Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, I took a look back at one of the myriad of shows based on Disney Animated Classics that graced Disney’s Hollywood Studios over the years.
This Sunday, 2023’s live action reimagining of The Little Mermaid will make its world television debut on ABC. While not a box office smash, the film has seen success since its release with a ton of merchandising opportunities and character meet and greets at the Disney Parks. The newer version of the film went on to become the sixth-highest grossing film of 2023 domestically, beating out the original 1989 version, which was the thirteenth-highest grossing movie in the U.S. and Canada.
While 1989’s The Little Mermaid was a success at the box office, its lasting legacy was launching the Disney Renaissance of Walt Disney Feature Animation. Disney completely changed its storytelling techniques with the film, treating its musical numbers with more of a Broadway flair thanks to Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. The entire idea of a Disney animated movie completely changed with The Little Mermaid, with many of the core tenets still in place today, particularly in Disney Princess movies.
With The Little Mermaid staying in the zeitgeist after its release, it seemed like the optimal choice to replace Here Come the Muppets, which was no longer necessary with the addition of MuppetVision. At the time, it was not very common to retell Disney films as a stage show, so there was a bit of risk involved in the decision. But Disney decided the risk was worth the potential reward with Voyage of the Little Mermaid opening on January 7, 1992 in the Animation Courtyard area of the park.
Many of the characters in the show were puppets (a nice way to tie somewhat with its predecessor) with many of the voice actors from the movie reprising their role for this show. When trying to jam an entire movie into 16 minutes, having that familiarity helped to lock guests into the show right away and avoid feeling like a bit of an “other” when taking it all in.
The opening effects of the show really helped set it apart right from the outset with bangs and flashes and some cool ocean animation that helped everyone get “Under the Sea,” which just so happened to be the opening song of the attraction. “Under the Sea” looked a bit odd against a black background to hide the puppeteers, but it all made sense by the end when there were over twenty sea creatures on the stage at once.
The story continued with Ariel sitting on a rock and talking to an off-stage King Triton before letting us in the audience know that she wanted to be “Part of Your World.” The actress playing her actually got the chance to sing her heart out and she was pretty good, I must say. The only weird part was that while she sang, there was an animated montage in the back which featured a lot of Ariel in it, so you could see two of her at the same time.
Via YouTube
As she wrapped up, Ursula decided that it was time to make her grand entrance and chat with Ariel for a bit. Ursula was portrayed by a gigantic (I’m talking 10 foot tall) puppet of Ursula, so can you blame me for having developed a lifelong fear of Ursula after seeing her around the age of four? Yes, I was scared easily as a child, but that one really got me to the point that I still shudder a bit to this day. After their banter, Ursula moved into “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” which I have to admit is a banger and seeing a gigantic puppet sing it was even cooler, but still a bit frightening.
The show had places to be though, so right when the song ended there was another clip show that basically showed the entire climax of the movie, including Ursula dying (and getting what she deserved). Eric finally emerged at the end, just lying on Ariel’s rock before Ariel was magicked up and transformed into a human (which was a pretty awesome effect). But Eric wasn’t the only surprise appearance with Eric’s dog Max also showing up, played by a poor person who had to run around in a full-sized suit on their hands and knees every show. If that was the worst job, his costar had it much better as Eric basically showed up with saying a word and kissed Ariel before they went off to their happily ever after.
Over the years, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has had a lot of shows based on Disney Animated Classics, but only Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage has lasted longer than the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was a great time waster for hot days at the park, but it was getting to be time for a replacement when it closed along with the rest of the Hollywood Studios on March 15, 2020. But unlike the rest of the park, it never found its way back into activity even with Disney claiming that it wasn’t closed. The puppets started to be sold off in September 2020, so clearly that was not the true case of what was going on. Finally, on December 19, 2023, Disney announced that the experience would be reimagined as The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, which is set to open sometime this fall.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid was a fun time, but I’m excited to see what this new show brings. I think more shows should be completely updated like this to modernize with the times, so it is very exciting to see what could be coming next.
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Via Ranker
As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!