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One of The Little Mermaid's special effects artists is reportedly suing Disney after an on-set accident allegedly led her to a "substantial level of disability." The accident occurred while Christine Overs, one of Disney's more experienced special effects artists, worked at the Pinewood Studios in 2020.
According to Overs, the accident took place because the production "failed to provide any adequate access to the set" while they were gearing up for the stunning lagoon scene in the film. The Little Mermaid featured many such intresting underwater scenes that were quite difficult to shoot, as admitted by the director himself in an interview.
The lawsuit amount reportedly goes up to $190,000 as it claims that the injury derailed the final years of Overs' glittering career as a specialist in her role.
What happened to Christine Overs at the set of The Little Mermaid?
The difficult scenes in The Little Mermaid required some specialized tools and arrangements for smoother access, which was allegedly not provided to the artists. As a result, it led to the 74-year-old artist falling down on the concrete floor and fracturing her wrist. Overs had to reportedly have surgery and multiple steel pins inserted into her arm.
She also claimed that this injury derailed her regular life, with the artist finding it difficult to perform even simple, regular tasks like buttoning shirts or tying laces.
The Little Mermaid was a challenging production to shoot because many scenes were shot underwater. Despite the use of CGI, several scenes required actors, cameras, and even special effects artists to get into the water and design elaborate sets inside the water as well.
Rob Marshall spoke about this in a previous interview with Deadline, saying:
"Underwater was so complicated...But our goal was never to let you see the machinery behind it all because sometimes there would be… In 'Part of Your World,' Halle would sing two lines, and we'd say, 'Cut,' and then she'd be back on another piece of equipment or apparatus."
He continued:
"It was all choreographed in advance. But then it was so complicated to think, 'How do we do an underwater musical, really?' It's never been done before. So that was the goal, to make sure the audience doesn't see any of that."
Anyhow, there is still no comment from Disney about Overs' accident. Hopefully, the claim will be settled fairly for both parties.
More about The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid is a direct reimagining of Disney's classic animated film from 1989, which also had the same title. The movie follows Ariel, a mermaid princess and the youngest daughter of King Triton, who visits the surface to quench her thirst for adventure. However, she soon falls in love with Prince Eric. Ariel then ends up making a deal with a sea witch to experience life on land.
This is one of the most popular Disney princess stories from the past, and Rob Marshall managed to give it fair treatment in the live-action version. The film stars Halle Bailey in the titular role, alongside Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy, among others.
The Little Mermaid is currently available for rent and purchase.
