Nell Minow: August 2008 Archives

It was a great pleasure to speak again with Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in "The Little Mermaid." Jodi returns to the role for a new DVD called "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning," in stores this week.

Tell me a little bit about the new DVD and what it was like to return to the character you created for the original film.

This story is about the essence of who she is when she is a little girl from age five to the original movie. it has the backstory of her mother, father, sisters, her issue with her mom, all of her relationships. It's great to do this again because it's in my blood. It's been 20 plus years. Throughout the time in between the movies I have worked on a lot of a products, the princess DVDs, singalongs and story books, so she gets to live on between the years. Its nice that there's not a huge lapse for me, but you really get to delve into it when it's a movie. The people at Disney really gave their hearts to this project so that made it extra special for me.

How were you cast in the original film?

I was doing a Broadway show called "Smile" in 1984. It closed very quickly, which was quite sad for everybody. But [writer-lyricist] Howard Ashman had established this relationship with Disney -- Mickey Mouse came to the opening night party -- and they invited all the girls in the cast to audition for "The Little Mermaid." It was kind of like a consolation prize, About a year to a year and half later I got a call that my tape had been selected. I had never done voiceover work before, but Howard told them, "She won't be difficult." It was challenging because I had to learn to use the microphone correctly. I was nervous the first couple of days. He really directed me through the project like it was a stage show.

Anyone for a 3-hour tour? If you get on the S.S. Minnow and the other passengers are a movie star, a professor, a millionaire and his wife, not to mention Mary Ann, you might want to check to make sure you've packed enough to wear for a long vacation.

Yes, the S.S. Minnow from Gilligan's Island is being restored and will be available for tours. More than one boat was used on the show, but this is the one in the opening credits.

I have special affection for this boat because it was named after my father, Newton Minow, whose famous speech to the broadcasters calling television a "vast wasteland" annoyed "Gilligan's Island" creator Sherwood Schwartz. So Schwartz named the sinking boat after him! My dad got a huge kick out of it and later had a very cordial exchange of letters with Schwartz. It is a great point of pride for our family.

Thanks to Zeke for bringing me up to date on this story!

A coalition of disability group has called for a boycott of the R-rated satire "Tropic Thunder". They are asking people not to see the movie because they say it

demeans, insults, and harms individuals with intellectual disabilities by using the "R- word." Furthermore, it perpetuates derogatory images and stereotypes of individuals with intellectual disabilities including mocking their physical appearance and speech, supports the continuation of inappropriate myths and misperceptions, and legitimizes painful discrimination, exclusion, and bullying.

Special Olympics Chair Timothy Shriver said:

Some may think we ought to lighten up and not get so worked up because this is, after all, just a film. But films become part of pop culture and character lines are repeated in other settings time and time again. It's clear to me that lines from this particular film will provide hurtful ammunition outside the movie theatre. While I realize that the film's creators call this a parody and they never intended to hurt anyone, it doesn't mean those words won't.

I respect their concerns for the dignity of the disabled, but they are simply wrong and their comments reflect such a fundamental misunderstanding of the film that it is impossible to believe that anyone connected with these statements actually saw it. I side with the other movie critics who have said that this film is not disrespectful or inappropriate in the treatment of disabled people.

The movie in no way makes fun of developmentally disabled people. On the contrary. It makes fun of pretentious actors who think they can win awards by portraying developmentally disabled people.

We have a lot of tender love stories in movies this year but they have mostly been about friendships. I can't remember a time when there have been so few movies about falling in romantic love. What used to be the most reliable genre for movie success, the traditional "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl" (and variations thereon) has all but disappeared from the screen this year.

If you look at the top 20 box offices successes of the year so far and the current releases, you see movies about girlfriends ("Sex and the City," "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") and "bromances" ("Step Brothers," "Pineapple Express"). We have some superheroes who long for romance but neither Batman, the Hulk, Hancock, nor Iron Man can be said to "get the girl." The closest we have to a superhero love story is "Hellboy 2." There is some incidental romance in the new "Indiana Jones" and "Mummy 3" but it is almost an afterthought at the edges of the action, just as in "Get Smart" and "Don't Mess with the Zohan" it is at the edges of the comedy. But we've seen nothing along the lines of last year's romance-centered movies like "Enchanted," "Dan in Real Life," or "Juno" and stories of falling in love seem relegated to television on the Lifetime channel.

We watch romantic movies for the same reason we watch action films -- they are both about life's great adventure, both ways for us to anticipate and relive our own choices and experiences.

More than halfway through 2008, the most romantic love story of the year so far at the movies has been this one: