Those who were privileged to be children during the Disney Renaissance know all too well that they got the cream of the crop when it came to animation. From the characters all being distinct in their own way (void of those ‘Tangled’ bug eyes) to the way the music was more timeless than made for a TikTok moment; it’s really hard to compare everything else Disney has done to that decade of movies.
This is why so many have questioned Mickey Mouse when it comes to the live-action remakes, including myself. Cinderella and Snow White? Go ahead, those two needed an upgrade. Aladdin and Ariel? Umm…I always have my reservations, but thankfully I was able to conjure up a live-action Disney crush from recent years because that’s the type of crush David Dollar of ‘The Deucecast Movie Show’ and ‘The Main Street Electrical Podcast’ came through to talk about. Find out more about who he’s been admiring for years later, because for now…it’s time to talk about the man who stepped into some of the hottest animated shoes, Price Eric.
When I first saw Jonah Hauer-King was cast as Prince Eric I thought, NO. WAY. There was absolutely no way that any human would be able to pull off such a role. Not too long after Ariel did in 1989, I too laid eyes on him and was instantly sprung. Thinking back – and still – the crush really relies heavily on looks. I mean…have you seen him?
For years Prince Eric has stayed atop my Disney crush list, really only coming in second to Robin Hood. So Jonah Hauer-King had a lot to live up to, at least in my head. I was dreading seeing the remake of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ not only because I was worried Prince Eric wouldn’t be done justice but also because of the animated animals, Sebastian not being voiced by Samuel E. Wright, and well – ‘The Little Mermaid’ is my favorite of the princess films, by far. How could they take what is one of their top-tier movies and do it like that? At least that’s what I thought up until the second the first teaser trailer dropped.
I was convinced that Halle Bailey would deliver vocally as my favorite underwater gal, but could she carry the weight of the movie on her back? I am happy to admit that every worry I had was wrong, especially about Jonah Hauer-King. The onscreen chemistry between Ariel and Prince Eric in 2023 was just as grand as it was in the late ‘80s, and I liked that this time around Prince Eric was more than just eye candy or like I said on ‘Life’s But a Song,’ “…more than a hot piece of ass.”
Jonah Hauer-King gave Prince Eric a level of substance that a lot of the princes rarely got up until what many call the second Renaissance with movies like ‘Tangled’ and ‘Frozen.’ The live-action Prince Erc had depth, and while the connection between him and Ariel was sort of based on looks at first, it was clear that they connected over their adventurous spirits that yearned for more than the confines of their expected everyday life. Oh, and Prince Eric getting a song, what?
The range of emotions felt from the announcement to leaving the theater covered a lot; from hating the idea to figuring that great vocal casting could at least deliver on a soundtrack, to actually being fully engaged with the retelling and a bit of a reimagining of a story I’ve watched countless times since I learned how to operate the VCR on my own. It goes to show that you can’t always judge a movie before you give it a chance, and I’m glad that I was able to eat my words because and find myself a live-action Disney crush in Jonah Hauer-King’s Prince Eric.
Crushgasm 