‘The Little Mermaid’: Jacob Tremblay on Flounder’s iconic fins – National

Like most teenagers, Jacob Tremblay doesn’t remember the first time he watched it Little Mermaid.

The 16-year-old actor wasn’t born when the original movie was released in 1989, but the iconic Disney movie has stuck with his childhood. Even before being cast as Flounder, Ariel’s best friend, he knew how to sing the piece because he grew up with it.

Tremblay was just 13 years old when he was given the lead voice role in Disney’s latest live-action remake. He plays the role of Flounder – or rather the fins – to tell the story of a young mermaid, Ariel, who makes a deal with an evil sea witch to grow legs and live on land in order to fall in love with a prince. death, at any time. the price to pay for her voice.

Along with stars like Halle Bailey as Ariel, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Awkwafina as Scuttle and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Tremblay’s performance and his co-stars will leave audiences all over the world yearning to be back. part of their world.

Tremblay has provided Global News with insight into the magic of making Little Mermaidwhile praising the film for evoking nostalgia while telling a whole new generation of children that they don’t have to be silent to be heard.

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Is it scary to play such a famous role? Little Mermaidflounder?

Jacob Tremblay: Yes, recreating a character is definitely pretty scary, but the special thing about this movie is that everyone in the movie is ready from the start. So getting to work with Halle, Daveed and Awkwafina… all of these people are very nice and really friendly who make you feel welcome. Rob Marshall is a great director and he made me feel really confident in myself on set. So it was a great experience.

Have you ever voiced an animated sea creature in Disney’s Lucabut is it different when playing flounder?

Very different. thing about Luca was that I was recorded in a booth, and that’s what I was used to. But with this one, we were all together, and they set it up like a stage. It’s me, Daveed and Awkwafina and they have a camera that captures our expressions so they can put that into the animation. Then Rob Marshall was there to direct us, and Halle was there to deliver her lines. So we could actually talk to each other, and actually have a lot of amazing improvisation involved, which I didn’t expect at all.

Little Mermaid is the first time you sing in a movie. Did your co-star give you any advice?

I was a bit nervous when I joined, but everyone was so nice to me. I get nervous because obviously with all these people around, you want to make sure you’re giving 100% of your energy and that you can keep up with them. I remember actually hearing Halle sing for the first time and it gave me goosebumps. It brought everyone in the room to tears. It amazed my mother because she grew up with the original. To see that in person is really special. It’s like a big family at the end of the day.

The flounder looks more like a real-life fish during the re-imagining. Some people even say that he looks a bit scary. What do you think when you see the character design?

I like it because this is the time when Lion King came out recently, so Disney will portray that in their live-action. I think the designs really work well together. When the animals came out of the water and were talking to Ariel, I think it suits her very well. I’m not sure what it would look like if it were different. I think the whole point of this movie is to make the animals look real. In a way, that sort of thing makes the ocean seem so familiar. IN Under the sea, they have these beautiful creatures and they’re beautifully choreographed. Hard to believe each of these animals exists in real life. This is crazy.

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Dive into ‘The Little Mermaid’ with Jacob Tremblay

This version Little Mermaid changed some of the lyrics and changed the overall message of the story. Have you approved?

I like it very much. The change to the original songs, the edits were so small that I didn’t even realize that there was a difference. There are new characters as well, which is great. They even delve deeper into characters like Prince Eric, who now has his own song. The performance of that song, and even the romance between Prince Eric and Ariel, is really cool because they really turn it into friendship between them as well as romance. That wasn’t really in the original.

What can be dedicated to fans of Little Mermaid expect from new movie?

They can look forward to characters they love more deeply, and new songs, new characters to help them grow. I’m really glad the original fans got to see that.

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This interview has been edited and condensed.

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“The Little Mermaid” is currently showing in theaters across Canada.

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