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Alan Menken opened up about bringing The Little Mermaid back to the screen for the live-action adaptation and some of the changes he made to the show’s iconic music.
“There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl,’” the legendary composer told Vanity Fair on March 31, “because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]. We have some revisions in ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”
While diehard fans of the original 1989 animated classic may have mixed feelings to updating some of the show’s most beloved songs, Menken also teased that viewers will get to experience a few entirely new songs he wrote for the movie in collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“One was the Prince Eric song, called ‘Wild Unchartered Waters,’” he revealed. “Then, there was the song for Ariel when she has her legs (doesn’t have a voice), and she’s singing her thoughts about all the firsts she is noticing for the first time. Then, there was a number called “Scuttlebutt” for Scuttle and Sebastian. It’s this harebrained [song for them] trying to figure out what’s going on because they hear rumors that the prince has decided to marry. They think it must be Ariel but of course it’s Ursula in the form of Vanessa. It’s all this delicious imagination. Lin’s lyrics are to die for.”
“We wrote a fourth song called ‘Impossible Child’ for King Triton,” the Broadway legend continued. “It didn’t remain in the film only because dramaturgically we didn’t really need it. It was so great to work with Javier Bardem on that song and people will hear it as a DVD outtake, I guess.”
Starring Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, Jonah Hauer-King and more, The Little Mermaid is set to hit theaters on May 26 while the film’s official soundtrack will be released one week earlier on May 19.
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Source: Leon Bennett / Getty
Disney is engaging the services of the award-winning musician and producer Questlove as a director for their upcoming film.
According to reports, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has been picked by Walt Disney Studios to be the director for the live-action hybrid reimagining of their animated classic from 1970, The Aristocats. Questlove will also oversee the musical score of the film and serve as an executive producer through his Two One Five production company. His bandmate and co-founder of The Roots, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter will also be a producer of the film along with Shawn Gee and Zarah Zohlman.
The Aristocats follows a family of Parisian felines who learn that they’re about to inherit the fortune of their owner, a retired operatic diva. Her butler, who gets wind of the bequeathment, plots to get rid of the cats so he can get the fortune. The movie then follows the cats as they are befriended by an alley cat who works to help them get home. It would go on to be one of Disney’s more lucrative films at the time, earning $191 million at the box office.
This project will be the first feature film that Questlove will direct. The six-time Grammy Award-winner began his foray into film as a producer and director of the 2021 documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). The film, which unearthed the backstory of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It would go on a tear winning awards culminating in it winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2022. The win placed Questlove in rarified air as one of a few Black directors to win an Oscar–all of them in the documentary field.
The news comes as fans are eagerly anticipating Disney’s latest edition of their series reimagining their classic animated features with The Little Mermaid, featuring singer & actress Halle Bailey in the iconic role of Ariel and Melissa McCarthy portraying the villain, Ursula. Will Gluck and his production company, Olive Bridge, will also produce on the film in addition to writing the script along with Keith Bunin.
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Photo: Leon Bennett / Getty
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Source: Gilbert Flores / Getty / Victoria Alonso
Marvel’s 2023 is off to a rare bad start. First Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania didn’t make that much noise at the box office, then Jonathan Majors caught a domestic violence case, and now one of the company’s longtime execs is gone.
The firing of Victoria Alonso by Marvel Studios sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood. Reports were all over the place regarding the reasoning behind her abrupt exit from the company.
As seen on CBR via Variety’s initial reporting, One report claimed her termination had to do with the “allegations she had created a hostile work environment for Marvel’s visual effects department, which she oversaw as the studio’s President of Physical, Post Production, VFX and Animation.”
The website also reports Alonso got the boot for working on a documentary, Argentina 1985, with Disney/Marvel’s competitor Amazon Studios as a producer. Alonso’s attorney, Patty Glaser, hit back against those allegations saying, “Victoria, a gay Latina who had the courage to criticize Disney, was silenced.”
Glaser also said Alonso “was terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible. Disney and Marvel made a really poor decision that will have serious consequences.” She also notes Alonso vocally criticized former Disney CEO Bob Chapek over his waffling on Florida’s stupid “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Other Reporting Claims Disney Had A Legit Reason For Firing Victoria Alonso
Reporting on the firing claims that Marvel let Alonso go for a contract breach, according to Heroic Hollywood, via Puck News.
Per Heroic Hollywood:
The report points out that Disney could have simply paid her out for any number of reasons, according to the recent backlash against Marvel VFX in the public eye. According to Puck’s Matthew Belloni, the dispute first came up in mid-2021 while renegotiating Alonso’s contract, with Disney discovering she had been producing Argentina, 1985 for Amazon Studios, a direct competitor.
Despite this breach, Disney granted leeway to Alonso due to her tenure at Marvel Studios and allowed her to keep her name on the project as long as she didn’t promote it. In the following months, Alonso would give an interview to Indiewire about the project, as well as attend the BAFTAs in London. These incidents are what ultimately led Disney to let Alonso go.
Whatever the case is, Alonso was part of the epic ride that is the MCU for 17 years. She was the co-producer and visual effects producer for 2008’s Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger.
For her hard work, she got a promotion to become an executive producer for The Avengers. While things seem shaky between Marvel Studios and Alonso, Puck news also reports Alonso and Disney are working on a settlement.
We will continue to monitor this situation to see how it plays out.
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Photo: Gilbert Flores / Getty
Jeremy Renner‘s reality docuseries Rennervations is coming to Disney+ on April 12, and ahead of the premiere, Billboard is sharing an exclusive clip in which the Hawkeye star shares how music has impacted his life.
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Following a haunting piano cover of The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” Renner is heard explaining over a piano melody, “Music has always been my first love. It’s a very personal thing for me, something that I fell into when I was younger to get me out of trouble. Becoming an adult, it still is. Any time I get overwhelmed with personal problems or my job, music is such a therapeutic outlet for me.”
He added that his decision to share his own music over the past few years was life changing. “In doing so, it opened my eyes and opened my heart,” he revealed. “It gave me a sense of belonging. Music unites people and that, to me, is exciting.”
Jeremy Renner, ‘Rennervations’
The series follows Renner in his hometown of Reno, Nevada, as well as three other cities — Chicago, Illinois; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and Rajasthan, India — where he works with a team of builders to identify decommissioned vehicles that can be rebuilt to serve a new purpose.
Rennervations comes just two months after a terrifying accident in which Renner’s 14,000-pound PistenBully snowplow ran him over on his Mt. Rose Highway-area property while he was trying to divert it away from his nephew while clearing the snow, leaving him with more than 30 broken bones.
Watch the exclusive Rennervations clip below, and sign up for Disney+ here.
Back in her own little corner… or make that kingdom! Brandy revisited her role as Cinderella in a new teaser for Descendants: The Rise of Red released on Wednesday (March 22).
The clip features the R&B legend — who originally graced the screen as the iconic princess in the 1997 TV movie Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella — wearing a regal, voluminous gown of baby blue and matching overcoat with her hair in a long, blue braid. She even reunites with her co-star Paolo Montalban, who’s now graduated from Prince to King Charming.
Brandy’s casting was first revealed back in November when the project was announced as a Descendants spin-off titled The Pocketwatch. At the time, the movie musical was purportedly centered around Red, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts, and Chloe, the daughter of Cinderella and Charming — but there’s no word yet on whether any plot points may have changed along with the new title.
The artist known as the Vocal Bible last returned to her Disney princess roots in summer 2022 for the original film’s 25th-anniversary reunion special, which also featured interviews with Montalban, Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander and more. “I remember like it was yesterday,” she said of working with the late Whitney Houston on the beloved movie.
She also performed a medley of Cinderella tracks such as “The Sweetest Sound,” “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible,” “A Lovely Night” and “Ten Minutes Ago” for one of Todrick Hall’s viral videos during the pandemic.
Get a first look at Brandy’s on-screen reunion with Montalban as Cinderella and King Charming below.
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Under the sea! You can now pre-order The Little Mermaid Barbie doll.
Capturing The Little Mermaid star, Halle Bailey’s, likeness even down to the mole above her eye. The posable Barbie retails for $14.99 and has long red dreadlocks like Bailey’s hair in the film and an ombre-mermaid tail with a glitter fin.
Halle Bailey Celebrates Getting Her Own ‘Little Mermaid’ Doll: ‘BRB Gonna Go Cry Now…
03/16/2023
Bailey gave fans a sneak peek of the doll last week. “I have something really exciting to reveal to you all. I am gonna cry,” the actress and singer shared on Instagram earlier this month. “This is the new Little Mermaid doll! I am literally choking up because this means so much to me. And to have one that looks like me, that’s my favorite Disney character, is very surreal. And look, she even has my mole! See? And the hair, and the tail…I’m just stunned, so I don’t quite know what to do with it, but I’m gonna steal this and take it home.”
According to Amazon, the doll will be released on April 23. Meanwhile, Disney premiered the official trailer for The Little Mermaid during the Oscars telecast on Sunday (March 12). Bailey and co-star Melissa McCarthy, who plays Ursula in the film, introduced the clip.
The Little Mermaid marks the first live-action adaptation of the Disney animated film which was originally released in 1989. The doll is currently the No. 1 best-seller at Amazon along with The Little Mermaid Live Action Novelization($6.92) due out April 11. Fans can find more gear from the animated version of The Little Mermaid at shopDisney.com.
The Little Mermaid stars Bailey, McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Noma Dumezweni, Jonah Hauer-King, Simone Ashley, Jacob Tremblay, Daveed Diggs and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The soundtrack will be released on May 19 and features new music written by Miranda alongside music from the original film composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
The Little Mermaid hits theaters on May 26. Pre-order the doll below.
Amazon
Disney The Little Mermaid Ariel Doll, Mermaid Fashion Doll with Signature Outfit, Toys Inspired by Disney’s The Little Mermaid
$14.99
Miley Cyrus is going back to her roots for an Endless Summer Vacation special with Disney.
Cyrus will lead the show in every imaginable way. The pop superstar serves as executive producer on Miley Cyrus ‒ Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions), during which she’ll showcase new music from her forthcoming studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, including a performance of “Flowers.”
Disney Branded Television’s “music-focused performance special” will feature seven additional tracks from the new album, one of her “chart-topping classic hits” and a collaboration with Rufus Wainwright.
Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions) is produced by Cyrus, creative production company RadicalMedia, HopeTown Entertainment, Crush Management and Columbia Records, and is set to premiere on Friday, March 10, at 1 p.m. ET on Disney+.
It’s a sort of homecoming for Miley, who achieved lift-off in her early years as the star of Hannah Montana, which aired on the Disney Channel for four seasons between March 2006 and January 2011.
Cyrus kicked off the “Backyard Sessions” in 2012 as a series for fans, offering a glimpse at the singer with her band, chilling outdoors.
The special is, of course, a tie-in with Cyrus’ eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation, due out March 10 via Columbia Records. It’s the followup to Plastic Hearts, which crowned Billboard’s Top Rock Albums Chart and hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Its global hit “Flowers” has racked up six consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Official U.K. Singles Charts. And in the land Down Under, “Flowers” has just nabbed its seventh straight week at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart.
Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter are directors of Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions), and Marcell Rév is director of photography.
As moonlight illuminates Disneyland Park’s Main Street, U.S.A., toddlers are gleefully hoisted onto shoulders, young couples nestle under Mickey Mouse blankets and groups of teenagers buzz with excitement. The mix of generations represented here have at least one thing in common: A real love for Disney’s creations.
The crowd is awaiting “Wondrous Journeys,” the park’s new nighttime event celebrating 100 years of Disney magic. In the span of a 15-minute, firework-filled spectacular, every milestone of the storytelling giant’s century-long history is projected onto the exterior of Main Street U.S.A. and the Sleeping Beauty Castle – from the first sketch of Mickey Mouse in 1927 to Disney’s upcoming 2023 film, Wish.
The display features nods to every Walt Disney Animation Studios film, coupled with lighting effects, fireworks and even Baymax from Big Hero 6, who at one point soars above the castle. It’s all set to a star-studded soundtrack arranged by Grammy Award-winning composer Christopher Lennertz, which features re-imaginings of Disney classics like “When You Wish Upon a Star” fused seamlessly with songs from modern-day films including “Almost There” from Princess and the Frog and “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto.
“When the team sat down, we realized that the core theme that binds everyone together when it comes to emotion, is music,” says Walt Disney Imagineering’s global head of music Tricia Holloway.
The first step in developing the show’s music component was putting together an acoustic blueprint for what would become the “Wondrous Journeys” soundtrack. “I really approached this project like a combination of a stage musical and animated feature,” says Lennertz. “I wanted the music to be precisely clear about telling our story, with motivated singing and lyrics, but also be joyous, vivid, and colorful, like the great animated art that we were paying tribute to.”
Once the 18-song piano and vocal demo was thoroughly reviewed by Disney’s team, including show director and creative music producer Jordan Peterson, it came time to decide who would perform each track. “We started brainstorming [and] put together a list of vocalists that we thought would help inspire the show and take it to another level,” says Holloway. “As we were looking to cast the vocalists, we were looking to people who perform in front of a live audience so that they could bring that energy and storytelling to the delivery of their vocals.”
In addition to more musical theater-centric acts suggested by her colleagues, Holloway threw a number of recording artists into the mix — reflective of her 20 years as a music supervisor in film and television at companies like Lionsgate and Nickelodeon. Through a combination of outreach to managers, agents and contractors, the soundtrack became a perfect blend of vocalists across musical disciplines, including Tarriona “Tank” Ball from Tank and the Bangas, Tony Award winner Lena Hall, jazz and soul singer Shoshana Bean, Ty Taylor from Los Angeles soul-rock band Vintage Trouble and pop duo Clyde and Gracie Lawrence.
“Being a part of Disney’s Wondrous Journeys was a dream come true,” says Ball, who, along with Taylor, jokingly referred to herself as “Disney royalty” after watching the show for the first time.
Hall, who performed “Immortal” from Big Hero 6, says she was “thrilled” when asked to be a part of the project. “I’m no Disney princess, so I thought it was cool they wanted to bring some real rock vocals to the show,” she says.
The “Wondrous Journeys” score was recorded over the course of a year across California, Nashville, New York City, London and Orlando, with an 80-piece orchestra, 16 lead vocalists and a 33-member choir. One of the elements Holloway is most excited about is the spectacular’s original opening song, “It’s Wondrous.”
When the Disney team received the track — originally a demo from songwriters Alex Ganga and Danny Brown — they loved the rendition so much that they opted to keep the demo vocalists for the final song. “It’s a folk-pop approach, bringing a different style than you typically would hear in the parks, something that you’d want to hear outside of the parks on its own,” says Holloway of the song.
Now, fans can hear “It’s Wondrous” whenever they want, as the track arrived on streaming platforms Friday (March 3).
“I think ‘It’s Wondrous’ is going to become part of the DNA of the Disney catalog,” Holloway says. “It isn’t from an actual film or character, but it captures the feeling and beauty that you find within all the animation films.”
Growing up on shows like Fat Albert, musical multi-hyphenate Raphael Saadiq knows the value of representation in children’s television. “If I turned on my TV and found somebody Black,” he says, “those people were superheroes — even though they weren’t flying through the sky.”
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Today, the three-time Grammy winning producer, songwriter and instrumentalist is working as executive producer of Disney’s animated Marvel series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. The series marks Marvel’s first Black teenage girl superhero (actress Diamond White is voicing Moon Girl) and will feature guest voices from Alison Brie, Andy Cohen, Daveed Diggs, Maya Hawke, Jennifer Hudson, Method Man, Cobie Smulders, Wesley Snipes and more.
“In the comic book world, this is huge,” Saadiq tells Billboard. “To be able to see a Black teenage genius girl doing amazing things, working out problems, explaining to people how not to get caught up in a box without being preachy.”
When it comes to the lyrical messaging of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Saadiq is hitting on topics like loving your hair, overcoming insecurities and being yourself, by way of a fusion of genres that the music legend grew up around. “I had everything from Motown to Neil Young and Steely Dan,” recalls the Oakland native of his own childhood. “Latin music in my neighborhood from Pete Escovedo, so many different layers and soundtracks blaring out of cars in my neighborhood. Music is the backdrop to [children’s] lives. For me, it’s a contribution that I want to give back to the community of kids and their parents.”
Based in New York City, the show is centered on Lunella Lafayette (a.k.a. Moon Girl), who accidentally brings her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur to the city. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur explores universal themes of family and community, while centering the experiences of a Black family living on the Lower East Side. The series arrives to Disney+ today (Feb. 15).
The Disney Music Group (DMG) and Andscape are partnering on a new record label, Good Company Records. Oscar- and Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer D’Mile, talent manager Natalie Prospere and Grammy-winning mixing/audio engineer John Kercy are the founders of the new global venture.
In addition to signing and developing artists, Good Company will collaborate with other Andscape divisions on various projects. First up will be the Andscape documentary Shyne. The forthcoming film will chronicle Shyne’s life and journey from rap artist on Sean Combs’ Bad Boy label to becoming a member of the Belize House of Representatives.
Announcing the partnership with Good Company today (Feb. 14), Disney Music Group president Ken Bunt stated, “It’s special and unique to have a shared vision for the future of music, and the opportunity to visually tell new stories with Andscape. We can’t wait to collaborate with D’Mile, Natalie, John and the Andscape team to deliver on this goal.”
Added DMG head of creative Mio Vukovic, “We could not be more excited about working with the talented team behind Good Company and our partnership with Andscape. It allows us the dream of creating a home to cultivate and nurture Black artists through storytelling.” Disney Music Group houses Walt Disney Records, Hollywood Records, Disney Music Publishing and Disney Concerts.
Andscape is the 2022 rebrand and expansion of ESPN’s former media platform The Undefeated. Dedicated to exploring all facets of Black identity, Andscape encompasses several divisions including editorial, book publishing, film/television and music publishing.
“D’Mile, Natalie and John are special individuals – each true to Andscape’s vision: deep and dimensional multi-hyphenate storytellers,” said Andscape vice president/editor-in-chief Raina Kelley in the announcement release. “We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Andscape family. This incredible partnership vaults forward Andscape’s evolution as a content creator across The Walt Disney Company.”
Prior to creating Good Company, D’Mile became the first songwriter in Grammy history to win back-to-back song of the year Grammys: for H.E.R.’s “I Can’t Breathe” in 2021 and Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” in 2022. Also in 2021, he won the Academy Award for best original song for co-writing and producing “Fight for You,” performed by H.E.R., from the film Judas and the Black Messiah. A producer of the year nominee at the 65th Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, D’Mile has also worked with Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson, among others.
The longtime manager of D’Mile and fellow Good Company co-founder Kercy, Prospere has also managed Grammy-winning artist Lucky Daye and songwriter/producer DJ Camper. She is also the creator of the Friends Only collective, focusing on forward-thinking business development and artist partnerships throughout the Caribbean and Black diaspora. Kercy’s resumé includes collaborations with Daye, Lil Wayne, Disclosure, Diddy, Ty Dolla $ign, Normani and more.
In a joint statement, D’Mile, Prospere and Kercy said, “We are so excited to partner with Disney/Andscape on Good Company. Disney is a place where we believe all of our creative ideas can come to life, and we are looking forward to where this partnership takes us!”
