In the latest expansion of Disney’s quest to turn all their biggest hits into live action remakes, “The Little Mermaid”, released on May 26, manages to exceed expectations and puts a new twist on the beloved 1989 classic. Directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, this film preserves the essence of the original while adding new twists – catering to both a nostalgic adult audience and a new generation of young Disney fans.
The film closely follows the plot of the original, a young mermaid longs to experience the human world, and trades her voice to a sea witch in order to live life on land and spend time with a human prince. This version manages to tack on 50 minutes to the original screentime, the extra length being mostly due to a more in-depth exploration of Prince Eric’s backstory. The prince, played by Jonah Hauer-King, has much more depth than the original character, and even has his own song entitled, “Wild Uncharted Waters”.
While Hauer-King makes up part of a phenomenal cast, including Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Bailey really steals the show, and her portrayal of Ariel is what makes this film worthwhile. As a pop singer, it isn’t surprising that her vocals are amazing, but the way she sings the well-loved songs like “Part of Your World” with so much heart and convincing passion is truly remarkable. She brings new life to the character of Ariel, and her performance throughout the film is enchanting.
Another surprising aspect of this film was the beautiful CGI. After a dark and almost grey-scale trailer, I was worried that the underwater scenery would be dull, but instead the movie popped with color and vibrant images of life under the sea. The song “Under the Sea” was one of my favorite parts, with visually pleasing images and so much life and brightness. Although the CGI sea creatures, especially Sebastian, have been criticized for being too realistic or creepy, the weirdness of how they look really doesn’t detract much from the overall quality of the film. Sebastian’s unsettling features can easily be overlooked thanks to the phenomenal voice acting of Diggs, and kids and adults alike won’t find it hard to love this humorous character.
Although Bailey maintains the magic and fun of the original, I felt that Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula was underutilized and disappointing as a villain. Her acting was well done, but her performance lacked the truly evil aspects of the villain, seeming more mildly mischievous than evil. Disney also cut some major portions of her dialogue, even trimming down the iconic song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” to be much shorter and less menacing. The climactic confrontation with Ursula at the end of the film was also underwhelming. While the special effects were impressive, the actual conflict fell flat and lasted only a few minutes. Overall, it felt like Disney wasted McCarthy’s talents in a halfhearted attempt to tone down this iconic villain.
While the portrayal of Ursula was lacking, the rest of the film made up for it with stunning visuals and Bailey’s memorable performance. The development of characters like Prince Eric made the film feel more authentic and the romance between Eric and Ariel seem more sincere, which was a welcome change. This film, while not better than the original, is a fun reimagined twist on the classic, making it worth seeing in its own right. This is a movie that both kids and their parents will love, with plenty of nostalgia mixed in with modern adaptations to make a memorable film the whole family will enjoy.
Grace Giger can be reached at [email protected]