The Little Mermaid
Live action Disney remakes have always been called a greedy business by people. They claimed that the results were inconsistent at best. Rather than creating new content, the company simply took what they knew worked and presented it in slightly different packaging. Some of these films have felt genuinely magical (“Pete’s Dragon,” “Cinderella”), while others came across as soulless exercises in glossy VFX (“Dumbo,” last year’s dreadful “Pinocchio”).
“The Little Mermaid” rises above most of these movies by keeping all the things audiences loved about the 1989 original intact while also broadening the story and characters in meaningful ways. A fish out of water tale about a mermaid who cuts a deal with a sea witch to become human so she can chase love always felt kind of thin. Ariel is an inquisitive teenager, sure, but she essentially goes from being a king’s daughter to a prince’s wife. Meanwhile, most of the classic Howard Ashman and Alan Menken tunes that provide both the heart and backbone for this film are still here including the insanely catchy, Oscar winning “Under the Sea.” But in director Rob Marshall’s hands, Ariel has more depth and complexity and so does the young woman playing her.
As played by Halle Bailey, Ariel is radiant expressive and energetic yet infinitely likable, with girlish sweetness mixed with womanly spine. She finds fresh emotional angles into songs, story beats and even specific lines of dialogue we’ve cherished from before and her rendition of “Part of Your World,” a tune we’ve all heard a million times before, is unexpectedly stirring. Bailey is game for everything this role requires of her physically as well as emotionally; she deserves to be huge.
Bailey benefits greatly from the fact that this “Little Mermaid” gives both Ariel and Prince Eric more character development, which makes their relationship make some actual sense beyond instant superficial attraction. (This also makes the new film nearly an hour longer than the original, but it moves briskly.) David Magee’s script shows how they’re both trying to escape from their parents’ protection and expectations to discover who they are and what they want. Even Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), who gets his own “I Want” song here, is more than just another blandly handsome Disney prince.
In case you need a refresher Ariel, the youngest of King Triton’s seven daughters, yearns to explore the surface world and find out more about humanity. Her father forbids this, viewing people as violent predators. She defies him with help from her fish friend Flounder and winds up saving Prince Eric, a dashing sailor whom she spies during a storm. Smitten, she strikes a deal with sea witch Ursula to trade in her transcendent voice for a pair of legs and temporary passage to the human world if she can’t seal true love’s kiss by sundown on the third day, she’ll be forever beholden to Ursula.
What do you mean creativity? This really is the most creative version of The Little Mermaid yet made. It shows Ariel’s courage and generosity in more detail than the other versions. Besides, it lets her have a longer time with Eric. He believes she is just a dumb castaway and doesn’t know that Ariel saved him from drowning. Therefore, they establish deeper relationships between each other. That idea of allowing Ariel to silently explain some aspects about the ocean to Eric who is more knowledgeable about it is brilliant. Similarly inspired is her exchanging those painful boots which were given her at the castle for comfortable sandals.
One of many clever touches has her continue singing inside her mind so that she isn’t completely mute while on land. And how she makes Eric figure out what her name is provides one of the movie’s best laughs.
Supporting players all step (or swim) into their parts with gusto too: Daveed Diggs’ timing & delivery as Sebastian (the crab assigned by King Triton to keep an eye on his daughter) remains great as usual, Javier Bardem brings gravitas plus tenderness as king, Awkwafina had big shoes filling Buddy Hackett’s role (wisecracking seagull Scuttle), but brings own smart-ass persona along; Melissa McCarthy tears it up as Ursula (taking over for Pat Carroll), putting own spiky spin on things.
Visual effects prove weakest point about this film however and that can be blamed mainly on Marshall himself too considering he knows how to stage musical numbers with lots of splashiness (no pun intended!). After all, nominated for an Oscar because Chicago has very flashy scenes throughout its run-time! But underwater motion often appears flat & artificial thereby creating even greater distance instead of closeness among audiences who happen to watch any given scene within said environment setting at question here. I mean you never get lustrous hair billowing around mermaids in this movie!
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