Disney's the Little Mermaid live-action remake will have a couple of new songs. Alan Menken is one of the most popular composers working in Hollywood. Providing scores for many of the most popular Disney movies, and winning eight Oscars in the process, Menken is as much in demand as ever. Recently, Rosie O'Donnell had a one-time revival of her talk show with virtual guests to raise money for The Actor's Fund during the coronavirus crisis. Menken dropped by for a virtual interview, during which he revealed some tidbits about his upcoming projects.

"This has been a great time for writing. Production stopped on The Little Mermaid movie. We recorded all the songs, and I wrote four new songs with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the lyricist for Mermaid. And I'm working on Disenchanted, the sequel to Lin-Manuel Miranda. And I have another Broadway show. Oh, and Hercules is coming to the stage, of course. We did that in Central Park last summer. Just a whole bushel of new projects."

Disney has found massive success with its live-action remakes of classic Disney animations. Next on the list is a live-action reimagining of The Little Mermaid, telling the story of the mermaid Ariel, who lives under the sea with her fish friends and her father King Triton. Ariel yearns to visit the surface world.

A chance encounter with the human Prince Eric causes Ariel to fall in love with him. The sea-witch Ursula offers Ariel the chance to become human if she can make the Prince fall in love with her without speaking. A topsy-turvy adventure ensues filled with magic, wacky sidekicks and some of the most memorable songs Disney ever made, including Under the Sea and Part of your World.

The live-action remake will have Alan Menken teaming up with Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda to create the soundtrack, and it sounds like the talented duo have already enough material to work with to add four new songs to the storyline. Other Disney live-action remakes have also featured new songs, like the recent Aladdin adding a new song sung by Princess Jasmine about breaking through her personal barriers, in a manner very reminiscent of Elsa's power ballad 'Let it go' from Frozen.

Fans will be happy to hear that the sequel to Amy Adam's fantasy rom-com Enchanted will also be scored by Menken. The sequel, which from what we know so far is named Disenchanted, is set to be directed by Adam Shankman, who has revealed that the movie will take place a decade into the future from where the original left off, with Disney Princess Giselle marrying regular-world lawyer Robert Philip and getting her happily ever after outside the pages of a fairy tale book.

From the sound of its title, Disenchanted, and hints that Shankman had given in the past, the movie will be about what happens after the honeymoon period of a marriage, and whether it is possible for there to truly be such a thing as a happily ever after in real life. This comes from Slashfilm.