Starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy
Directed by Ken Marshall
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Lin-Manuel Miranda
Let's revisit that world under the sea in Disney's latest live-action remake. I've had mixed feelings on these movies, which range from good as the original to unnecessary and why in the heck did they bother? It doesn't help that the original animated Disney Little Mermaid has its good points, but was never a huge favorite of mine. Is this one also good as the original, or should they have left this sleeping dogfish alone? Let's once again begin with Prince Eric (Hauer-King) and his men on his ship as they glide across the sea and find out...
The Story: Ariel (Bailey), a mermaid, is obsessed with the world of humans on the surface. She goes to the surface of the water to see fireworks, and ends up rescuing Eric when his ship runs against rocks during a storm. Her father King Triton (Javier Bardem) understands neither her interest in humans, nor her collection of objects from above. After he destroys her collection, Ariel goes to the sea witch Ursula (McCarthy) to help her get above. Ursula agrees to give her legs for three days, but only if she gives up her voice. If she can get Eric to kiss her, she'll stay a human. If she doesn't, she belongs to Ursula. Ariel's friends Scuttle the Northen Gannet (Awkardfina), Sebastian the crab (Daveed Digs), and Flounder (Jacob Tremblay) do everything they can to help her kiss him...but Ursula isn't going to make things easy...
The Song and Dance: Bailey is the thing here. She's a perfect Little Mermaid - sweet, spunky, and curious about everything. The more realistic designs and animation mostly work well with the actual humans around them. Somehow, Sebastian looks cuter as a real crab than he did as an animated one, and Ursula's eels are a lot scarier when you can really see their teeth. McCarthy has a ball as a delectably over-the-top Ursula, Bardem is a commanding Triton, and Hauer-King has a lot more spirit than Eric did in the original movie. I also appreciate that Ariel is a tad more proactive here, doing things herself that other characters did for her in the original film, including taking on Ursula in the finale.
Favorite Number: We open with "Part Of Your World" this time as Ariel explores her treasures with Flounder and wishes she could be with those who originally used them. "Mysterious Fathoms Below" is now a short drinking song for Eric and his men onboard ship before the storm. "Under the Sea" remains a showstopper with more realistic sea creatures dancing and swimming in Busby Berkeley routines. I like that Ariel takes a bigger part in the number here, dancing and singing with the others. Eric has the big ballad "Wild Uncharted Waters" after his mother Queen Selina (Noma Dumezweni) tells him he needs to focus on land and stop going out to sea, looking for girls that don't exist.
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is also more-or-less the same here, with McCarthy throwing herself into it just as much. "For the First Time" is a charming number for Ariel when she's on the surface and wondering about everything she sees, from corsets to riding into town. "Kiss the Girl" is also pretty much the same, if maybe a bit smaller, with fewer animals flitting around and Scuttle more integrated into the number. Awkardfina gets the other new number, the rap "The Scuttlebut" as Scuttle tells her friends what's happening and how Ursula tricked Eric.
What I Don't Like: Some problems from the original film remain. This still doesn't have much in common with the original Hans Christian Andersen "Little Mermaid," and letting Ariel and Eric go around the world instead of just getting married doesn't make it less of a cop-out. Other than Eric's "Wild Uncharted Waters," Miranda's rap and R&B don't really fit in with the more traditional Ashman-Menken Broadway tunes. Awkwardfina's "Scuttlebut" sounds especially ridiculous. The special effects are disappointing. The animals look more realistic, but the watery backgrounds are dark, dreary, and look like the CGI they are. The extra scenes are mainly padding and draw the movie out for way, wayyy too long.
The Big Finale: This seems to have garnered mixed reviews all around...including from me. For everything they got wrong, there's a lot they got right, including some excellent performances. Not horrible, but as with all of the Disney remakes, simply not necessary. Recommended mainly for families with mermaid-or-ocean-crazy kids and those who loved the original movie.
Home Media: As a brand-new movie, this is easily found in all major formats. It's now on Disney Plus with a subscription.
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