Once Halle Bailey was announced as the new Ariel in this version of The little mermaid In real footage, netizens were unleashed and spread their hatred on all social networks. Unflinching, but shattered and still in disbelief, Rob Marshall returns to the controversy and vigorously defends this new version.
“It’s an archaic controversy,” said Rob Marshall, who was asked to share his feelings at the outcry that always prompts an African American ariel, perfectly impersonated by Halle Bailey, singer, composer and actress of 23 years.
“I couldn’t believe that in 2023 there were still discussions about actors’ skin color. One thing I hadn’t thought of at the time was seeing all these little black girls and little boys looking at Ariel and thinking they were represented, and that really moves me. I’m very proud of that.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DISNEY ENTERPRISES
Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
“When we started the search for Ariel, I had no goal, I had no intention of casting the role of a young black woman. My goal was to find the best possible actress. We’ve seen hundreds upon hundreds of women for Ariel and Halle who have embraced it immediately.”
“Halle is the perfect Ariel. She has everything that makes a siren, she has an extraordinary voice, she has the vulnerability, the strength, the passion and the depth of character. I also love that she looks like she is from another world, her face is almost ethereal. “She was cut out for the role,” said the filmmaker.
“And what’s ironic about this controversy is that the script addresses prejudice and talks about not being afraid of difference. In The Little Mermaid, Ariel is not afraid of the human world and does whatever it takes to build a bridge between the two worlds, the sailor world and the human world, rather than building a wall. It’s a powerful message, reinforced by Halle’s election.
A very technotypical “remake”
Rob Marshall is a regular at musicals, the man gave us Chicago, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Fountain of Youth or Mary Poppins is back. But with The Little Mermaid, it’s the first time he’s delved so deeply into a universe of visual effects, a challenge he’s rolled up his sleeves for.
Because most of The Little Mermaid takes place at the bottom of the sea, in the kingdom of the mermaids – in English the director uses the term “sea people” to refer to men and women – ruled over by Triton (Javier Bardem), who himself immediately raises a number of technical and logistical issues.
“Technically, it was such a complicated film! I decided to start this project like everyone else by having the actors rehearse on land. We could discuss the scene, see what we wanted to do, make corrections or adjustments. Then – and this is crazy – the actors took place in harnesses. We used an impressive amount and variety of straps. We had ropes, huge cranes with swinging arms, at the end of which the actors are placed and who have to operate a dozen stuntmen, devices that give the impression of flying, etc. It was all done on blue backgrounds and screens [NDLR: les décors ou différents éléments visuels étant ajoutés en postproduction]but it was incredibly complex.”
“The hardest thing for the actors was learning the technical part of their roles. These are roles that require tremendous muscle power as he moves up and down and back and forth. I wanted all the actors to be comfortable with the technical part and have it come naturally to them during the shoot. I was very fortunate to have such an athletic cast,” he explains.
Melissa McCarthy as the evil mermaid…
Ursula the mermaid, sister of Triton who dreams of conquering Atlantis, is faithful to the cartoon character. On screen, therefore, Melissa McCarthy has huge tentacles in the middle of which she moves with amazing ease…even resting her chin in the hollow of her rippled limbs for one song.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DISNEY ENTERPRISES
Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in The Little Mermaid.
Rob Marshall is full of details when it comes to explaining how the bridesmaids actress threw herself headlong into this demanding role.
“You know, we had a team of dancers manipulating the tentacles like puppets. Even during the rehearsals, Melissa had all the tentacles around her. She was therefore always aware of what space she had, how the tentacles moved and how she could use them. The very moment you are talking about, when she rests her face on her tentacles, was possible thanks to the work of the dancers/puppeteers. Obviously these “real” tentacles are then erased in the edit and replaced with what we see in the film, with iridescent suction cups.”
“In addition to the underwater set elements, so the fish, the sea, etc., all the actors wore helmets on their heads so they could add hair in post-production, and even their costumes were added after filming,” he said .
A paradigm shift
Rob Marshall has – and this is another criticism that is often heard – made an effort to depict many animal and plant elements realistically. As a result, Ariel’s two friends, both the crab Sebastian (voiced by Daveed Diggs in the original version) and Scuttle (voiced by Awkwafina), the dolt, lost their whimsical aspect of the animated film.
“I hope the film will be realistic for young audiences,” said the director. For me, the most important thing is that the viewer has a deep connection with the characters, so that they care about their development and pay attention to their journey. For me, making films means following the story and getting involved, regardless of special effects. So my goal is to make sure the audience doesn’t see the technology and that everything looks as natural as a Fred Astaire dance. We don’t see the work, we only see the beauty. But we are moved, we love Eric and Ariel and we want them to succeed.
“I would never have been able to direct The Little Mermaid if I hadn’t directed all of my previous films. It was in many ways a monumental, incredible project that I worked on for four and a half years. Yes, it took a long time. What did I learn from The Little Mermaid? To create such a world and also to make it natural. Sometimes I’d say “Action” and we’d just shoot a line or two. Then the belts and traction devices had to be changed for the next movement. It was complicated!” he detailed.
“We used a technology called Anima, which overlays the actors’ faces onto a special effects body, avoiding scenes that were too complex or impossible to film. The shooting looked like a mosaic, everything was defined in advance and planned to the utmost. I think my training as a choreographer helped me enormously, because for me this film is a ballet.
The little mermaid splashes on the screens of dark rooms from May 26th.