Why lyrics to The Little Mermaid are being updated in the live-action remake

Composer Alan Menken reveals he's rewritten lines from the songs Kiss the Girl and Poor Unfortunate Souls

The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid stars singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel. Photo: Disney

Disney's live-action remake of the 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid will include two classic songs with updated lyrics to be less offensive to audiences.

Ahead of the highly anticipated film's release next month, composer Alan Menken revealed how he's rewritten lines from the songs Kiss the Girl and Poor Unfortunate Souls to make them more palatable to modern audiences.

"There are some lyric changes in Kiss the Girl because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” Menken told Variety Fair.

“We have some revisions in Poor Unfortunate Souls regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn't speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”

While the specific changes in lyrics haven’t been revealed, it’s easy to see where some modern audiences may take offense to some of the song’s lyrics.

In an important plot point in the film’s storyline, Ariel strikes a deal with Ursula, the sea witch. In order to be human, she gives up the use of her voice and has three days to secure the kiss of “true love” from Prince Eric. If she fails, she’ll be transformed back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula.

During this crucial scene, in the classic song Poor Unfortunate Souls, Ursula sings:

“The men up there don’t like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore.”

She also adds: “Yet on land it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word. And after all, what is idle babble for?”.

She also advises Ariel that when it comes to securing Eric’s affections “it’s she who holds her tongue who gets a man".

While it’s unclear how these lyrics will change to reflect the sea witch’s manipulative nature and still be true to the original song’s menacing energy, it seems that Disney and Menken are not leaving anything to chance.

However, Twitter users have pointed out that the lyrics to Ursula’s song’s reflect her evil and devious nature in this scene.

“Poor Unfortunate Souls must be kept as it is. It describes perfectly how Ursula manipulates Ariel, making her believe that women must be quiet and shut her 'voice' to please in the surface, thus, she can easily steal Ariel’s voice. Updating it makes no sense," one user wrote.

“It makes sense that villains say those things. Maybe instead of changing the lyrics, teach kids to think and reflect about those topics so they can develop critical thinking," another added.

Alan Menken received has EGOT status in 2020 for his work on several Disney classics such as Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas and Aladdin. EPA

In another scene, once Ariel is human and is on land, she and Eric take a boat ride in a lagoon. There, with the help of her friends Sebastian the crab, Flounder the fish, and Scuttle the seagull, a romantic atmosphere is created through the song Kiss the Girl.

In the original lyrics, Sebastian, sings: “Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do. Possible she wants you, too. There is one way to ask her. It don’t take a word. Not a single word. Go on and kiss the girl.”

The concern here, it seems, is that the lyrics may be encouraging Eric to kiss Ariel without her consent.

However, some audiences have expressed their confusion.

“I though the whole point of Kiss The Girl was that Ariel’s future depended on getting it (the kiss) before the sun sets on the third day?” said one Twitter user.

“I don’t know why people interpret that as Eric 'forcing himself' onto Ariel when in reality it’s something that she herself wanted and not the other way around.”

“Of course consent is so so important. But in the film Ariel cannot speak while this song is being sung and the lyrics of the song make perfect sense in the context of the movie /scene," another wrote.

Menken, who collaborated on the film with the actor and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, wrote the soundtrack to the original animated classic with Howard Ashman, the renowned playwright, lyricist and stage director.

Ashman, who also worked on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, is credited for the “Disney Renaissance” of the late 80s and 90s.

“I think it's very disrespectful to the memory of Howard Ashman to 'update' his lyrics,” wrote another Twitter user.

The Little Mermaid, which stars singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel, will join several live-action remakes that have been released over the years. Animated films The Lion King, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pinocchio have all got live-action updates.

Since the announcement of the cast and release of trailers and posters, The Little Mermaid has received both praise and backlash for changes in the original Disney story, including casting more diverse actors to play key characters.

The Little Mermaid will be released in UAE cinemas on May 25

Disney has released character posters for its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, in which Halle Bailey stars as Ariel. All photos: Disney

Melissa McCarthy as Ursula

Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric

Javier Bardem as King Triton

Daveed Diggs voices Sebastian

Jacob Tremblay voices Flounder

Awkwafina voices Scuttle