Fan Casting Disney's Live Action 'The Little Mermaid'

While Universal is making plans to move forward with their live-action version of Ariel and her friends, Disney has announced that it will be adding The Little Mermaid to its roster of classics that will be made into live action in the future. While I applaud Universal for wanting to tackle the original version written by Hans Christian Anderson, I am excited about the prospect of Disney redoing this tale as well, given their success at retelling their tales in movies such as Maleficent and The Jungle Book (and the upcoming Beauty and the Beast, the trailer for which just dropped). Here are some of the actors who I think would be amazing in a casting of the live-action tale of the mermaid with the voice of an angel.

Jesse L. Martin — Sebastian

With his popularity on The Flash, Jesse is pretty recognizable these days. He started out in theater, however, and has an incredible singing voice. With his father-like attitude and his singing chops, I think it would be a lot of fun to have him voice this character.

August Maturo — Flounder

I am not sure how old Flounder is supposed to be, but to me he always seemed like a little kid brother, and always sounded a lot younger. I think the cute little brother from Girl Meets World would be a great match to this character and bring some depth to the guppy.

Anna Kendrick — Vanessa

Anna Kendrick has her own set of pipes, so I think an interesting concept would be to combine her singing voice with Ariel's for some ghostly type harmony that hypnotizes Eric. She has the look, and it would be fun to see her in that "I want your man" type role again after her work in Twilight.

Ian McKellen — Grimsby

Ian McKellen has always seemed like that older man who is serious when he wants you to listen closely, but can be silly and fun otherwise. He has played the wise man helping a young man on his journey before, and I think that he would be great at being the father figure in Prince Eric's life.

Hugh Jackman — King Triton

Hugh Jackman is a man who has it all for this role. He is still very fit for his age, he has been that protective father, he has that commanding appearance and personality that someone would need to have in a role like this. Give Triton a song, and this would be the perfect fit for him! And let's be honest, any reason to see him without a shirt is a good one — am I right, ladies?

Meryl Streep — Ursula

I think Meryl would be incredible in this role. She has already proven time and again that she can hold her own in musicals, and she has that presence that is so intimidating it's eerie. She is someone that I wouldn't want to cross if she was upset. I could also see her transforming into Anna Kendrick, and it would be interesting if there was a story idea where Vanessa is really what Ursula looked like when she was young — before she was banished — and not just a disguise.

Leo Camacho — Prince Eric

So some of you might not even know who this guy is, but trust me, he would be a great Eric. He has a kind and good personality, he looks just like the character, and it would be a great breakout role for him. I know many Disney fans who would love to see this.

It would actually be really cool to have Eric have a singing part, even for a moment, in the movie.

Dove Cameron — Ariel

She has already played the daughter of Maleficent in Disney Descendants, so why not a daughter of Triton? Dove has that youthful beauty and spirit that is needed in a role like Ariel, and a vibrant personality. Her singing is incredible and very unique, so it would be easy to understand why someone would be so enchanted by it after hearing it only once. She is the perfect embodiment of Ariel in my opinion, and I would love to see her tackle the role and make it her own. Knowing how expressive she can from her time on Liv and Maddie, it would be fun to see how she speaks with only her face and hands in this role.