The Little Mermaid (2023)

8/10

In this remake of the 90's movie, Ariel (played by singer/sonwriter/actress Halle Bailey), a mermaid princess, is fascinated with the above world and falls in love with Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), a human prince. In order to become a human herself, she makes a deal with the devious sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy). The condition is that she must get true love's kiss within three days or else.

Given that this is a Disney live-action remake, yeah... you got the regular criticism. They mostly retell the same story, but the script and direction can't quite match the magic of the original with live scenes unable to improve upon their animated counterparts. Sebastian (voiced by Daveed Diggs) is just thrown in without much of a good introduction and Ursula needed more screentime to let her breath. Also, attempts to bring some slight messages about man harming underwater ecology feel hamfisted and trite. 

That all having been said, I still found this to be a good film and one of the better Disney remakes. (Don't worry Pete's Dragon. You're still my favorite.) This is clearly a movie where everyone's trying, and sure there are valid criticisms about moments, but there is a genuine pleasantness and fun to it. The creators attempt to try some new things visually, and the musical numbers manage to look good and draw you in without being exact carbon copies of the original and make up for things they couldn't do in animation. 

The strongest part in this is that the movie does a better job of building the relationship between Ariel and Eric than in the original. More time is given to given to letting them interact and fleshing out Eric's character, showing why the two characters work together. 

Another strength is great casting all around. The best thing about this movie is DEFINITELY Halle Bailey. She completely embodies the essence of Ariel. She brings this youthful energy and innocence that completely works. I think Disney learned their lesson from the Beauty and the Beast remake with Emma Watson and cast a lead actress that truly can sing. Heck, Bailey's voice is even stronger than that of original voice actress Jodi Benson.

There's a five year difference between Bailey and Hauer-King (admittedly I'm not the first review to say it online and I may be regurgitating, but I think it needs to be stated), plus Bailey is shorter and acts younger than Hauer-King, resulting in an awkward age gap. Given the controversy that in the animated movie Ariel was 16 and Eric was 18 (yeah, look it up), you'd think Disney'd be more careful about that.

I owe Melissa McCarthy an apology. She's been more of a personality actress than a character actress, and I thought she was cast because she was a big name. I was completely wrong. McCathy knows what makes Ursula tick and pulls off the delivery bringing a humorously, wicked and larger-than-life performance. If you were disappointed with how unfaithfully Jafar was portrayed in the Aladdin remake, this is a breath of fresh air. 

Only casting  that doesn't quite work is Awkwafina as Scuttle. (NOT a gender-change issue.) Maybe it hurt her that she voiced a Disney character not too long ago and there's a comparison. In Raya and the Last Dragon, she felt like she was the character. Here, it feels more like stunt casting with Awkwafina as Awkwafina. 

CGI is a mixed bag. All background aspects of the underwater world look excellent, but the combination of live-action actors with the mermaid actors never look quite natural. I think the director realized that too. In the animators' defense, this was a huge undertaken what with all the underwater scenes. (There's a reason Disney has put off adapting one of their most recognizable IP until now.) There was a clear effort to be economic with the amount of mermaid animation they had to do. So unfortunately, don't expect a lot of mermaid group scenes. The underwater kingdom is kinda sparse and feels like it it's made up mostly of Ariel's famly. The animators do do an impressive job of making hair look like it's flowing in the water.

Sebastian's new design that's more faithful to what crabs look like is controversial, I do say. I like the eyes, but the mouth movements don't work for me. Altogether, I wouldn't call it a deal breaker. 

Whereas the original film took place in a European fairy tale land, this takes place on a tropical island nation. Admittedly, some will miss the original look, but I feel the change in location allows a lot of tropical colors that makes the movie work.

We get three new songs in this from original songwriter Alan Menken with Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda replacing the late Howard Ashman as lyricist. It's funny, I felt that this movie did a better job as a remake than either B&B or Aladdin, but those two each had a new song here that was pretty good and none of the new ones here pop. In fairness, Ariel's new song does work great when you watch it on film. The visuals, lyrics and Baille's performance makes this one of the strongest moments. But, you won't be remembering the song much afterwards. Doesn't help that Eric's new song wasn't suitable for Hauer-King. He seems to have pipes, but the tempo didn't fit his voice. Also, all three songs don't feel like they're in the same tone as the originals. If you're a fan of "Daughters of Triton" or "Les Poissons," they've been cut.

Recommended. Yes, the original is better, but this IS an entertaining film and worth seeing for Baille, McCarthy, and the musical numbers. Your kids will probably have a good time with this.