30 years ago, Jodi Benson graced the silver screen as the voice behind one of the most recognizable Disney princesses, Ariel—the star of the animated feature film “The Little Mermaid.” With sequels and a spin-off TV show, there is no denying that “The Little Mermaid” swam into our hearts Nov. 13, 1989 and never left.

In order to commemorate this momentous occasion, Disney and ABC Studios came together Nov. 5 in order to bring us “The Little Mermaid Live!”—part of ABC’s series of movie and stage musicals adapted for a one-time live television audience, broadcast around the country in an effort to make live theatre accessible to all while using beloved stories to do so.

Thus far, there have been Live! performances of “Hairspray,” “Sound of Music,” “Grease,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and others, each starring familiar faces like Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Vanessa Hudgens and Laverne Cox. The star of “The Little Mermaid”’s television special was Auli’i Cravalho—the voice of Moana—played the red-headed siren. John Stamos appeared as Chef Louis, and Queen Latifah played Ursula.

Unlike other Live! performances, this one added an extra element to the show—parts of the original 1989 film were interwoven into the spectacle, bringing together the past and present, and bridging the generational gap. Jodi Benson even opened the broadcast, introducing us to a night of Disney magic featuring beloved songs from the film and songs that appear in the original Broadway production.

The costumes were exquisite and, when paired with the acrobatics and aerial choreography, the underwater effect was achieved and then some. While the theatrics were impressive, what fell flat was the heavy reliance on the movie instead of utilizing the actors for more than their voices. The actors’ purpose was to perform the musical numbers, and the film was used for everything else. ABC very well could have broadcast a showing of the film and its sequels and it would have had the same effect as the live show. The fact that it was supposed to be a live show and was 80% film and 20% performance was surprising and disappointing.

One of the bright spots that distracted from this flaw was Stamos’ outlandish performance of “Les Poissons” that ended with an army of giant crabs staging a culinary coup and forcing all the chefs into a giant pot. Suffice to say, there were obvious points where the production value was higher and some musical numbers were deemed much more important than others, and within that, the performance of the numbers in general was the goal. But there’s an opportunity for redemption “Under the Sea” as Disney goes forward with its live-action remake slated to start production in April of 2020, starring Halle Bailey of the music-duo Halle x Chloe and the sitcom “Grown-ish” as Ariel.

The choice to cast Bailey as Ariel sparked controversy earlier this year—as a Black woman, naysayers felt strongly that Bailey could not and should not play the underwater princess. But, this color-blind casting is a step in the right direction for Disney considering its history of problematic shorts, subplots and themes.

As an avid Disney fan, I was excited that the possibility of Bailey playing Ariel was even being entertained, let alone set in stone, especially during such a milestone year for the film. Then came Auli’i Cavalho, an actress of color, performing as Ariel in a nationally broadcast live event. Two Ariels of color, both in what I had hoped to be stand-out performances. Plus, Queen Latifah would be Ursula in the Live! show, so everything was on track to be phenomenal.

“The Little Mermaid Live!” fell short for me. 30 years of “Under the Sea” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” creates a host of expectations and fosters a series of deep-seated memories that evoke fond recollections of childhood and wanting to be a princess or live in a fantasy. This fantasy provided the audience with wonderful vocals and songs that lend themselves to being amazing when done right, and for the most part, they were. But that’s about it. Let’s hope that part two of this 30th anniversary is more of a knock-out than part one.