This awesome stage show should definitely be Part of Your World
This review was written by one of our amazing travel advisors, Christine Cummins! You can check out her travel advisor page by following this link. She's also active on social media - take a look at her Instagram right here!
- Run time: 1 hour
- Ship: Disney Wish
Let me tell you a tale of the bottomless blue. Or in other words, my thoughts on The Little Mermaid aboard the Disney Wish! This is an updated version of the movie told by a “troupe of storytellers” who play the various characters. Some people are mixed about this style of presenting the plot, but I loved it! These players start the show by singing “Fathoms Below” and letting us know they will be telling us the story of a mermaid named Ariel.
Right off the bat, I was wowed by HUGE set pieces such as the cliffs Ariel sings on/near, a large boat, and a huge treasure chest that moves about throughout the show (though never really gets used for anything?). There were also tons of uses of puppetry for the various fish and sea creatures (which you all know I loved). Plus, TONS OF BUBBLES pumped into the theatre for the big numbers like “Under the Sea” and the finale.
The storyline itself definitely had some changes from the film, which were welcome in my opinion. Ariel’s main motivation to be human throughout the whole show is simply because she passionately feels she belongs amongst the human race, not because of Prince Eric. Much of her dialogue is altered to be centered around her desire to find out who she is as opposed to her being in love with Eric. Which I honestly appreciated because I always found it odd she gave up her life and married a man she barely knew for 3 days at the age of 16.
In comparison to the movie, most of the story beats follow the same sequence with only a few adjustments here and there to fit the run time. This version of the story also takes a plot point from the Broadway Musical which explains that Ursula and Triton are actually estranged siblings, a character element I appreciate because it adds more meaning to Ursula’s vendetta.
All of the hit songs from the movie are featured with a few extra ones that were written specifically for this Ship show. Including, a fabulous bonus song for Ursula where the actress really gets to show off her vocal range.
Many of the technical show elements were spectacularly done such as all of the swimming through the air, Ursula’s growth at the end, the cliffs moving around, and the use of projection mapping throughout the entire theatre to immerse us in the scenes.
In the end, Ariel is the one that takes down Ursula and saves her father, further cementing the more empowering change in tone for the story. Triton does grant her the ability to stay human so she can continue to follow her heart and be who she really is. Eric stands off to the side and hopes to date her for real one day. A perfect ending.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this show! It had all of the big technical elements, fun musical numbers, and innovative storytelling that I have come to expect with Broadway caliber productions. Plus, the cast was phenomenal. While I really liked the story changes, others may not so keep that in mind. However, if you only are planning on seeing one show while on your cruise, I would definitely recommend it being this one!
