Armando Gutierrez's "Little Mermaid" Movie is Now on Netflix

We've been keeping an eye on this movie since 2016, and were naturally very excited to see it pop up on our Netflix feed this weekend. From the trailer, we knew to expect a circus theme, set in Mississippi, but beyond that, many questions swarmed our mind. The biggest unknown was how strong the film's connection would be to Andersen's tale. It clearly wasn't trying to be a straightforward adaptation, but would it merely use the title for name recognition?


Here's the trailer for those who haven't seen it yet:

The movie's villain, played by Gutierrez himself

The movie starts with an animated short to provide the movie's backstory. A mermaid rescues a man  from a shipwreck and falls in love with him. She becomes human in order to be with him, but her love is not reciprocated. So far, pretty close to Andersen's version (there are also other little details directly pulled from the fairy tale). However, the goal of Andersen's mermaid is to gain a soul by winning the heart of the human prince. Here, mermaids already have souls, and this one (whose name is Elizabeth) bargains it away. When her human does not fall in love with her, the evil wizard gets to keep her soul forever.

While this is a significant difference, I think the change makes a lot of sense for the movie. After all, this is less of a retelling and more of a sequel to the original. Andersen's story has a definitive endings, leaving no reason to revisit the characters again. Gutierrez tweaks the circumstances around to give the plot a reason to continue.

Did you catch the bit about the evil wizard? Yep, this movie follows Disney's lead and adds a clear villain for our characters to battle. Sometimes it's hard to remember that there's nothing truly diabolical about Andersen's sea witch, who doesn't seem to have any agenda, unlike Disney's Ursula. Andersen's conflict stems from the Little Mermaid's circumstances. She is her worse enemy, in many ways, since the choices she make set her up for disaster. But for a 90 minute movie, it's harder to anchor the audience if you don't have a clear opponent for your heroes to fight against. So we get an evil wizard who steals Elizabeth's soul in order to grow his own power. It's a bit simplistic, but it's not a horrible choice.

So what did I think? Honestly, I found the whole package pleasant, but rather forgettable. The actors are solid, the plot doesn't have too many holes, and it's rare for me to gush about beautiful CGI, but the mermaid's tail was truly flawless and believable. I'd say it's one step above what I'd imagine a Hallmark mermaid movie to be like, but most of that step is in the production quality. 

We could be done with this review here. But there is a part of me that started analyze this Little Mermaid from a more critical angle. As a feminist, I can't stop myself from thinking about how mermaids are often objectified, treated as a symbol for male desire and fantasy. Even the darker more dangerous Sirens still embody male temptation. This movie doesn't challenge the mermaid stereotype, although one could argue that Elizabeth is more like a chaste princess in a tower rather than an unattainable temptation. Elizabeth is sweet and beautiful. She longs for freedom and love, but there's not much else to her character. In fact, the younger female protagonist, Elle (human), has more complexity to her character, but that's probably because she's too young to have a romantic plotline.  

Sidenote: Is this why Shape of Water was so revolutionary? Is is because it gender swapped the traditional roles of human and mermaid? 

Now, don't get me wrong, there is something irresistible and timeless about the whole land/sea love story. I can't deny that there's something inherently electric about characters longing for the seemingly impossible relationships. But can mermaids exist outside of this construct? I'd be curious if anyone knows of any mermaid books that really break the mold on this. Please let me know!

Animated Fairy Tales Get A Real World Edge At 'Animation Reimagined' (Modern Eden Gallery)

Mulan - Olga Esther

Curated by Michael Cuffe of Warholian, the 'Animation Reimagined' exhibition will bring together many animated classic icons - both past and modern-day - "fantastically recreated in new paintings and from new perspectives". While there are more than just fairy tale characters, we're focusing on those that are most closely linked to our favorite subject here. (We've included a list at the end of the post with all the other cartoon characters we've been able to discover - and identify - to date.)

Official poster, featuring a reimagining of Dumbo (artist unknown)

Cuffe has asked all artists to bring a bit of realism into their paintings and works. We will see these animated classics re-imagined in a way we’ve never seen before, from a unique artistic viewpoint.

It's always interesting to see what sort of spin artists will put on animated icons, especially fairy tales. These paintings and sculptures belong in the 'fine art' realm, though at a glance it may be easy to dismiss some of these as 'professional fan art'. They all, however, share the intent to bring some realism - and real-world consideration - to their interpretations of flat cartoons and animated characters. The idea is to take them beyond the realm of the "safe" screen and have them "intrude" on ours, creating a response in the viewer. From the selection we've been able to find scattered around social media corners, the achievement is quite impressive. We hope to see more/better quality images, once the show is opened to the public today (Saturday, April 14, 2018) and the Gallery puts the collection online.

In the meantime, enjoy! (We've included artist's titles, comments, and statements where they were available.)

Alice In Wonderland (2018) - Brianna Angelakis

"Frozen in Time" - Ania Tomicka

“The Young Goddess Artemis” - Richard J Oliver
I went to the source of what I believe inspired the character
of a well known Disney’s Animation. For a while I’ve been wanting to
make a painting based on DIANA (Roman Goddess)
or ARTEMIS (Greek Goddess) of Hunting and nature. After
some research the similarities between these
Goddess’ and the princess character Merida
were uncanny so I drew my inspiration from the mythical
daughter of Zeus.

Kiki's Delivery Service - Carly Janine Mazur

Ratatouille - Richard Ahnert

Pinocchio - Hanna Jaeun

"Bibbedi bobbidi boo" (Cinderella) - Anne Angelshaug
As a child I adored the story of Cinderella, but rewatching it
as an adult it conjured very different thoughts and feelings.
Thoughts of abuse, apathy and delusion....
sorry I took it to a dark place, but it just seemed right...

The Little Mermaid  - Meredith Marsone
"This (is a close-up of) a painting of The Little Mermaid just after
the point of her transformation, still underwater, but human now and
so in imminent danger in the place she used to call home."

Sleeping Beauty - Sheri DeBow 

“Guardian” - Lena Danya
The Little Mermaid Meets Marlin and Dory from Finding Nemo

Sometimes Ups Outnumber the Downs - Jessica Dalva
"My sculpture based on Disney’s Robin Hood."

"The Strands the Bind" - Stephanie Pui Mun Law (The Fox and the Hound) 

There are many more cartoon classics reimagined, of course, these are just the most fairy tale related of those revealed (whether in close-up or as finished pieces). Others include Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, Sponge Bob, The Aristocats, Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lady and the Tramp, Frankenweenie, Pink Panther, Coco, Jessica Rabbit, Betty Boop, Toy Story, Gumby, Sailor Moon, Bambi, She-Ra and more.

The exhibition is free to the public and opens today, Saturday April 14, 2018, at The Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco.

Exhibition Dates: April 14–May 4, 2018

Opening Reception: April 14, 2018  6 pm–9 pm

Featuring the artwork of Adam Hunter Caldwell, Alec Huxley, Amanda Banker, Amy Mastrine, Ania Tomicka, Anne Angelshaug, Aunia Kahn, Brianna Angelakis, Carly Janine Mazur, Catherine Moore, Chris Leib, Christina Ridgeway, Daniel J Valadez, David Natale, Glenn Arthur, Hanna Jaeun, Hikari Shimoda, Jacyln Alderete, Jessica Dalva, Joshua Coffy, Julie Filipenko, Kathrin Longhurst, Lee Harvey Roswell, Leegan Koo, Leilani Bustamante, Luke Allsbrook, Marcos LaFarga, Marie Larkin, Marjolein Caljouw, Mark Bryan, Meredith Marsone, Michael Cuffe, Nathalia Suellen, Nick Stathopoulos, Olga Esther, Rachael Bridge, Rachel Silva, Raúl Guerra, Rene Cuvos, Rich Pellegrino, Richard Ahnert, Richard J Oliver, Robert Bowen, Sarah McCloskey, Sheri DeBow, Simona Candini, Stephanie Law, Steve Javiel, Susannah Martin, Susanne Apgar, Sybiline , and Zelyss.

The 'Other' Little Mermaid Just Got A Trailer

Do you remember us mentioning a live action Little Mermaid film, involving Poppy Drayton (Shannara Chronicles), in our -Little-Mermaid-films-in-the-works round-up last October? (You can find that post, listing them all HERE) Well that film  [- NOT DISNEY FOLKS! -] just got a trailer - and it looks... interesting. There's a bit of magic, a circus* and, of course, a mermaid. Not sure how much of the story is based on HCA's tale (difficult to see evidence of that here) but we can see how it might be inspired by it - a little.

Press release:

The first trailer for the live-action version of The Little Mermaid from Conglomerate Media and Kingsway Productions has just been released. This is not Disney’s film, but is based on the famed fairytale from Hans Christian Andersen and stars a solid cast: Shirley MacLaine, Downton Abbey‘s Poppy Drayton, William Moseley (The Chronicles of Narnia), Loreto Peralta (Instructions Not Included) and Gina Gershon (Empire). The film is being planned for release this year. 

Take a look:

There must be more to it than we see here, as fantasy-fun and fairy tale-ish as this seems, especially if they're insisting it's based on Andersen's fairy tale. Whatever the case, it looks like a neat, magical family film.

*It actually reminds us a little of She Creature, with the 'mermaid trapped in a carnival' setting (a much better 'creature feature', resulting from an HBO contest, than you would think - trailer at link). We're guessing the course this movie takes is a full 180 turn away from where She Creature ended up going..! (The link takes you to a fan-made music video that explores the themes without the gore.) If you like darker movies, this one is recommended - lovely production, fantastic (known) cast and well developed story. Not for kids though!

Guest Post: 'Five Fairy Tale Films & Their Forgotten Beginnings' by Diamond Grant

Every year we find ourselves watching feature films based on classic tales throughout the seasons, some of which relate better to winter, others more fitting for summer. It's inevitable we'll discover new fairy tale films as part of our culture.

By the time most people hear about fairy tales, they've been turned into huge cinematic films, but we often forget their humble beginnings. Some of the most popular and loved films that have made their way into most families’ favorite collections all started as lesser-known fairy tales.

Some stories were adapted or loosely based upon original tales and characters from writings, while others stayed truer to the story that not. It's worth paying homage to where these beloved films originated, and to possibly learn some lesser known facts of how they made it to the big screen.

Let's start with one you probably know well, both as film and tale. Will we still be able to surprise true fairy tale fans here with some forgotten facts? Let's find out!

The Little Mermaid

Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' development art

We're all familiar with the feature Disney film The Little Mermaid. Not so many know it started out as a lengthy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. A master storyteller, Andersen's stories are the source for many of the household fairy tale films we've all come to adore today. The film stays true to the written story in many of the main parts; however, there are some differences between the tale and movie that are startling.

The comedic characters Sebastian, Scuttle and Flounder, while great additions to the film, do not appear in the original, although the little mermaid is described as being so friendly with the fish of the sea that they would eat out of her hand, much like stereotypical land princesses who are friendly with forest creatures. Less well known is that in Andersen's tale the little mermaid ultimately discovers she needs a soul (apparently merpeople aren't gifted with them) so she can avoid a foamy death after living for 300 years in the sea. To win the love of a human is the only way she's able to gain an immortal soul. In the film, she spots Eric, whom she falls for after seeing him for the first time but there's no complication of needing a soul. She'd be happy just to have legs - and Eric, of course. Ursula, who tempts Ariel with this possibility, is portrayed in the film as a witch who has her own agenda and actively wants to make life difficult for the mermaid. In the fairy tale the sea witch is the conduit of fate.

Disney's 'The Little Mermaid', Triton's Kingdom development art

Aladdin

Disney's 'Aladdin' development art

This well-known film and character originate from a lesser-known book of tales entitled One Thousand and One Nights, later referred to as Arabian Nights. Oddly, the story of Aladdin only appeared in the editions after the first European translation was made by Antoine Galland between 1704 and 1717, which has led some to believe he created the character and his story.

In the original works, a woman named Shahrazhad (or Scheherazade) used her wits and creativity to delay her inevitable execution as she told the tale of Aladdin, and many others, to King Shahriyar. Each night, she told him part of the story, and because he wanted to hear more, he kept her alive.

The Disney film uses character traits and ideas from popular movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Thief of Baghdad, for their version and, reinforcing these tropes is set in Arabia, while the original was set in China. Whether or not Aladdin was Chinese remains a mystery!

Disney's 'Aladdin' development art

Chicken Little

Disney's Chicken Little (2005) concept art

In the original tale of Henny Penny, the main character, more commonly known in the US as Chicken Little, expresses and justifies her fears. The most popular Disney adaptation of Chicken Little is a science-fiction sequel that came out in 2005. Foxy Loxy becomes a bully instead of a rival and both Chicken Little and Foxy Loxy switched genders. Chicken Little is now a little boy and Foxy Loxy is a girl.

Not many know that before this quirky CG retelling, that there was a 1943 Disney adaptation which was manufactured at the request of the United States government to disgrace, and discourage Nazism and what it stood for.

(If you weren't aware of this before it will make watching Chicken Little again quite a different experience, won't it?)

The Princess and the Frog

Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog' development art

The Princess and the Frog was derived from the book The Frog Princess, a middle school novel written by E.D. Baker, who used ideas from the original Frog King (better known as The Frog Prince) fairy tale. The film caught the attention of many because it was the first Disney movie to include a black princess.

The moral of the story differs between tale and film. The fairy tale can be seen to suggest that you can get what you want in life even if you don't deserve it. The movie altered this to be a more suitable and uplifting for todays viewers, showing you can get what you want if you work for it.

The prince transformation differs greatly too. In the tale, the frog is thrown violently at a wall, which releases him from his enchantment, whereas in the movie, the frog turns into a prince when he is kissed. A nice little nod is given to this story's origins in the form of a fairy tale book that's read aloud in the film, retelling a more modern and familiar version where the frog must be kissed - giving the frog his reason for seeking a princess in the first place.

Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog' development art

Frozen

Disney's 'Frozen' character development and design

Now a part of mainstream Western culture, the film Frozen is a family favorite. But where did it really come from? Most fans know by now that Frozen originates from the Hans Christian Andersen tale The Snow Queen. What's less well known is that The Snow Queen is a segmented story, with seven unique 'episodes', each illustrating problems and solutions the heroine must face on her journey to save her friend. Differing from the movie, the tales' main characters are Gerda and Kay, who are like brother and sister though not blood-related.

It's also worth mentioning that in the original material, there are no trolls. The only similarity is the goblin (also described as the devil) who created the evil mirror that shatters, a sliver of which pierces Kay's eye and freezes his mind and heart. In an interesting parallel between movie and tale, in the fourth section of The Snow Queen, Gerda is told a story of marriage by a raven, about a princess who was fixated on getting hitched. In the film, Anna is very keen to marry Hans, so it's possible to see similarities in morals and lessons of the two versions.

Disney's 'Frozen' development art

Watch or Read?

Has dipping into the details on these classics given you a thirst for binge-watching these films? You can watch them on Netflix or use a U.S. connection if you're outside the country and desperately want access. Keep an eye out for the similarities and differences mentioned in this article; you can see where Hollywood has been creative or strayed from the original works and decide whether you like it or not.

It's also great fun reading the tales to see just how differently you interpret the stories. What your mind creates from the creativity of words will be different to what you see on screen. It also gives you an insight of how film manufacturers would have gone about deciding what to put in their movies and how to take the most entertaining and essential parts out to animate them.

Have knowledge on some differences between original works in fairy tales and movies? Or some cool information on where fairy tales were born? Leave a comment below.

Diamond Grant is a fairy tale enthusiast who enjoys reading original works and watching feature films. She also likes uncovering differences between versions of fairy tales, opening up a discussion as to which are more entertaining.

Thank you for being our guest writer today Diamond!

Would you like to write a fairy tale focused guest post for Once Upon A Blog? We'd love to hear from you!

Contact us at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com. 

While we cannot always guarantee being able to post your writing, and usually schedule our posts well in advance, we are open to ideas and, depending on available time, are happy to work with you.

#MermaidsHatePlastic

It's due to such enduring fairy tales as The Little Mermaid that campaigns such as these have a truly personal and emotional impact.

Unlike just seeing 'pretty pictures' of fantasy creatures and objects created out of trash to promote awareness of waste and environmental danger, beloved fairy tales access the emotions of those who have loved the tales. The many versions of the fairy tale in books and film (and, yes, Disney) have already stirred the imaginations of people, especially young people, around the globe. They relate to the plight of The Little Mermaid - her wish to be part of the world, to not be segregated, to have a voice and so much more, and once connected, they remain so.

After tale familiarity, it only takes an image alluding to a beloved fairy tale character for an important message such as this one to get through, and that's what photographer and visual artist, Benjamin Von Wong, harnesses very effectively.

Frankly we encourage using fairy tales and fairy tale imagery to galvanize people to action here, as the urgency of this issue is such that marine biologists and other scientists around the world are now predicting that bird and marine life will be decimated within three decades because of plastic in our oceans!

Discussing the problem in Australia alone, The Boomerang Alliance (Australia's prime campaign group on waste and recycling) lists multiple, serious issues to the eco-system and wildlife, but if that's not reason enough to take the issue seriously, they add that "every time you eat seafood you’re potentially ingesting these same indestructible plastic particles into your own body".

Yikes.

From news.com.au:

By the year 2050 there will be more plastic rubbish floating in our oceans than fish unless we make some drastic changes to the way use and dispose of plastic materials.  

To raise awareness of the ocean’s urgent plight, Benjamin Von Wong, a renowned Canadian conceptual photographer and conservationist, has developed an epic visual movement called #mermaidshateplastic, which he hopes will draw the world’s attention to the grave threat plastic waste poses to the world’s oceans.

Using his signature hyper-realistic art style, Von Wong photographed models transformed into ‘mermaids’ ‘swimming’ amid 10,000 discarded plastic bottles he used to represent the sea. The ambitious shoot took place in a Montreal warehouse where Von Wong staged each of his scenes and photographed from above. 

Currently in Australia, Von Wong spoke to news.com.au about the #mermaidshateplastic campaign, which launched globally last week. 

“To me, the ocean is … like space but on our own planet and it’s something I find really fascinating,” Von Wong says. “But, virtually every single piece of plastic that has ever been created still exists on the planet today and if we do nothing, by 2050 there will be more plastics than fish in the sea and that’s terrifying.” 

As an artist, Von Wong says that while he isn’t able to find the tangible solution to this problem, he’s chosen to apply his creative skills to draw the world’s attention to the ocean’s urgent plight. “I’m not a plastics engineer, I can’t create a new material, I can’t impact policy but what I can do, hopefully, is drive awareness,” Von Wong explains. 

Take a look at the creation process, which, by the way, uses collected beach and recycling waste for materials:

You can read the whole article HERE, along with ideas on how to halt the cycle of waste in easy ways every day, help the process of cleanup with just seconds of action, and, ultimately, stop plastic from not just being part of our world, but destroying it.

Update on Various Live Action 'Little Mermaid's

This post is not about the Disney live action in the making. That's only recently been confirmed as a legitimate project and everything around it is very hush, hush at present. As we all know, however, there are others in the works...

In particular, we have been very interested in the live action movie by a different studio, Universal, said to follow Hans Christian Andersen's story much more faithfully, which originally had Sofia Coppola attached to direct. (We are sadly certain it would have been amazing... sigh.)

It's been in the works a long time now and has looked so promising, so often, only to have continual setbacks. Coppola resigning was a big blow to high hopes across the board for a truly interesting film (especially after the first casting of a transgender supermodel Andrej Pejic as one of the mermaid sisters). She cited creative differences, especially with regard to wanting to cast an unknown in the lead role. Most recently in September, Chloe Grace Moretz, chosen to star in the title role by the following (and currently attached) director, Rebecca Thomas, also quit the project (and many others), for personal reasons. (The Moretz pictures in this post are from her Facebook earlier this year, showing her initial enthusiasm for the project.)

Chloe Grace Moretz

With the movie originally planned for release in 2017, up till as late as the middle of this year, what's happening with it now? It's a little difficult to tell. much of the original information has disappeared, even from general production news and casting sites. Director Rebecca Thomas, is still attached and while there's been no official word on Pejic pulling out, she's no longer listed as attached either, but that's all that seems to be confirmed.

It gets confusing quickly with at least two other indie Little Mermaids set to release in 2017, not to mention that Disney has now confirmed they'll be doing a live action adaptation of their own animated classic.

The most interesting of the films, at present, is family film adaptation by MVP, with Poppy Drayton (The Shannara Chronicles) starring as the mermaid, and film legend Shirley McLaine. Here's the description:

Poppy Drayton, promo pic
for The Little Mermaid

(The) story follows a young orphan (Peralta) who discovers a beautiful and enchanting creature (played by Drayton) she believes to be the real “Little Mermaid.” MacLaine portrays Eloise, an eccentric woman who has intimate knowledge of the story. 

“We’re thrilled to be launching MVP Studios with ‘A Little Mermaid,’ a magical adventure that uses the beloved fairy tale as its jumping off point, but is an all-new story with all-new characters that the entire family can enjoy,” the producers said in a statement.

While it sounds like a fun fantasy film for the family, it seems doubtful this will have Little Mermaid fans as excited as they could be, since neither the plot of HCA's fairy tale will be followed, nor will it reflect the Disney film.

What it does tell us, though, is that there is a lot of mermaid and water-folk buzz in the film industry at present. Between all the various adaptations, a selkie film, Disney confirming their live action adaptation and the announcement that Disney/Touchstone's Splash is getting a remake (why?), we're set for much water magic at the box office in the next couple of years.

Crystal Galloway's Indian Little Mermaid

Crystal Galloway is an illustrator who decided she wanted to try creating a version of The Little Mermaid that moved away from its traditional setting in Europe. The locale she chose instead, was, refreshingly, East India.

While you might think most of the underwater scenes wouldn't necessarily reflect this, Galloway did a lovely job of reflecting the culture in the design of the characters, as well as the style of painting.

The Prince chillin' on his birthday boat

The Prince's birthday fireworks

The storm

The mermaid saving the Prince

A kiss on the shore

Arriving at the witch's bog

The witch preparing her brew

The mermaid admiring the night before her death

"Kill the Prince!"

Pretty nice interpretation! Beautifully rendered too with a feeling of sand, salt and sea. It gives the impression of being constantly in motion without being overwhelming.

Galloway did many studies for the various characters, all with lovely inspiration from East India and the unique cultural flavor there. We'd love to see an illustrated book of the complete story!

The grandmother

The sea witch

You can find more individual character designs HERE and some story boards for when the Little Mermaid goes the the surface for the first time HERE.

Fairy Tale Bonus of the Day:

Galloway also created one other fairy tale illustration, this time for The Twelve Dancing Princesses (a fairy tale not illustrated nearly enough in my opinion! It's such a rich tale, full of vivid imagery from start to finish yet it's rarely explored in its entirety. (Thank you Ruth Sanderson for giving us your version of the whole story!)

Here is the piece (click to view larger) and you can see some close ups of sections HERE: