Don’t shoot me: I’ve never seen the original The Little Mermaid from 1989. Yes, I know it’s one of the more universally loved Disney princess films, but I come from a small town that is 30 minutes drive from a cinema and it’s an even longer drive to a HMV or somewhere similar that might have sold VHS tapes back in the day. I had Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but I simply never had access to The Little Mermaid when I was a kid. (YES I know it’s on Disney+ these days, but there are simply more pressing movies to watch to be honest.)
Anyway, I’m kind of glad I’ve never seen the original, because it meant I had nothing to compare this new one to. Online synopses tell me though that it’s pretty much the exact same plot to the late-eighties classic: Ariel dreams of walking on land and finding out what goes on above the ocean’s surface. When she makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, she jumps at the chance, but it puts all of her mermaid family in jeopardy.
Let’s be honest: Eric is actually just a bit of a loser, isn’t he? No offence but Ariel deserves better ✌🏻(It’s funny that Ariel being interested in him is the least realistic thing about this film, isn’t it?)
Listen, I truly wanted to like it more than I did. Simultaneously, it’s much better than I thought it would be. I’m still in the “why are Disney insisting on remaking all of their classics as live action movies?” camp. I still just don’t see the point. However, The Little Mermaid genuinely translates into live action rather well despite the original animation being so loved by so many.
There’s one thing that stands out head and shoulders above everything else: Halle Bailey. She is absolutely fantastic. Her voice is not only phenomenal but it’s perfect for Ariel, and she comes jam-packed with charisma throughout. I was also pleasantly surprised with Melissa McCarthy, for what it’s worth (even if I’d have initially preferred Queen Latifah in the role), but Bailey is the true star here, there’s no doubt about that.
Visually it deserves some praise too. It’s no easy task to create a live action mermaid movie that takes place in water for 50% of the runtime, and the visual effects artists work wonders to make it look realistic and fluid from start to finish. I do take issue with the editing though, as the end product is way too long. Did we really need all those extra songs? Like, I don’t want to hear Wild Uncharted Waters ever again. Ever. (The Scuttlebutt is pretty fun though, I will admit).
It’s a shame about its length really. Cut out a few unnecessary musical numbers and superfluous filler sequences and it’d easily be a 4 star movie. However it’s not a complete failure, not least because Bailey is now poised to become the next big thing.
The Little Mermaid is currently screening in most UK cinemas.
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Overall Enjoyability Rating: ½
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