The Little Mermaid
I'm always more than a little nervous going into live action Disney movies. These stories meant a lot to me as a kid (who am I kidding? They still do), and I'm so afraid of the powers that be taking something and completely ruining it, sinking my memories along with it.
Fortunately, I needn't have worried.
The Little Mermaid follows finned Ariel, yearning to explore just beyond the ocean surface. She trades her siren voice for human legs, but the sea witch, Ursula, has something up her...tentacles.
Most of the casting and acting is right on point. Beautiful Halle Bailey is charming and curious and strong: a perfect Disney princess. Her powerful, Grammy nominated singing voice even sounds a little like the original little mermaid, Jodi Benson (who makes a sweet little cameo). In a role where a fair amount of time is spent without the use of her voice, her eyes do most of the talking. Bailey shares chemistry and the screen with Jonah Hauer-King who, as with Richard Madden in 2015's Cinderella and Dan Stevens in 2017's Beauty and the Beast, adds some much appreciated depth to the prince's character.
There's Melissa McCarthy living her best life as Ursula and I'm here for it. Ursula's a personal favorite antagonist in the original Disney lineup and had so much personality so I was relieved that McCarthy does not disappoint. Unfortunately, most of the time as King Triton, Javier Bardem just seems slightly confused he's in a once-animated picture. It'll take you out of the movie a little bit, but some of that's not his fault. He seems to have been told to constantly move his hands to sell a swimming illusion, but it's such an awkward gesture and doesn't play.
Part of that problem comes from the CGI itself. There are moments that look fantastic: Ariel's tail, her secret treasure hideaway, the last shot of the "Kiss the Girl" song. And then there are other parts that look...unfinished? The water moving through the merpeoples' hair, to my CGI-untrained eyes looks beautiful, but that seems to be the only interaction the water has with the actors. There are no bubbles when they talk, the light is always static across their faces, never flickering across as the light moves through the restless sea.
There are moments that look fantastic: Ariel's tail, her secret treasure hideaway, the last shot of the "Kiss the Girl" song. And then there are other parts that look...unfinished?
Those are really just technical issues, though. The more pressing problem would be the creative direction. Director Rob Marshall doesn't seem to have been able to decide between realism and visually emulating the 1989 classic. Save a final shot in the "Under the Sea" sequence, the water seems vastly void of marine life and dark. King Triton's underwater "castle" is not much of a castle at all, merely a tiny underwater conference room. Also, there's really not a ton of merpeople around. If you blinked, you'd be forgiven for thinking Ariel and her family were the only sea creatures until the very end. I so don't want to bash on what I'm certain was wildly complex underwater imagery for VFX artists to render, but...I have so many questions.
There are a few new songs, the best being Prince Eric's solo. The worst being Scuttle's (voiced by Awkwafina). Frankly, the less said about that one, the better. I'm sorry I even brought it up. However, the 2023 filmmakers did play well with the original songs, new Ariel's "Part of Your World" being a particularly powerful favorite, so I won't let it ruin my day.
In the end, I really wished they would have absolutely went for it visually. There were so many moments where you could see the filmmakers were right there; they were so close. The myriad vibrant fish in the "Under the Sea" closing shot, the energetic beach market scene, the soft lightning bugs and glowing water in "Kiss the Girl." But then it would fade away again, back to a less saturated reality. I'm a little bit sad about it, even if I truly did enjoy the story.
But...this is me. And Disney. How could I say no to a good love story and a fantastic adventure? Few things in life are ever as good as the original, but somehow, someway, there can still be something so magical about them.
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