Ariel’s sisters reveal all about ‘mermaid school’ training for the new Disney live-action Little Mermaid-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro

If you ever wondered about the ins and outs of mermaid schools, the actresses who feature as Ariel’s sisters in Disney’s new reimagining of The Little Mermaid are here to help.

The movie introduces different names and characters for the siblings in the live-action version of the 1989 animated classic, and casts actresses from diverse backgrounds as older sisters to Halle Bailey’s Ariel.

This time around, there’s Mala, Caspia, Karina, Perla, Tameka and Indira for audiences to get to know – and it’s less about singing in a concert for the father and more about ruling different parts of the ocean in his stead.

Ariel remains the baby, dreaming of going to the surface (and later, Prince Eric).

Diving behind the movie magic, a lot of hard work went into the actresses’ preparation to play mermaids, not least of all stunt rig work for the VFX shots and being taught how to surface in a graceful way.

Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk at The Little Mermaid’s UK premiere, Karolina Conchet, who plays Mala, said: ‘It’s the best experience ever! I recommend it to everyone – if you can go to mermaid school, do!’

Karolina Conchet, who plays Mala, recommends mermaid school to everyone (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

(L-R) Nathalie Sorrell, Simone Ashley and Kajsa Mohammar attend the UK Premiere (Picture: Getty)

Nathalie Sorrell, who stars as Caspia, called it ‘a dream come true’, while Kajsa Mohammar (Karina) added: ‘It’s magical. It’s something you don’t have a reference for because we don’t know if they exist because it’s not something you’ve seen ever – so getting to embody it, on top of being a Disney princess mermaid, is a double dream come true!’

Going on to lift the lid on some of the more challenging behind-the-scenes aspects of playing a mermaid, Kajsa revealed that for a good part of their filming the sisters were working out of the water and ‘flying in the rigs’ to help perfect their natural swimming movements.

‘But we had some tail moments and some wig moments and it’s a bit clumsy out if water, let’s say!’

Lorena Andrea features as Perla (Picture: Getty)

Sienna King reflected on acting with Javier Bardem as King Triton (Picture: Getty)

The Mer-sisters also did lots of water tests in tanks at Pinewood Studios ‘just to see how our skin tones would look and how the wigs would behave to give references for the VFX people’.

One of her favourite parts of the training was learning the practicalities of swimming in water.

Kajsa explained: ‘We had water training with this amazing female free diver just to teach us how to hold our breath how to surface beautifully without snotting too much!’

As Nathalie recalled: ‘The first few tries weren’t too princessy, I don’t think!’

‘Not everyone can say that they went to mermaid school!’ pointed out Lorena Andrea.

Halle Bailey as Ariel has six new sisters in the live-action reimagining – and surfacing isn’t as easy as it looks! (Picture: Disney)

‘Mermaids have a lot of fun [and] I think there’s so much they can learn from humans and each other. I think playing Perla, I really learnt to speak up for myself, use my voice more and really appreciate our unique differences.’

Sienna King’s lessons gained from playing Tameka included ‘to be strong, to be fearless and to sometimes just let go – you can’t control everything.’

The siblings, a group which also includes Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley as Indira, all share King Triton as a father, portrayed with some serious gravitas by Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem.

Triton is king of the seas (Picture: Disney)

Sienna was a big fan of the ‘incredible’ star and said of working with him: ‘He’s such a beautiful person and he really is a wonderful father.’

Javier shares two children with wife Penelope Cruz: son Leo, 12, and nine-year-old daughter Luna.

‘He channelled that in our scenes, and I could feel how he would treat his children. I felt that energy from him,’ Sienna added.

The Little Mermaid splashes into cinemas on Friday, May 26.

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