The Little Mermaid Live! | |
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Genre | Musical fantasy |
Based on | |
Written by | John Musker |
Screenplay by | Ron Clements |
Directed by | Hamish Hamilton |
Presented by | Jodi Benson |
Starring | |
Composer | Alan Menken |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Production locations | Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California |
Editors | Bill DeRonde Guy Harding John Zimmer |
Running time | 83 minutes |
Production company | Done and Dusted |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | November 5, 2019 |
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) |
The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!, or simply The Little Mermaid Live! is a 2019 musical television special created for ABC, based on Disney's 1989 animated feature film The Little Mermaid. It is produced by Done and Dusted and directed by Hamish Hamilton, who also executive produced alongside Katy Mullan, David Jammy, Raj Kapoor, Ian Stewart, and Richard Kraft, with the original voice of Ariel, Jodi Benson, introducing the special.
Auliʻi Cravalho stars as Princess Ariel, alongside Queen Latifah, Shaggy, John Stamos, Amber Riley and Graham Phillips. The hybrid format special was performed in front of a live audience on the Disney lot, where the film was projected on a giant projection surface and interwoven with live musical performances of songs from the film and the Broadway stage version.
The Little Mermaid Live! aired on ABC on November 5, 2019, as part of The Wonderful World of Disney (1991–present) brand, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 9.01 million viewers, making it the highest-rated made-for-TV musical on any network since Grease Live! in January 2016. It was the highest-rated entertainment telecast since the series finale of The Big Bang Theory in May 2019. The special received mixed reviews, particularly for the limited amount of live portions.