Mouse House nostalgia made its way to cinemas this past May with Disney’s latest live-action adaptation, The Little Mermaid. Newcomer Halle Bailey starring as Ariel and Chicago’s Rob Marshall directing, the film made an impressive splash at the box office, becoming the fifth highest grossing Memorial Day opening in history. Such milestones have become common for Disney’s recent remakes. But despite their commercial success, these films often misfire with audiences as they struggle to replicate the charm that made their originals strong. How does Mermaid measure up? Read on to find out what we thought.
As early as “Part of Your World,” it is clear: Bailey is a star. Adorned with starry wonder and an alluring voice, the leading actress embodies Ariel with an electric charisma that undoubtedly draws viewers in whenever she graces the screen. It’s a funny dichotomy– the film’s greatest controversy prior to its release, a Black woman playing the originally white Ariel, is easily one of its strongest qualities. Along with Bailey, Melissa McCarthy surprises as Ursula, enlivening the character with cheeky melodrama and villainous determination, reminding viewers that she is, in fact, an actress and can play more than the trivial underdogs she’s usually cast as. Contrarily, in directing McCarthy so narrowly, the film misses significant opportunity as her comedic chops are underutilized, robbing Ursula of some additional charm. The rest of the casting choices deliver a mixed bag of results: Daveed Diggs and Jonah Hauer-King offer well-inspired performances of Sebastian and Prince Eric (respectively), Awkwafina provides Scuttle strong comedic moments but has an all-too-recognizable voice that distracts, and Javier Bardem’s King Triton is stripped of all warmth he originally harnessed, making for an excessively tense father-daughter relationship.
Translating a fantasy animated film to a live action format is a tall order itself so, with a good portion of Mermaid also taking place underwater, the film certainly had its work cut out for itself. The scenic result that’s given is gorgeous, but not transportive. The oceanic imagery and colorful sea life is enchanting, but it doesn’t fully look like a real ocean. For the most part, this is dismissible. What hurts the film, however, is…yes…the ever-dreaded expressionless animals. Disney’s 2019 remake of The Lion King suffered immensely from this, so one would think the studio would’ve learned. It’s clear Mermaid puts forth effort to fill its photorealistic sea creatures with emotion and does well with some (i.e. the eyes and mouth of the tropical ghost crab are well taken advantage of to explore expressions in Sebastian). Unfortunately, most remain stoic throughout, making it difficult to connect with them on an emotional level and believe Ariel herself even can. More specifically, the iconic showstopper “Under the Sea” falls flat because of this. With none of the fish expressive throughout, the sense of community and fun that Sebastian claims Ariel would lose if she were on land isn’t apparent. “Down here all the fish is happy,” Sebastian sings…but how do we know that?
While “Under the Sea” lacks in its execution, a handful of other musical numbers live up to expectations. Bailey delivers strong vocal performances on each of her songs with well-inspired acting choices. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” amplifies the scary in Ursula as McCarthy presents a biting performance and Marshall maps a theatrical staging that highlights the intimidating proportions of the character. And with the sweet chemistry between Bailey and Hauer-King and the comedic attempts made to get the couple to lock lips, “Kiss the Girl” is one of the most delightful numbers of the film to watch. The film’s new songs generally don’t do much for the story and, with simple staging, are forgettable. In particular, “For the First Time,” taking place throughout Ariel’s first experiences on land without a voice, fails to live up to its potential. The song has creative lyrics and an energetic performance from Bailey that makes it a compelling listen, but it is simply staged as a lazy and boring voice over. There was great opportunity here to take the audience into Ariel’s racing mind and characterize the bouncy musicality of the song. Perhaps the team was too busy worrying about the songs people actually would know?
Mermaid should be applauded for the way it expounds upon thinner elements of the original film to deepen the plot and characters. In the original, Ariel’s desire to be on land largely has to do with her infatuation with Prince Eric. This 2023 remake places Ariel’s motivation primarily in her desire to learn about the depths of a world different from her own, her dapper gentleman simply an added bonus. The film further leans into this change as it details Eric’s fascination with the “uncharted waters” and desire to sail to neighboring kingdoms to form alliances with his own. Ariel and Eric’s common interest in exploring allows them to connect authentically, creating for a sweeter romance than what the original delivered.
Not all changes are perfect in Mermaid, though, as the film leaves out small details in the original film that made it so emotionally active. While Triton always disciplined Ariel with a firm hand, in the original, their relationship had a sense of warmth that affirmed his discipline came from a place of love. This updated take stiffens their relationship as Triton rarely shows Ariel outward compassion and Ariel only calls him “Father,” as opposed to “Daddy” (a small change that makes a big difference). Furthermore, Ursula’s goal in obtaining Triton’s triton is weakened in the third act. Ursula’s motivation behind stealing the Triton is to take revenge on Triton for exiling her, and this recent take even makes Ursula and Triton brother and sister to strengthen this motivation. In the original, Ursula turns Triton into a measly polyp after she obtains his triton, a suitable way to make him suffer in the way she did. In this remake, Ursula simply kills Triton– so much work just for Triton’s punishment to be immediate death? Little is told about what exactly Ursula wants to do with the triton except that she wants revenge on Triton, so it’s crucial this moment has weight.
The Little Mermaid certainly isn’t a perfect film and struggles in ways that most of Disney’s live action adaptations do. However, with a great cast and fresh perspective on the story, it is surely one of the best of the bunch. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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