The Little Mermaid director Rob Marshall explained why Disney's live-action remake chose not to include Chef Louis.

"That’s when you realize we’re not an animated movie," Marshall told SFX Magazine. "The animated movie stays forever, and people can go and watch that. This needs to work in a realistic way. You have to be brave enough to make the tough choices." Voiced by René Auberjonois in the original 1989 animated classic, Chef Louis is a minor character in The Little Mermaid, known for singing the song "Les Poissons" as he attempts to cook Sebastian the crab.

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While Chef Louis does not appear in The Little Mermaid, the film features a star-studded live-action cast portraying classic characters. Halle Bailey, known for her work as one-half of the R&B duo Chloe & Halle, was cast in the lead role of Princess Ariel in 2019. Additional cast members include Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian and Awkwafina as Scuttle.

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Additionally, Marshall explained how the movie chose to cast a small but crucial role in the film: that of Ursula's human counterpart, Vanessa. "It was so clear, right from the beginning," Marshall said of actor Jessica Alexander, who portrays Vanessa in the film. In Disney's original film, Vanessa appears in a small but pivotal role as the human persona of the sea witch Ursula (voiced by Pat Carrol) in an effort to prevent Ariel from fulfilling her end of their bargain.

While a crucial role in the film's plot, Marshall explained why they chose to go with a relatively unknown actor. "I really didn't want to do too many stunt [castings]," he said. "We already had Melissa McCarthy playing Ursula, so to have another well-known person playing her as Vanessa just felt weird."

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The live-action remake of Disney's 1989 animated classic began production in 2016. Test audiences for the film reportedly praised both Bailey's performance as Ariel and Melissa McCarthy's turn as Ursula, while some described the film's soundtrack as a "hit or a miss."The Little Mermaid boasts a runtime of 2 hours and 15 minutes, almost an hour longer than the hour and 27 minutes of the animated original. Along with an hours-worth of new material, Bailey has promised that the remake has put a feminist twist on the classic tale.

"I'm really excited for my version of the film because we've definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy," she said. "It's way bigger than that. It's about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants… As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above. And I'm glad that Disney is updating some of those themes."

The Little Mermaid is now in theaters.

Source: SFX Magazine, via The Direct