The composer for Disney’s live action “Little Mermaid” remake recently confirmed that some of the classic songs written for the 1989 animated classic have had lyrical changes to promote consent.
Composer Alan Menken told Vanity Fair in a recent interview that some of the original’s famous songs, including “Kiss the Girl,” have received updated lyrics so that it’s clear to viewers that Prince Eric would never “force himself on Ariel.”
Another song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” — sung by classic Disney villain Ursula — has had its lyrics updated because some of the lines “might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn,” Menken said.
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Princess Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” (The Walt Disney Company)
The film, starring African American actress Halle Bailey as title character Ariel and comedian Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, is set to hit theaters May 26.
Clarifying the changes before they could surprise longtime fans, Menken said, “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].”
The lyrics to the original tune’s chorus read, “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 composer then mentioned the changes to Ursula’s most famous number. He said, “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.”
In the original song, the sea witch sings, “The men up there don’t like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore! Yet on land it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word. And after all dear, what is idle babble for?”
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Halle Bailey stars as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid.” (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
The original songs were composed by Menken, along with the late Howard Ashman.
Menken and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda have also penned several new original songs for the upcoming live action remake.
The changes were fodder for the co-hosts of “The View” during their Wednesday episode. Most of the ladies approved of some of them, although one was a little confused about the implications of one of the changes.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg defended the updates in general, saying, “If you’re the songwriter and you have daughters, and you’re a songwriter who says, ‘You know what, these are not feeling like the songs I want kids singing now. I need to make some adjustments’ — I’m glad he did.”
Granted, Goldberg clarified she was fine with the original artist making these changes, but less comfortable with someone new coming along and changing the artist’s vision.
Co-host Sunny Hostin claimed she “didn’t mind that he wanted to change ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls.'” She said, “There’s a line that basically says, ‘Men don’t want you to talk much anyway,’ when she’s trying to get her voice. ‘They just like your body, like your face. The ones that don’t talk get a man.’”
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However, Hostin mentioned she had a problem with altering “Kiss the Girl” within the context of the movie’s plot, pointing out how by that moment in the film, Ariel had given “her voice away so she could have legs, so I don’t know how she could talk.”
“How do you consent when you can’t talk?” she asked.
Sisters Chloe Bailey and Halle Bailey donned sultry pink and white looks at the 2021 Met Gala. (Mike Coppola)