WasThe Little Mermaid Live!the last live TV musical?
Man, I’m not even sure you could call it a live TV musical.
Instead, it felt like watchingThe Little Mermaidwith regular interruptions for commercials and karaoke.
Cravalho shared a few onstage sequences with Graham Phillips' dutifully bland Prince Eric.
Otherwise, the performers felt segmented into glossy cameos.
Shaggy had some fun as Sebastian, especially during “Kiss the Girl.”
The musician cheated with a red jumpsuit that looked leftover from a Power Rangers disco.
CreditQueen Latifah, who suffered from tentacular costumery as Ursula the Sea Witch.
I’d be intrigued to see what the hip-hop star and Oscar nominee could bring to the role.
Then the camera would cut to Queen Latifah, looking trapped inside her own elaborate costume.
Here, the performers seemed to become part of the furniture.
Who was this for, exactly?
There is the promise of a new live-actionLittle Mermaidmovie, starringHalle Bailey(cool!)
and directed by Rob Marshall (blergh!).
You kept wondering what an entirely live production would have done with the elaborate set pieces.
Nope, they just played the movie.
Will there be a parade of those little polyp things Ursula shrinks into her garden?
Nope, those eerie effects were left to the movie.
Never mind, they played the film again.
No, no, no, they’re all just walking down the stage while the credits roll.
Hi,Amber Riley!
This feels like a demotion.
The Howard Ashman-Alan Menken tunes are still very catchy, but all the new interpretations were unmemorable.
