In addition to the new Villains show in Hollywood Studios we also got a new Little Mermaid show! The Little Mermaid A Musical Adventure opened in the same building as the original Little Mermaid show and while similar is also very different. You can find this theater in the Animation Courtyard section of Hollywood Studios. You can’t miss miss the big marquee on the building. I was able togo on opening day and I can’t wait to share this new show with you!
The Little Mermaid A Musical Adventure Plot
We all now the classic animated story of the Little Mermaid and this show follows that exactly. We follow Ariel on her journey to becoming part of the human world and finding her voice. The show is only about 115 minutes long so it is definitely condensed and meant to tell the story through the music. So aptly named The Little Mermaid A Musical Adventure! The show can feel a little choppy at some points but I don’t think anyone is seeing this story for the first time so you shouldn’t have a problem following along. And no need to worry if you lied the original….you still get bubbles!
The Little Mermaid A Musical Adventure Cast
This show is perfectly cast! Ariel is FANTASTIC, her voice is outstanding and she may have made me tear up a little. The show is comprised of live actors, projections and puppets. The puppetry is wonderful and leaves you wondering how they do what they do in the dark. The projections are the real difference between this show and the original. In the original we had a lot of lasers and in this show we go seamlessly between a projected character and a puppet where sometimes you aren’t sure which is which. The combination of all the different character elements really makes this show great.
The Little Mermaid A Musical Adventure Set
The set up for The Little Mermaid A Musical Adventure is fairly similar to the original show. You have a presidium around the stage that has all kinds of easter eggs from the animated movie. I learned last night at a separate event that the designers also hid some personal elements within this set piece that were special to them, so look closely! There is a screen at the fro top the stage that serves as the surface for the projections and then the live characters and puppets operate behind that at different levels along with a back screen as well. The seats are all new theater seats and super comfy.
My Favorite Part
The whole show was great but I had to elaborate on one in particular. The battle scene between Ariel, Eric and Ursula is absolutely stunning! The projections make the storm aspect of this part very dramatic and then the scenes are paused in slow motion, moving through this part of the story. It was incredible and so beautifully choreographed!
Conclusion
To say that I loved this show would be an understatement. The Little Mermaid A Musical Adventure took me back to my childhood. The original show opened when I was 10 years old and was always my favorite when we came here on vacation. I couldn’t wait to go see the original and would beg for all the things in the store. It made me super happy to see the store reopened as well. To me, Hollywood Studios is all about shows like this. It is why it was my favorite park growing up. This show is such a nice addition to the park and brings back so much nostalgia for me and I am sure so many others. Seeing this building sit empty for the last 5 years and the sign up there fading was so sad to see. My pictures don’t do this show justice so I hope you get to go see it soon! Thanks for reading a double feature today. If you haven’t already go check out my review of the new Villains show! Have a magical day everybody!
