Under the Sea Confined beneath the surface of Disney’s copyrighted sea for nearly twenty years, “The Little Mermaid” is swimming to the Music Box’s silver screen at the end of this month, and after a painstaking, yet rewarding, battle with the animation empire, the latest catch for the theatres “Sing-A-Long” agenda is guaranteed to make a big splash. The theater was forced to hop over legal fences with Disney in the past in order to screen a “Mary Poppins” sing-a-long, and the process of acquiring “The Little Mermaid” was no different. “I just think that Disney is very protective of their animated films because that’s really what they’re most known for,” says Brian Andreotti, the program director at Music Box, one of only two theaters permitted to screen the film. “The Disney studio locks their animated films in the vault,” and, dozens of phone calls later, the movie house has, for the second time, picked the lock. Beginning August 22 and running until the end of the month, guests are encouraged to dress up as their favorite character; goodie bags full of props will be distributed for use during the film.
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Film Leaders of the Moment: Music Box Theatre and Music Box Films The Music Box Theatre on Southport has endured for going on ninety-four years. I'm talking with Bill Schopf, Lisa Holmes, Brian Andreotti and Ryan Oestreich. We're all gathered at Music Box Films, the sister distribution company to the venerable theater.
