Mahmood has always been a fan of ‘I climbed the rocks and sang the songs from the cartoon’

2023-05-22 16:41:43

The live action ‘The Little Mermaid’ by Rob Marshall will be in theaters on May 24th. The protagonists are voiced by Mahmood (Sebastian), Yana_C and Sara Labidi (Ariel, the first in the songs and the second in the dialogues) and Simona Patitucci (Ursula). The latter had voiced Ariel in the animated version of 1989. “Three decades have passed, I was a child. In reality, at the beginning I was selected precisely for Ursula, then instead I was entrusted with Ariel – says Simona Patitucci – When this year I I was asked to participate in this live-action, I took it as a sign of destiny. A circle that closes and opens like a figure eight, an infinite thing. It is very exciting for me to continue to be part of the world of ‘The Mermaid'”.

Mahmood has always been a fan of the cartoon, as evidenced by a child photo he posted on his profile to announce the film’s release. “As a child I had a very strong contact with water since my mother is Sardinian. I climbed the rocks and sang the songs from the animated film – reports the singer – If as a child they had asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would have said this (referring to the profession of singer, ed)”. Mahmood is in his first dubbing experience as Yana_C, which he describes as an art very close to acting. “It wasn’t easy – he admits – I had to work on it for a long time”. In this regard, even the actress and voice actress Simona Patitucci, who started dubbing at the age of seven, says that when you approach a new character “it’s always a challenge”. You thanked the dubbing director Massimiliano Alto for the painstaking work done. Even for Yana_C, more used to singing in English, it was a challenge, “the way of singing is closer to the musical than what I’m used to doing usually-she tells her-It was a very emotional and technician”.

The soundtrack of the film is already available from Friday 19 May. The songs are scored by multiple Academy Award winner, Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and new lyrics by three-time Tony Award winner, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Directed by Rob Marshall and written by David Magee, the film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, Art Malik as Sir Grimsby Javier Bardem as King Triton; and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. The film is produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, John DeLuca and Rob Marshall, with Jeffrey Silver serving as executive producer.