Lin-Manuel Miranda Had One Goal With The Little Mermaid Remake: “Don’t F–k It Up”

For Lin-Manuel Miranda, remaking The Little Mermaid is more about avoiding mistakes than anything else. In the midst of Disney’s push to remake many of its animated movies into live-action adventures, The Little Mermaid is next up with a new big-screen adaptation. The Hamilton creator was recruited as a lyricist to help produce the project and ensure that everything runs smoothly.

In an interview with Empire, Miranda revealed that he is worried about ruining the classic movie. Check out his quote below:

As the man in charge of putting together new songs and developing fresh content for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, it’s no wonder that Miranda is specifically assigning himself the role of preserving the atmosphere of the 1989 film. With so many nostalgic viewers who grew up with The Little Mermaid, the movie will need a fine-toothed comb to ensure there are no glaring flaws.

The Little Mermaid is preparing to have the longest runtime of any Disney remake at 2 hours and 15 minutes. Considering that the original movie ran for only 1 hour and 22 minutes, that means there will be considerably more content baked into the film. That leaves more chances to offer content that can elevate the original, but it also means that there are even more chances for things to go wrong.

The remake is attempting to revise the message of The Little Mermaid to create a more feminist perspective. Instead of Ariel fleeing the water just to marry a prince, the remake is giving Ariel more complex motivations by encouraging her to want more than just a surface man. It is also changing the lyrics to two offensive songs, “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. Sensibilities have changed, and The Little Mermaid intends to update the story for a modern audience that likely won’t want sexually charged lyrics that don’t appear to require Ariel’s consent.

All the changes aside, the movie still intends to honor Ariel and her adventure. While it may be adding and changing some things, the overall story will remain preserved. If Miranda gets his way, The Little Mermaid won’t be ruining anyone’s childhood, but will instead enhance the memories and shine a new light on a beloved story. Still, it all depends on the final product.