Under The SeaCheck Out The Most Talked About Moments From ‘Little Mermaid Live’

Nov 6, 2019 11:19 am

By Shelby Stivale

The Little Mermaid Live

Over the last few years, live television musical has totally taken over! Starting with Grease: Live (which starred Vanessa Hudgens, Keke Palmer, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jordan Fisher, and Carlos PenaVega), then Hairspray Live! (which starred Ariana Grande, Garrett Clayton, and Dove Cameron), and most recently Rent: Live (which starred Vanessa Hudgens and Jordan Fisher). On Tuesday, November 5, a Disney show was added into the mix when The Little Mermaid Live! swam into viewers’ hearts as the latest musical re-done for live television.

For those who missed it, the musical celebrated the 30th anniversary of the original animated film and starred Auli’i Cravalho as fans’ favorite red-headed mermaid, Ariel. She was joined under the sea by Queen Latifah as Ursula, Graham Phillips as Prince Eric, Shaggy as Sebastian, and John Stamos as Chef Louis.

The actors brought a unique spin to the live musical while also starring in animated interludes that played throughout the broadcast as an ode to the original film. The stars totally showed off their amazing vocals by breaking out in all the songs fans know and love. From classics, like “Part Of Your World,” to newer songs from the Broadway soundtrack, like “If Only,” the music brought viewers straight into a Disney dream world.

Scroll through our gallery to check out all the best moments from the Little Mermaid Live! From costumes to songs and everything in between.

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The Little Mermaid Live

Auli’i Cravalho’s stunning performance as Ariel

Auli’i first stole the hearts of fans and followers with her amazing performance in Moana. Now, the 18-year-old did it again and totally slayed the role of Ariel. From her vocals on “Part Of Your World” to her skills while swimming through the air in a mermaid tail, this young star was made for live performances!

Before taking on the iconic role, the actress revealed she received some epic advice from Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in the original 1989 film.

“I’ve spoken to Jodi and she’s an absolute dream,” she told People. “I actually met her a few years ago at D23, which is a wonderful Disney convention, and I remember her just telling me — and this is before, of course, anything about me playing Ariel — she said that Ariel had changed her life and I should ‘buckle up, buttercup’ because everything is about to change and about to be so magical and amazing.”

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Diversity when it came to casting Ariel’s sisters

Viewers took to social media during the live broadcast to praise ABC for their diverse casting when it came to Ariel’s fellow mermaid sisters. Fans noticed that no two of the lovely ladies in the background looked alike, making for an amazing family on stage.

Glee star Amber Riley played emcee and helped with the introduction of the sisters. She took the stage during “Daughters of Triton” and called out each mermaid one by one.

“I’m so happy to see such diverse casting for Ariel’s sisters!” one Twitter user wrote.

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The Little Mermaid Live

“Poor Unfortunate Souls”

Could Queen Latifah have slayed this performance any more than she already did?! The 49-year-old totally personified our greatest childhood nightmares by bringing Ursula to life in the best way. Her rendition of the classic tune, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” was the broadcast’s most show-stopping number. Her performance even included the appearance of the sea witch’s eel minions, Flotsam and Jetsam.

The Hairspray: Live! alum recently opened up to GMA about her performance of the iconic song and revealed that she was nervous to hit the stage.

“It’s a serious song,” she said. “When I listen to it, you know — you think you know every Disney movie to watch it again and or you think you know a song until you actually have to sing it and you’re like, oh my god.”

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The Little Mermaid Live

Sebastian’s red suit and missing claws

From Ariel’s tail to Ursula’s dress, all the Little Mermaid Live! costumes were totally on point, but there was one in particular that turned heads and brought up some questions. Fans took to Twitter calling out the network for making the singer look more like he was performing in a popstar’s music video than playing a crab.

There was one major part of Shaggy’s head-to-toe red look that was missing — his claws! After it was pointed out more than once, SVP of Live Programming at ABC, Robert Mills, gave an explanation.

“For those wondering, Shaggy wore crab claws in early rehearsals and it looked ridiculous,” he tweeted.

Despite missing claws on his costume, nothing could take away from the 51-year-old’s epic “Kiss The Girl” performance.

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The Little Mermaid Live

The Internet crowned Graham Phillips as 2019’s newest heartthrob

Could a better Prince Eric have been cast?! Graham is no stranger to the musical stage, having past credits on Broadway’s 13: The Musical and he proved it with those amazing vocals and leading man look. Fans know him as bad boy Nick St. Clair on Riverdale, but no one is looking at the 26-year-old as a villain anymore. Can somebody say swoon?!

He even opened up to ET and revealed that he’s using this live television role as his audition for Prince Eric in the upcoming live action movie. OMG, that would be a total dream!

“I’m sort of seeing this as my audition for the movie role,” he said. “So, we’ll see how it goes.”

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