Little Mermaid Live

   I wasn't sure what to expect from this evening's TV production of Disney's The Little Mermaid Live!

   It was billed as a mix of live stage production and animation from the original film - they performed the songs live and the rest of the film's action was animated. It was admittedly a little wonky in places, but I enjoyed it - it was a terrific production!

   That's because they had a very talented cast, an outstanding stage production with impressive costumes and effects, and lots of clever tricks to move from live action to animation and back again.

   The biggest danger was that the live action performers would suffer from a direct comparison to their animated counterparts - after all, it takes years to create a film, where every performance can be fine-tuned, as opposed to a live performance where you get one chance to get it right!

   But they made it work, and the production didn't skimp on the effects - so they used flying effects to allow the mermaids to swim through the air, along with acrobats, dancers and amazing costumes.

    Kudos to young Auliʻi Cravalho (best known for voicing another Disney animated star, Moana) for turning in an excellent performance - part of it while suspended in mid-air!

   Queen Latifah brought lots of attitude, sass and star-power to the villainess Ursula (what an amazing costume she wore)! 

   Rounding out the singing cast was the talented Graham Phillips as Prince Eric (a couple of songs were added for him to sing), Shaggy as Sebastian (doing an excellent job of two of the show's biggest numbers - "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl," and John Stamos chewing up the scenery with gusto as Chef Louis.

   I couldn't stop smiling throughout! (It doesn't hurt that the original film is such a classic!) Well worth tracking down for Disney fans of all ages!