The Little Mermaid Sets Sail and a New Belle Is Chosen

There have been a number of Disney Princess-related announcements this week, mostly pertaining to things I have already posted about, so I decided to compile them into a quick update so they don't get buried by another story. First and foremost, the newest Disney cruise ship, the Disney Wish, completed its maiden voyage this week. I was particularly excited about this ship because it contained a new stage show inspired by Disney's The Little Mermaid. While I was hoping someone on the ship would have uploaded footage by now, I have not been able to locate anything substantial as of the time of this post. Please let me know if any of you find anything about this show. There are some new promo images for it that made the rounds last week, giving us a better idea of the overall look and feel.

The Little Mermaid stage show onboard the Disney Wish containing a full cast of characters lined up in front of a stage with a castle set and giant treasure chest. THe fish and mermaid performers are wearing simple costumes with pants instead of fins as an ethnic Ariel proudly holds up a trident

It is my opinion that this show was meant to premiere after the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, explaining the lead actress's resemblance to Halle Bailey. The timelines for both of these projects were altered by the pandemic, transforming the stage show into more of a sneak preview of the film than a tribute, which is one of the reasons I'm so eager to find footage. One of the newest shows onboard the Disney Dream is inspired heavily by the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast rather than the animated one and was likely the catalyst for this trend. The promo images for Disney Wish's The Little Mermaid feature more relaxed costuming than the Broadway production including regular pants for the merfolk and sea creatures, which makes sense because it wouldn't be practical to be rolling around on heelies with sharp spring tails on a rocking ship in the middle of the sea. The main image features Ariel holding up her father's trident, implying that she will take on a more active role in the newer adaptation.

An Ariel performer sits next to a little boy holding up a Flounder puppet on a giant treasure chest.

In addition to the stage show, other rumors have been floating around about the new Little Mermaid adaptation. One of those is that Ariel's sisters will no longer be Aquata, Attina, Arista, Andrina, Adella, and Alana. Instead, a fan's Instagram post claims that their names have been changed to Mala, Karina, India, Caspia, Perla, and Tameka, allegedly through insider information including an ARC of an upcoming tie-in novel. These changes may affect future iterations of Ariel's story including a rumored upcoming Disney Junior series entitled Ariel. Those of you who have been around as long as me may remember the wonderful animated series that Disney released for the film back in the early '90s. If this new series is real, it may be drastically different if it incorporates all of the changes that the live-action film will bring. Since the franchise is being created for Disney Junior, it will likely feature a much younger version of Ariel than we've seen in the original series. This rumor spurred from a series of trademarks that Disney purchased under the name "Disney Junior Ariel," which could just as likely mean they are developing a new brand of toys and merchandise for small children based on the upcoming film, so don't get your hopes up for a new series just yet.

Comparison shot of H.E.R. and Belle from the animated film

Another recent announcement pertains to the Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration concert that will be airing on ABC on December 15th. At the time of the announcement, no cast members had been revealed, but I speculated that Belle would likely be played by a person of color. It turns out I was right as the role of Belle was given to an Afro Filipina R&B Grammy and Oscar-winning performer named H.E.R. I am not personally familiar with H.E.R. but I don't follow modern music very closely. Her songs have a pretty traditional R&B quality to them, and I'm honestly not sure how that would translate to the Broadway-style caliber of Beauty and the Beast. The character of Belle has been played by a large variety of actresses thanks to its 13-year Broadway run as well as numerous other productions in theme parks and cruise ships. I am eager to see how this new entry in the show's roster will bring this beloved character to life.

Anastasia Funko Pop

I'll close these updates with something fun. I'm not a big fan of Funko Pops, but the company released a pretty exciting one for this year's San Diego Comic Con. When I was a little girl, I had a choice between a doll set of Anastasia in her princess coronation dress with Dimitri or just Anastasia in her midnight blue opera dress. To this day, I don't know why I went with the blue one. Her princess gown and glittering crown are absolutely gorgeous, and I love how Funko managed to incorporate the glitter effects from the animated film. I'm sure there will be many other princess announcements in the weeks to come, but these are all the ones I've collected for now. Which of them are you most excited about?
I have always dreamed of being a writer and creating the next great fairy tale princess heroine. Princesses inspire us to be our best selves. While you're here, feel free to follow my page on Facebook, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and check out my books. I'm also on Instagram and Twitter.

Would you like to contribute to The Princess Blog? Become a patron, and you could pick the topic for my next post!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fans "Wish" Disney Had Used These Abandoned Concepts

Image
Happy New Year, princess fans! When a new year begins, many of us think about things we can do better than the year before. There is no company this notion applies to better than Disney, which has been failing in every direction  now more so than ever. Their latest feature, Wish , was a genuinely solid movie that sadly did not make the profits it deserved. Following its theatrical run, many fans noticed that the concepts presented in the official  Art of Wish  book  would have elevated it from a good movie to a great one. Most of these concepts revolved around love and romance , which has been strategically removed from modern Disney Princess archetypes , despite being a staple of the brand prior to the past decade. Despite some early rumors that Asha might be the daughter of King Magnifico and Queen Amaya, the film's director Chris Buck explained in an interview  why he was adamantly against making her a princess, which may have been another mistake that could have altered the m
Read more

Princess Fashion

Image
I've been seeing several viral posts recently about historical fashion lately. One was  a gallery of women's fashion every year from 1784 to 1970 , and another was a video re-enactment of how women got dressed in the 18th century . These got me thinking about some of my favorite princess fashions. Though princesses are not known to be  historically accurate , their fashions drew inspiration from many different places, and history is one of them. If you take a look at the way fashion has evolved over time, you can get an idea of which parts inspired the princess movies and which parts were altered. Something that surprised me in the re-enactment was how many pieces were assembled on a woman to give the appearance of a single dress. Today, most dresses are a single piece, but historically, gowns consisted of a corset bodice and a large skirt with a crinoline underneath. This was something I also noticed about Disney's  theme park princesses . Though they look like one dr
Read more

Review: Disney Princess - The Concert

Image
Update:  I just received confirmation from Christy Altomare (Wow!) that she will be attending the fall leg of the Disney Princess concert tour and was unable to attend the first few months because she is performing in a new musical at the Paper Mill Playhouse  and that Anneliese has always been part of the concert. If you attend this concert in the fall, you will have the good fortunate of seeing her live! It's been ten months since Disney launched the Ultimate Princess Celebration  when they announced that they had acquired the Broadway Princess Party  and retooled it into Disney Princess - The Concert . After several cast changes  and  the cancellation of the entire 2021 leg of the tour, I was fortunate enough to attend one of the first successful performances at the Bass Concert Hall . Initially, I was excited to see Anastasia's Christy Altomare , but she was replaced with Disney Channel's Anneliese van der Pol , who played Chelsea Daniels in That's So Raven and Rav
Read more

Review: The Spanish Princess/White Queen Trilogy

Image
Yesterday, the Starz network  released the series finale of The Spanish Princess , concluding  The White Queen  trilogy of miniseries that began in 2013. Based on a book series called The Cousins' War  by Phillippa Gregory , the trilogy covers the women who stood behind the men in power in the English monarchy from 1464 to the 1530s, preceding the first two sovereign queens, Mary and Elizabeth. The White Queen , The White Princess , and The Spanish Princess  grant us a rare opportunity to see what life was like for medieval monarchs. Watching them reminded me of why I prefer the fairy tale versions of royalty. Those stories do not contain the gory deaths, gruesome births, and invasive politics that historical dramatizations like these exemplify. In fact, I had very little interest in watching the second season of The Spanish Princess until I watched some historical videos and learned that the king that Catherine of Aragon was married to was none other than King Henry VIII, who was
Read more

Review: Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

Image
As a member of the street team for the Sacrificed Hearts series , I have been eager to read these books about unexpected romance from many of my favorite authors. The series plays on the trope of sacrificial maidens  who learn that their "captors" are not what they appear to be and grow to love them. In other words, they can be interpreted as loose retellings of "Beauty and the Beast,"  one of the most beloved love stories. The first book in the series, Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice  by Tara Grayce , is a quintessential starting point for this series. I recently reviewed Netflix's Damsel , which had a similar premise but was marred by modern agendas and stereotypes of what it means to be a princess today . In many ways, this story is the opposite of Damsel , taking a damsel who believes her life will be threatened by a fearsome dragon before learning she doesn't need physical strength to defeat it and that what is inside her heart is already enough. I wa
Read more

Review: Time Princess - The Underground City

Image
Where Infinite Shimmer , the last visual novel in Time Princess , encompasses everything romantic and girly in a seemingly misplaced cyberpunk setting, The Underground City: Stirring Shadows does quite the opposite. Although the dystopian world of The Underground City is so similar to Infinite Shimmer that it could have easily been a spinoff about a different character living a different life, Sera's circumstances are not nearly as appealing as Aurora's. This visual novel takes everything a player would expect from the genre instead of twisting it into a Barbie-like setting . While this is great for fans of dark gritty dystopian worlds, it feels out of place for such a bright girly game as Time Princess that features a fairy who gives the protagonist the power to become anyone. While not appealing to my personal tastes, this novel demonstrates the game's versatility to players who enjoy all types of stories. Underground City players are transformed into Sera, a tragic figur
Read more

One Hundred Princesses for My 100th Post

Image
Today is a major accomplishment for me. I started this blog 100 days ago, and I've managed to write a new post in it every day since then. Some of the topics were easier to come up with than others. I also had to go back and edit some after the fact due to poor proofreading. Speaking of which, I'm really sorry about the disastrous short story from my first Story Saturday post . The whole thing was written on my phone on the way to a Mermaid Art Show event in San Diego, so I was a little distracted. I promise to put more effort into future Story Saturdays, which should be easier now that I will no longer be writing new posts every day. Don't worry, though. I will still keep everyone informed of the latest princess news and review all the new princess movies and specials. Without further ado, in celebration of my 100th post, here is a list of 100 princesses with all of the posts I've made about them (in no particular order). Thank you so much for reading my blog. 1-11:
Read more

Review: Damsel (Netflix)

Image
A year and a half after Hulu's  The Princess , a film about a generic fairy tale princess picking up a sword and saving herself, is owned by Hulu, Neflix decided to take on their own version of the trope with  Damsel , a film about a general fairy tale princess picking up a sword and...saving herself? Though these two films share similar themes, the primary foe in Damsel  is a mythological dragon instead of a greedy conqueror, giving Netflix's take on the overdone plot more of a fantasy feel. However, the sweet taste of magic is as fleeting as the film's promise of happiness to its sacrificial brides. Like The Princess , Damsel  is a gritty action flick with little levity. I found The Princess  enjoyable enough for what it is, and Damsel , though generic, has its moments as well. The first act is particularly eye-pleasing with breathtaking imagery of castles, gowns, and indulgence in the royal life before the film's visuals and plot plummet into a dark pit. Elodie is a
Read more

Review: Unicorn Academy (Netflix)

Image
As soon as I saw the previews for Netflix's new animated series, Unicorn Academy , I couldn't get over how similar it looked to Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders . Teenagers forming magical bonds with unicorns to save the world from evil? Yes, please! With a Jewel Riders graphic novel on the horizon, this is the perfect time to revisit that premise. Unicorn Academy is loosely based on a book series of the same name  that got picked up by Netflix and recently aired its first season. The premiere movie and successive eight episodes follow six unicorns and their riders on their quest to protect the magical realm from the evil Ravenzella, who performed reprehensible acts to previous generations, including the father of the main character, Sophia. The show contains a lot of teen angst and drama as well as rainbows, sparkles, and magic. Although Unicorn Academy features an entire school full of unicorn riders training to be protectors, it only focuses on the six students liv
Read more

Review: The Princess Twins of Legendale

Image
For those of you who aren't savvy in the world of underground Hollywood, there is a studio called The Asylum , whose sole purpose is to create low-budget imitations of popular movies in the hopes that an old granny will forget her glasses while shopping and buy one on DVD for her grandkids, thinking it's that big blockbuster movie they're always yapping on about. When they set their sights on an upcoming release from a major studio, they rush to get their imitation out before or around the same time as the one they're mimicking so they can pretend that they came up with the idea first. The Princess Twins of Legendale  was not produced by The Asylum, but it feels like it easily could have been. In actuality, it was produced by a modern toy company called MGA Entertainment , which is famous for making Bratz and  L.O.L. Surprise dolls. You would think that a toy company producing a low-budget movie would only do so with the intention of selling toys, but surprisingly, my
Read more