The Little Mermaid in its new, live-action avatar will be released on May 26 in theatres. The Little Mermaid was first released as an animated film in 1989. Some of the original songs will also make an appearance in the live-action version that is being released now.
Alan Menken, who worked on the old animated film together with Howard Ashman, is now collaborating with Lin-Manual Miranda to modify the lyrics of the songs that are being reused in the live-action version. He disclosed that there are changes being made to the lyrics of the song, Kiss the Girl. The original 1989 number had lyrics that went like this: Now's your moment (ya, ya, ya)
Floating in a blue lagoon (ya, ya, ya)
Boy, you better do it soon
No time will be better (ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)
She don't say a word
And she won't say a word
Until you kiss the girl
Times have changed since then, and Menken acknowledged in a recent interview to Vanity Fair that the original lyrics that had Prince Eric literally kiss Ariel without her consent could upset people. One can’t possibly kiss a girl unless she gives her consent in the modern context.
Another song that had lines which are being revised is Poor Unfortunate Souls, which was originally sung by the movie's antagonist Ursula. The lyrics for this song are being updated to ensure that the old lyrics don't make young girls feel that they can't speak up out of turn.
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