Certainly one of the Danish author's most beloved tales today, The Little Mermaid has been translated and published countless times, and although it has also been adapted to movies- of which I am sure the 1989 Disney animation is by far the most popular, I cannot say there has been that one movie which has satisfied my expectation to make my most favorite fairy tale into a proper movie adaptation!
From personal feedback I have had from various websites, I would say 95% of the world's population believe that Ariel is the original story, and although many may have seen and photographed the beautiful statue in Copenhagen, I'm quite sure not many end up connecting the two...or worse yet, may say she is Ariel!
That may be considered partially true, but it is actually vice-versa: Ariel is The Little Mermaid, but The Little Mermaid is not Ariel! Ariel is just one of the characterizations derived from The (original) Little Mermaid.
In the original tale, The Little Mermaid is nameless, and she has no characteristics described other than her sea-blue eyes and delicate rose-petal skin. She could have been a blond with a green tail (usually the most popular description), or a brunette with a red tail, or a red-head with a golden tail...etc. I personally prefer her to be a blond with any color tail (as long as it's not bleak, bland, shocking or disturbing).
I have long been dreaming, designing, story-boarding, scripting and researching to make up my movie adaptation, which my principles dictate has to be completely truthful towards the original tale, otherwise my scope would become invalid!
I feel I couldn't settle for any less that my adaptation of The Little Mermaid should be described as the most truthful book-to-movie adaptation of movie history...or at least since of the century!
This, in my opinion, is my personal tribute of gratitude towards the author who has created, in my opinion, the most sublime of fairy tales which lacks much of the candy floss of usual fairy tale plots, and relates more the actuality of human life's suffering and sacrifice to gain a soul, simply to not be forgotten and live on after death, and partake in the beauty of a heavenly afterlife. Not many might agree or believe, but she did, and it is her story after all- like it or not!
So....for the designs; let's start with the tails:
and some more detailed characteristics...
Eyes: the iris would naturally have to be blue, but also I pictured the sclera being a lighter shade of blue rather than white, to give The Little Mermaid a more fantastical touch.
Arms & Hands: webbed fingers, though possibly clicheic, would be quite appropriate, as well as a few fins protruding from parts of the arms.
Caudal fin: this is not specified in the story, but the more original the shape and color the better!
And now, the human form:
a few costume designs in chronological order...
And, the casting...
Possible or impossible to implicate my selection, I like making up my own casting out of known actors & actresses, at least as a guideline for what I have in mind. Only Hans Christian Andersen requires a resemblance, for only he is historic; the rest of the fictional story characters were not particularly described in his tale, so their purpose is only to serve as a reference to the character. This is the cast I chose:
I start with the author himself, Hans Christian Andersen; portrayed by Eddie Redmayne, aged 35. Having placed these pictures together, I somehow found a resemblance even more. My inspiration came from Redmayne's movie The Danish Girl, where he portrayed another Danish historical personage. Originally I pictured Ralph Fiennes for the role, but since Andersen was around 30 years old when The Little Mermaid was published, the age gap was too vast, and I had to resort to find another.
When I Googled blond, blue-eyed actresses below 20, Madison Iseman was one of the results, and immediately I pictured her in a shrink-wrap fish tail sitting on a rock wearing shell jewelry and long blond hair pinned with red flowers. Coincidentally, her name is also synonymous to a famous mermaid played by Daryl Hannah in the 1984 movie Splash, who I find the most realistic mermaid before the time of CGI.
Compared to Iseman's age and considering his looks, I found Luke Pasqualino to be a very suitable fit for the Prince. His eyes are dark as described by Andersen, and I find him perfect to be able to give him an innovative oriental-ish look if preferred to the usual European portrayal in books.
Comparing age and her blue eyes, also mentioned specifically in Andersen's story,Odeya Rush is very suitable to take the role of the human Princess. Though not specifically named in the story, Andersen does account close to the end of the story: "She looked at the sharp knife and again turned her eyes toward the Prince, who in his sleep murmured the name of his bride." I picture this scene where the sleeping prince calls out her name 'Ana' in a soft whisper; a short-and-sweet name.
Having a masculine, muscular body, Tyler Mane seemed a great fit to portray the Mer-King. He somehow seems to have a look of authority, which would suit the role quite well.
With her blue eyes, silvery hair and a regal comportment, Vanessa Redgrave seemed to be a very good choice for the Mer-King's mother.
Unlike most representations, my version of the Mer-Witch will not be an old hag, but rather a slender mature sleek sorceress. Combining the mermaids form the fourth Harry Potter movie, and her role as Jadis in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Tilda Swinton became my preferred pick for the character. This would also be a means to oppose the look of the Disney sea-witch Ursula, thus giving her more her own identity from the Disney character.
Comparing her age from that of Madison Iseman being 5 years her senior, Holly Earlwas one of the choices that came up in my research for the eldest sister. Originally I saw the sisters as being all blond, but when I saw pictured of them having different-colored hair, the idea pleased me especially as this gives the sisters more of a unique identity at a glance.
As with the age case between Madison Iseman and Holly Earl, India Eisley is a year younger than the latter. Also, as with the case of the hair in the previous casting, in this case it was the eye-color that intrigued me. Originally I was more into having all main merfolk having blue eyes...but then again since this was not specified in the story, sea-green is sufficient just as much! Also, maybe a small touch of innovation to the story.
Being a year younger than India Eisley, Freya Tingley could well fit the role of the third sister, having pale skin and light-colored eyes as with the other sisters.
Reaching the 4th sister's age, I decided upon Liana Liberato as the less adventurous of the mer-princesses. Also, I re-introduced the blond hair.
A year older than Madison Iseman, Sophie Turner was my next choice of mermaid princess. Slightly a red-head, pale-skinned with eyes mixed between blue and green, she would fit wonderfully in the role!
