Disney fans were transported "under the sea" Tuesday night in "The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!"
The highly anticipated event celebrated the 30th anniversary of the beloved film and included a star-studded cast with Queen Latifah as Ursula, Auli’i Cravalho as Ariel and Graham Philips as Prince Eric.
To make the show even more special, live musical performances by the actors were seamlessly embedded with the original film.
Here are our favorite moments:
Looks like Jon Stamos still has it! He may have been cool, rock star Uncle Jesse on "Full House," but he stole the show and pulled out all the stops as Chef Louis in the live performance. Stamos, who was almost unrecognizable in a chef’s costume and mustache, delivered an upbeat performance of the song, "Les Poissons," and included a full-on fun dance number, too!
Also... #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/YqZUoMhR84
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) November 6, 2019
The live show dazzled with an amazing stage design and brought the animated film to life with the musical performances. In Cravalho’s performance as Ariel for the iconic song, "Part of Your World," the set looked almost identical to the treasure trove from the original film with larger than life props resembling whozits and whatzits galore! The stage also included so many elements to help make each number feel like it was either underwater or on land, like the harnesses that allowed actors to leap above the audience like they were swimming, and puppeteers animating other stage elements like seaweed and fish to make it feel like each scene was in a different world.
Let’s talk about Queen Latifah’s FIERCE performance as Ursula. We were already anticipating an incredible performance from her ahead of the live show, but she killed it with her performance in "Poor Unfortunate Souls." Latifah brought the drama when she first appeared on stage with her ensemble as a more glammed-out Ursula, wearing a white wig, and skin-tight costume complete with tentacles like the villain in the film.
(MORE: Queen Latifah on becoming Ursula for 'The Little Mermaid Live!')Queen Latifah as Ursula is ICONIQUE #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/H8fRy7vMl0
— michael blackmon (@blackmon) November 6, 2019
The boss is on a roll! @IAMQUEENLATIFAH arrives as Ursula #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/Ajgq3SKQa8
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) November 6, 2019
Stamos may have stolen the show as Chef Louis, but actor Graham Phillips made everyone swoon for Prince Eric. The actor, who has starred in shows like "Riverdale" and "The Good Wife," had a much larger role as Prince Eric in the live show than the original film with not one but two musical numbers from the Broadway musical.
The song that stole everyone’s hearts? His rendition of "Her Song," a ballad about being in love with Ariel’s voice at first sound. Awww.
Prince Eric has arrived! @GrahamPhillips was mermaid for this! #TheLittleMermaidLive pic.twitter.com/myLWJwSwUi
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) November 6, 2019
Phillips told "Good Morning America" Wednesday that the whole process of putting on the live performance was "just crazy."
"We just had two dress rehearsals," he said. "Everything seemed to be going wrong at the very beginning of the first dress rehearsal and we were all like, ‘Oh no. Did we make a terrible mistake?,’ and somehow it came together the final time that we did it, when we did it live. So that always feels really good.
Although many took to Twitter with split feelings online about the live show, the production was a special one because it stayed true to the original film, with clips from the original film. For many, it’s probably been a while since they’ve seen the 1989 version on a big screen and it was nostalgic to see the beloved film. Jodi Benson, the OG Ariel, even made an appearance in the beginning and introduced the show! Can you believe it’s been 30 years since she voiced Ariel in the film?
(MORE: 'Little Mermaid Live': Who will play Ariel, Ursula, Sebastian and more!)The one and only @TheJodiBenson introduces #TheLittleMermaidLive, starting now on ABC! pic.twitter.com/GWeo01H7cx
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) November 6, 2019
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