ABC continued the fine network TV tradition on Monday night of shoving brightly-colored, star-studded live musical adaptations into viewers’ faces. This time, it was Little Mermaid Live!, an onstage re-imagining of Disney’s 1989 animated film starring Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) as Ariel, Queen Latifah as Ursula, Shaggy as the crustacean Sebastian, and John Stamos as the evil Chef Louis.
And as usual with these sort of things, the critical reception was … mixed. The production made the odd choice of flipping back and forth between clips from the film and the live musical performances, which some thought made for a disjointed experience. Poor King Triton wasn’t even represented by a live actor. Perhaps even worse, Flounder was portrayed by a puppet and didn’t even have a voice—wholly ironic, given the subject matter.
A critic for USA Today chalked up the “baffling” Little Mermaid Live! to being the “the most expensive Disney+ ad” when all was said and done.
“The first commercial break featured an ad for Disney+, a good reminder that viewers can, in just one week, watch the original Mermaid film (and soon, this one) mercifully uninterrupted by commercials or awkward song breaks.”
Likewise, to the absolute surprise of no one, viewers had some very strong opinions on social media and reacted with jokes and memes. For starters, people had fun comparing the original Flounder to the sad Little Mermaid Live! version.
‘Little Mermaid Live!’ memes
What you think you look like vs what you look like in the target self checkout cameras. #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/P6JFjzR27h
— NC (@Nikki_Dubs) November 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/kmax_well/status/1191904286071910403
Did they order the Flounder puppet on Wish?: #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/eMEaQxyYsa
— KristinDeLuciaMorgan (@kmorgan76) November 6, 2019
Others mocked the fact that during the music number between Sebastian and Chef Louis in Little Mermaid Live!, Shaggy wasn’t even wearing a crab costume, even as he was surrounded onstage by costumed dancers.
This is the only explanation for Sebastian not wearing a crab costume 😂
— The Bachelor Chronicles 🌹🌹🌹 (@WEB_DemBois) November 6, 2019
Shaggy: “I ain’t wearing that shit” #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/9FOlzrw5tf
Shaggy when they told him to wear the crab costume #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/3FOXhTXSOv
— Shakespeare Smurf (@MuayThaiSmurf) November 6, 2019
Once again, Black women remain undefeated while doing 10 times the work. Meanwhile, Shaggy put a red jacket on and called it a day #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/Tc5ckOGXQO
— The Bachelor Chronicles 🌹🌹🌹 (@WEB_DemBois) November 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/lillieann98/status/1191901290667937793
Even the audience had crab claws!
THE AUDIENCE HAD CLAWS BUT SEBASTIAN DIDN’T. #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/Bq6nbjO3rZ
— Geeky Waffle Network (@Geeky_Waffle) November 6, 2019
How on earth could the have an audience FULL of crab claws and yet Shaggy came out on stage with his bare hands!?! #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/C4YLjDxrX4
— Frank Sansone (@Frank_A_Sansone) November 6, 2019
Others had, uh, thoughts about John Stamos’ performance in Little Mermaid Live!:
https://twitter.com/meresimkins/status/1191902426514767872
Somehow all of my feelings captured in one shot #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/3GdYwhVaeA
— V (@Vavavictoriaahh) November 6, 2019
This new Jesse and the Rippers song is unlike any of their old stuff but I’m still a fan. #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/5RGrKF4Pil
— MK Rabon (@EmQueso) November 6, 2019
And on that note, this is just the absolute perfect usage of the Paul Rudd Hot Ones meme:
John Stamos and the kid they got in the Sebastian costume while they’re chasing each other around a large kitchen set #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/cjX0sSsrY9
— Laige Pindsey 🌌 (@iironicaa) November 6, 2019
Others had jokes about the discrepancies between the animated film and Little Mermaid Live! (which had previously been performed at the Hollywood Bowl).
Normal People: Theatre People:
— Cody Walls (@Scott__Cody) November 6, 2019
THIS ISNT IN It’s in the musical,
THE MOVIE. Karen.#TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/7WQ3dfUp8O
https://twitter.com/jadieferreira/status/1191899277649469440
how ariel and prince eric gotta duet AND SHE DON’T HAVE NO VOICE?!?!? #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/9bT0u9kJl6
— kelo🏳️🌈 (@keloj_) November 6, 2019
But in the end, if there’s one positive that everyone seemed to agree about Little Mermaid Live!:
Me listening to Queen Latifah slay this whole show #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/eQOA9faXjn
— Shakespeare Smurf (@MuayThaiSmurf) November 6, 2019
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