This is the latest image in the fabulous and fun portrait series of celebrities as Disney characters by Annie Leibovitz. This time, Annie took to the sea and used Ariel and her merpeople friends for inspiration. Ariel is played by Julianne Moore. In front is world champion swimmer Michael Phelps. Swimming stars Janet Evans, Rowdy Gaines, Brendan Hansen and Cullen Jones play the other merpeople.
The shoot was a bit arduous, with photography on both coasts.
Fitted with a silver fishtail, Michael Phelps was lowered into a backlot tank in Los Angeles used for underwater movie scenes. Leibovitz was on the outside of the tank, snapping photos as she instructed Phelps what moves to make next.
"One of the most complicated shots I have ever done," said Leibovitz. "I didn't know if it was going to work, what to expect. I have to tell you, he was beautiful. Michael put on that tail and ... he just became like a modern dancer. He just took to it and enjoyed himself and swam through this tank. I was blown away."
"It was kind of weird to be able to put on a tail and swim around in a tank," Phelps admitted. "To work with Annie and try these crazy sorts of ideas is really an honor and something I won't forget."
Julianne Moore's scenes were shot in New York.
"There's a moment in the shoot where Julianne is sitting on a rock in her mermaid tail and her young daughter comes in, and there is not a dry eye in the house," Leibovitz recalled. "She sat in her mother's lap. Her jaw just dropped. She could not believe her mother was Ariel."
When Moore was asked to play Ariel, she recalls, "I leapt at the chance."
"Ariel is my daughter's favorite princess, so I was just really so excited to do it," Moore said. "All the images I've seen that Annie's shot so far – Cinderella and Alice and the prince one – are absolutely exquisite. They are so beautiful and so kind of wonderfully emotional. So I was really thrilled to be asked to work with her and do this."
What fun for a little girl: to have your mom turn into Ariel is just about as cool as it gets.
