USA Today - 05.11.2019

Q: So, you would be on board for a

sequel?

Cravalho:Yeah, yeah I would.

Q: Growing up, what were your fa-

vorite childhood movies?

Cravalho:I really loved “Mulan.” I

loved “The Little Mermaid.” I suppose I

really enjoyed the characters that went

above and beyond to try something new

and learn more about themselves. And I

felt like “Mulan” and “The Little Mer-

maid” did that for me.

Q: When you tried out for “Moana,”

that’s obviously taking a risk and try-

ing to do something beyond your cur-

Thirty years ago, Disney’s “The Little
Mermaid” became “Part of Your World.”
To pay tribute to the animated 1989
feature, ABC will air “The Wonderful
World of Disney presents The Little
Mermaid Live!” Tuesday (8 EST/de-
layed PST), a hybrid musical event that
combines the original movie with live
performances of its songs. Ahead of the
show, USA TODAY spoke with Auli’i Cra-
valho, who plays mermaid-who-wants-
to-be-human Ariel, the girl with “gad-
gets and gizmos aplenty” and “whozits
and whatzits galore.”
The 18-year-old star, who made her
acting debut as the title character in
2016’s “Moana,” spoke to USA TODAY
last week from Portland, Oregon, where
she’s shooting her next film, “Sorta Like
a Rock Star,” and preparing for “Little
Mermaid” rehearsals.

Question: You get to play Ariel!
How are you feeling about that?
Auli’i Cravalho: I’m so excited!
(screams) About a month ago, I think, I
got to try on the wig for the first time,
and it was crazy to see myself in the mir-
ror with red hair. Then they put a red
kind of dyein my eyebrows. And it made
me look like, obviously, a completely
different person, but it definitely put me
in the head space of Ariel, and I cannot
wait to put on that iconic wig again.

Q: What can viewers expect when
they tune in?
Cravalho:They can expect the amaz-
ing classic songs: “Under the Sea,” “Part
of Your World,” “Poor Unfortunate
Souls.” And then we also have some
amazing songs from the Broadway ver-
sion of “Little Mermaid,” which I’m real-
ly excited to sing because they’re new
songs for many of the people, at least for
those who are mostly familiar with the
animation classic. Those are songs that
kind of add some new life to the perfor-
mance. We have, of course, Queen Lati-
fah (Ursula the sea witch), Shaggy (Se-
bastian the crab), Graham Phillips
(Prince Eric), an amazing cast – John
Stamos (Chef Louis) – who are gonna
add some really great flavor and new life
to these classic characters as well.

Q: Do you have a favorite song to
perform?
Cravalho: “Part of Your World” is
really exciting to me because I get to do
some aerial work in that. So Ariel gets to
do aerial work, which I think is also the
best pun in the world. And I’m really,
really excited. I’ve been doing a lot of ab
exercises, I’ve been doing a lot of
crunches, a lot of planks.

Q: You mentioned aerials. What
other tricks will be used to make it ap-
pear that the actors are under water?
Cravalho: We have the animation
playing for most of the show, except for
the live performances. We have a fan-
tastic stage that’s been created to really
feel like an underwater kind of extrava-
ganza. There’s wonderful puppeteers
(who) are going to be scattered through-
out the audience, and the audience will
get to participate in the live show, wear-

ing costumes, having props. So all in all,

I think it will be a fantastic night for the

live viewers and the people at home.

Q: I know there are reports of a

“Moana” sequel? Is there anything

you can share about that? Have you

heard anything about that?

Cravalho:My lips stay sealed on that,

but I’m really excited for whatever Dis-

ney’s coming up with.

rent circumstances.

Cravalho:Yes, it was. I was a fresh-

man in high school, and I didn’t think I

was going to get into really anything

musical. I didn’t think I was gonna get

into the industry at all. I grew up in Ha-

waii. I didn’t think there were any jobs,

really, that would come my way. But I

was interested in microbiology, and so

in kind of a twist of fate, my mom was

like, ‘Hey, so maybe you should actually

go and try out for this.’ And I was like,

‘No, I’m really nervous. I don’t think it

will work out, anyway.’ And she was like,

‘Look, when an opportunity presents it-

self, you’ve got to go for it.’ And, I’m real-

ly glad that I followed her advice.

TELEVISION

How ‘The Little Mermaid’ will look live

Erin Jensen
USA TODAY

Graham Phillips, right, will portray Prince Eric opposite Auli’i Cravalho's Ariel.CHRISTOPHER WILLARD/ABC

Cravalho, 18, said she loved “The Little

Mermaid” when she was growing up.

Now she gets to play the part live.

ANDREW ECCLES/ABC

LIFE USA TODAY z TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019 z 3D

the most important message that I want
to convey and the three things after that
are: first, how you have to tidy up by cat-
egories; the second thing is that you
have to leave things that actually stifle
joy for you; and the third thing is that –
and I’m including into this book –is how
to fold the clothes.

Q: How can the Kon Mari method
possibly work with children?
A:You have to explain (to children)
that it’s important to know the space
limit. There is a limitation, so you can’t
have everything.
Just how I teach my adult clients, I
would have each child pile up by the cat-
egory. So if you were doing clothes, he or
she would need to pile up all the clothes
he or she owns. And then, one piece of
clothing by one piece of clothing, he or
she has to hold it in her hands and de-
cide if she really wants to keep it or not.
Just like that for the toys as well.
And some parents do say “my chil-
dren love everything, so they can’t really
let go of anything.” But actually you’d be
surprised. You’d be surprised to see how
much (a child) would be able to let go of
things after she sees a pile of things.

Q: Have you ever regretted getting

rid of an item?

A:I did have an experience like that. I

gave away this piece of clothing to my

friend and after that, I saw something in

the store and thought, “Oh I wish I kept

that item so these would match perfect-

ly!” Ya, I’ve had that experience.

Q: Are your daughter’s rooms really

tidy all the time?

A:Not at all. Not always. When I tell

them to tidy up, they do. But their play-

room is separate from their bedroom

and it, sometimes, is not that tidied up,

because when they’re tired they don’t

want to tidy up. But when I say it, they

do it.

Kondo

Continued from Page 1D

How far will a city go

to shed its reputation?

In the fight for Reno’s future, a city’s

prying eyes will leave dancers exposed.

Season 2 ofThe City

podcast begins October 29.

Listen for free on applepodcasts.com/thecity