Where it was filmed 'The Little Mermaid'

The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall, is a remake of the famous animated Disney movie of 1989, a box office hit that took approx. $233 million internationally and won the 1990 Oscars for Best Soundtrack and Best Song (Under the Sea).

Singer and actress Halle Bailey plays the lead, the mermaid Ariel, with Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, Oscar-winner Javier Bardem as King Triton and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.

In addition to working at Pinewood Studios and in London, the production selected various locations on the northern coast of Sardinia, from between the National Park of Asinara and Golfo Aranci to the protected marine area of Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo.

In the Golfo Aranci, locations included the small beach of Cala Moresca, a dock and a fishing bay on the north-eastern coast of the island, which provided the setting for the fishing village and scenes on the castle dock.

The carriage scenes with Ariel and Eric were shot on the jagged coastline of Rena di Matteu in the municipality of Aglientu while Rena Majore was used as Ariel’s beach for the scenes where she saves Eric and emerges from the water to sit on her rock. Ariel’s iconic rock was made to measure and transported to Sardinia where it was placed in the water before the cast arrived. Just kilometres from Aglientu, Castelsardo provided the location for parts of Eric’s castle.

The choice of Rena Majore as a location was possibly determined by destiny: the village perched above the beach was established by a small community of Belgians who were so fond of Andersen’s story that they named its streets and square for the mermaid. Aglientu also has a piazza Serenella, the local translation for Sirenetta or “Mermaid”, a via Tritone, and via dello Squalo. A statue of Ariel has risen from the waters of the Golfo Aranci since well before the arrival of the film crew.