Are there non English Ariels that you love?

[Daniel]

A look at the vinyl:




Full lyrics for "Kiss the Girl". And for one of the new ones, "The Scuttlebutt". Sounds awful.

[Dacey]

That’s a pretty vinyl.

And really, I think Bailey’s Ariel sounds fine, guys. Kind of feel like everyone’s being overly harsh on her here.