Not Even Burning Herself Live Could Stop Queen Latifah From Shining Under The Sea
Have you been keeping up with any of the recent Live Musicals the ABC network has been putting on? They are successful in some capacity, whether it be through performance and talent or causing a rift on social media, so the network continues to pump them out. Yesterday, the most recent edition of the live musicals was none other than one of Disney’s all time favorite animated princess films, The Little Mermaid, not be confused with the upcoming live action 2020 film which caused controversy after an African-American performer was cast as titular character Ariel. Appropriately titled The Little Mermaid Live, we witnessed Auli’I Cravalho (Moana) give her best take as Ariel, accompanied by ‘90s Rapper, Shaggy, as Sebastian the crab, Graham Phillips (Riverdale) as hottie Prince Eric, and one of the sexiest daddies, John Stamos (Full House) took a shot as the aggressive Chef Louis… who I never thought I’d be attracted to until now.
As with most of these live musicals, there were a ton of flaws. The special was trending on social media all evening yesterday with tons of criticism from viewers. Ariel was flat, the outfits were lackluster, and imagery was left to be desired. For anyone who has actually been to a musical or play in real life, you’ll understand that it’s simply not a film produced for mass viewings. It’s a live musical – things are going to happen. However, one cast member stood out above all… even if they were under the sea.
Taking the reign of arguably the most popular character in The Little Mermaid as the evil sea witch, Ursula, was Queen Latifah. Latifah, who has been playing a cat-and-mouse game with her sexuality for years, absolutely annihilated every single cast member on the stage last night. Upon watching, I became glamoured by the embodiment of the character by Latifah. Her performance in Ursula’s hit song, Poor Unfortunate Souls, may be just enough to convince you to also sign a contract with the sea hag. It was so… fire (?) that Latifah was so in character and in the moment that she touched an obviously scorching hot set piece – on live television – which caused her to give a millisecond of pain and a flick of her hand as Auli’l looked on in concern. But, that didn’t stop the literal Queen from continuing on as if nothing happened – but damn, did that look painful.
Did you tune into The Little Mermaid Live?
Check out Latifah’s full performance below to get all of your nostalgia needs. And since you’re already curious, she burns herself nearly two minutes and forty seconds in:
Writer’s Note: This is the opinion of one Instinct Magazine contributor and does not reflect the views of Instinct Magazine itself or fellow contributors.
Have we got a deal?
If I become human, I’ll never be with my father or sisters again
But you’ll have your man
Life’s full of tough choices, isn’t it?
Oh, and there is one more thing
We haven’t discussed the subject of payment
But I don’t have-
I’m not asking much, just a token really, a trifle
What I want from you is your voice
But without my voice, how can I-
You’ll have your looks, your pretty face
And don’t underestimate the importance of body language, h
“Don’t forget to underestimate the importance of body language””?? That’s not the lyric. I thought she was pathetic compared to the original Pat Carroll. Honor (the late, of AIDS) lyricist, Howard Ashman, by getting the words right and enunciating. Pathetic.