Film Review: The Little Mermaid

Look at this film, isn’t it neat that we can continue remaking classic Disney movies? Slightly sarcastic opening aside, it was only a matter of time before The Little Mermaid got the live action treatment. Buoyed by two winning performances, the movie manages to be respectful of the original while forging its own path.

The Little Mermaid is the story of Ariel, a headstrong young mermaid who dreams of being on the surface world. After saving a prince from drowning and clashing with her father, she is enticed by the sea witch Ursula to give up her voice for a chance on land to woo her prince.

For me, this movie is the perfect encapsulation of a three star film. It provides the audience with fun, you won’t walk out of the movie hating it, even if you do have some quibbles with the film. Most of my quibbles with the movie lie in how the script tries to bring forward and shift the story to fit not just live action, but 2023. There’s an economy of story you get with the animated film that’s not present here and despite a fuller run time, there’s parts that feel oddly rushed (notably two key third act sequences). It feels kind of iffy, even as you enjoy the film you never quite get that they are breaking new ground.

Disney’s live action movies get a lot of (well deserved) grief over how they look. They are unnecessarily committed to “realism” and photorealistic animals and often think that bigger equals better, failing to capture the magic of their animated predecessors.

Thankfully, The Little Mermaid sits near the higher end of the spectrum of the live action adaptations in terms of the visuals. Rob Marshall certainly is trying to do more than just be a shot for shot remake of the original and he succeeds for a good deal of the film. Although it must be said that while you will certainly get over Sebastian looking like a real crab, Flounder is a jump scare in every scene he appears in.

The movie does well to balance the CGI and practical effects, most notably in the Kiss the Girl sequence and the shipwreck at the beginning, but it’s at its best when it’s relying on the performance of the talent. Case in point Under the Sea, the movie’s most colorful sequence, still feels empty despite the myriad of creatures, whereas Poor Unfortunate Souls fares much better by focusing on Melissa McCarthy, tentacles and all.

Speaking of musical numbers, there’s two new songs added to the film, a big ballad for Eric and a rap number for Scuttle and Sebastian. The ballad is…fine, if a bit overwrought even for a musical like this. The rap number is near unforgivable however. Both songs feel too modern for the story, not in time period but in the sound. Neither feels like it is a part of the same beautiful score and though Lin Manuel Miranda might have two well deserved Tonys, his lyrics do not compare to those written by Howard Ashman, and as such feel like Disney just asked him to write a Hamilton number to put in this film.

The biggest and best reason to see this film is Halle Bailey as Ariel and Jonah Hauer-King. Halle has the voice of an angel, but it’s her embodiment of Ariel when she’s not singing that make the movie even more worthwhile. She manages to fully embody the stubbornness, bravery, and loveliness that the character has. Hauer-King has the somewhat unenviable task of bringing Prince Eric to life and he does a great job giving the character depth and youthful optimism that makes him a great companion to Ariel and a great scene partner for Halle.

While The Little Mermaid certainly isn’t breaking new ground in the musical department, it manages to be a fun times at the movies and audiences will surely get their fill when this hits screens this weekend.