Disney musicals legend Alan Menken has finished new songs for 'Little Mermaid' remake

Alan Menken, the composer and song-writer behind Disney classics like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, has finished recording all the new songs for the studio's Little Mermaid remake, he has revealed.

Four of the songs have been co-penned with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, though he added that production has now halted, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Menken appeared on a special live broadcast of The Rosie O'Donnell Show, which was being aired to raise money for the Actors Fund, the charity which assists those in the entertainment business.

“Production stopped on The Little Mermaid movie,” he explained. “We recorded all the songs and I did four new songs with Lin-Manuel Miranda.”

Menken and the late lyricist Howard Ashman wrote all the songs for the original 1989 animated version of the movie, based on the original story by Hans Christian Anderson, among them memorable moments like Under The Sea, Part Of Your World and Kiss The Girl.

The new version of the movie will see Halle Bailey starring as Ariel, with British actor Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, with roles also set for Melissa McCarthy (Ursula), Jacob Tremblay (Flounder), Daveed Diggs (Sebastian) and Awkwafina (Scuttle).

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Principle photography was set to begin at Pinewood in April, as well as on location in Cornwall, but production has now been delayed.

Menken, who also worked on the recent Disney remake of Aladdin, also said that he will be composing the score for the long-awaited sequel to Disney's Enchanted, to be called Disenchanted, though production for that movie is now on hold too.

The first movie, starring Amy Adams and James Marsden, was a modest hit back in 2007, earning three Oscar nominations for Menken.