Alan Menken on cut Javier Bardem The Little Mermaid song: "I love that one as much as the others"
A song for King Triton titled Impossible Child didn't make the final cut.
The new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has just arrived in UK cinemas, and as well as including most of the beloved songs from the original animation it also features a number of new additions.
Original composer Alan Menken teamed up with Lin-Manuel Miranda to pen three numbers for the Little Mermaid soundtrack: a solo song for Prince Eric titled Wild Uncharted Waters, a new track for Ariel called For the First Time, and a rap performed by Scuttle and Sebastian named The Scuttlebutt.
But there was actually a fourth new composition originally written for the film that didn't make the final cut – a song called Impossible Child performed by Javier Bardem's King Triton.
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"There's one we ended up cutting which is Impossible Child, the song for Triton," Menken explained during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. "Only because it really worked for the scene but it added too much weight in that particular part of the film."
But Menken says that even though the number didn't make it into the film, in his view it's every bit as good as the other new songs – and he's looking forward to eventually unveiling it to fans.
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"You will [hear the song eventually]," he said when asked if viewers will soon get the chance to listen. "Absolutely, yeah!"
He added: "I mean, they're all my children. I love that one as much as the other songs, and he [Bardem] did a wonderful job. So yes, an emphatic yes.”
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For his part, Bardem said: "I've been told it will be an extra in the movie when it comes out on the platform [Disney Plus].
"But it was a great process as well, in the sense that... I'm not a singer, but you're surrounded with people that really help you to get there, and understand that from where you are and what you have is enough.
"If you keep training and training and training, there will be a moment where boom it happened. And you go, 'Wow, where was that?'”
The Little Mermaid will arrive in cinemas on Friday 26th May 2023. Check out the best movies on Disney Plus and best shows on Disney Plus, read more of our Film coverage, or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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