‘The Little Mermaid’ Stars “Fought for Their Lives” Filming This Scene

Winning over devoted fans of a Disney hall-of-fame film like 1989’s The Little Mermaid was anything but “bubbles,” and translating the animated characters to real-life actors was nearly impossible.

While the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid seems to be moving along swimmingly with over $300 million at the box office, the magic onscreen could have been more seamless to create. In an interview with Deadline, director Rob Marshall and producer John Deluca gave The Little Mermaid fans a peek behind the curtain, and the whimsical scenes with singing sea life were, according to Marshall:

So complicated to create.

Inspired by a 1940s Disney Film

Although the original animated film was released 34 years ago, Marshall and Deluca took a deep dive into Disney’s history to draw inspiration for the live-action remake’s most demanding scenes. In the ultimate challenge to pull off a never-before-seen underwater musical, the crew went to extreme lengths to ensure the audience didn’t catch a glimpse of the CGI machinery strategically swapped out between takes.

Equipment aside, choreographing underwater sequences was another fantastic feat, leading Marshall to emulate a Disney classic film: Fantasia. In the Deadline interview, Marshall shared:

I thought about Walt Disney and remembered that in Fantasia, he had worked with the Ballet Russes Company, a ballet company, to use as a template for his animators to create the sequence. And I thought, we should work with a company. And we brought the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater over to London, where we were working, and we created the number on them. Their bodies were replicating different sea creatures, so our CGI animators would have a template to work from to create this massive production number. It was one of the most challenging things, and we’ve done a few production numbers in our life, but this was the craziest one.

Marshall and Deluca had plenty of thingamabobs to maneuver to execute the musical numbers. Still, the film’s stars—Halle Bailey (Princess Ariel) and Jonah Hauer-King (Prince Eric)—had physical challenges to conquer.

Lifting Each Other On and Off Screen

Disney fans have witnessed the budding bond between Bailey and Hauer-King through interviews, promotions, and romance-rumor-inducing photos. What they haven’t seen is the pair’s physical upheaval through The Little Mermaid’s filming—until now.

Fueled by Marshall’s perfectionism, Bailey and Hauer-King filmed countless takes in a massive tank simulating a thunderstorm in the middle of the ocean. On Twitter, @mmdisney200 shared an exclusive video of the two, stating:

They were really fighting for their lives

They were really fighting for their lives 😅 #TheLittleMermaid pic.twitter.com/tiUkWepOg0

— Mario🫧🧜🏽‍♀️ (@mmdisney200) June 5, 2023

About filming the scene, Bailey told Deadline how “terrifying” and “hilarious” it was:

We had to be very serious in the middle of a thunderstorm, but it was quite hard to be serious when we’re terrified in the middle of this water rainstorm that feels like you’re in the middle of the ocean, and then I had to lift Jonah up. And if anyone has seen us stand next to each other, he towers over me. So, we were laughing at that. It was just a really good moment.

Through these chemistry-building scenes filming The Little Mermaid, the cast and crew proved the lengths they were willing to go to deliver the mermaid masterpiece audiences longed for.

With two consecutive weekends at the number one box office spot, their efforts were worthwhile. Worldwide audiences can see The Little Mermaid in theaters everywhere now.