Shooting The Little Mermaid's Boat Wreck Scene Was Quite Amusing Behind The Scenes

"The Little Mermaid" is a monumental film in the history of Disney and Western animation at large. John Musker and Ron Clements made drastic changes to Hans Christian Andersen's original Danish fairy tale and delivered a Broadway-style musical extravaganza that saved the studio during their worst and darkest time. This movie helped usher the Disney Renaissance, leading the way for some of their best movies. Even today, "The Little Mermaid" remains a film with not just stunning animation and music, but also a radical message.

But, according to Disney, all that is in the past, because live-action is the future. /Film's own Jenna Busch recently attended a press conference with the filmmakers behind the live-action "The Little Mermaid." During the press conference, the cast discussed the making of the movie and the fun that was had on set. For star Halle Bailey, there was no doubt about which scene was the funniest to shoot — the scene where Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) shipwrecks and is saved by Ariel in their first meeting. 

"Jonah's so much taller than me, but I had to hold him up. And we kept laughing about these boots that he had to wear because he kept sinking under because of the boots. And so we like raised our hands and asked [director Rob Marshall], we're like, 'You know, you don't see the boots, right? So can he just take them off?' Because he kept stepping on my toes."

Marshall did not agree and the boots stayed. "But we were just dying in the water the whole time," Bailey continued. "But that was like the funniest moment I think."

"It was quite bonding as well," added Hauer-King.

In her review of "The Little Mermaid" for /Film, Vanessa Armstrong described the live-action remake as "a live-action remake done well," with breathtaking performances, vivid displays of the original songs, and needed adjustments of the original film's less-than-modern relationships.

It makes sense that Disney would try to capitalize on the legacy of the first movie to be their latest live-action remake. For better or worst, this is the future Disney wants for its studio, live-action remakes of animated movies, and not even just old ones, but recent ones too. A "Moana" live-action remake less than a decade after the release of the original is absurd, sure, but a sound financial decision from the studio — even if these remakes never even get close to replicating part of what made the originals good. The downside is that Disney's approach continues the stigma that animation is somehow lesser than live-action, and that is irreparable damage, especially coming from a studio with as much history in animation as Disney.