The Little Mermaid Review: The film stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Noma Dumezwemi as Queen Selina and Art Malik as Grimsby. Actors Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina have voiced the characters Sebastian, Founder and Scuttle. Based on Disney’s 1989 animated film of the same name and Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale from 1837, Rob Marshall has directed, and David Magee has written the screenplay for the 2023 release.
The music is by Alan Menken, who co-wrote the songs with Lin-Manuel Miranda. The cinematography is by Dion Beebe, and the editing is done by Wyatt Smith. The visual effects are done by Industrial Light & Magic, Wētā FX, Moving Picture Company and Framestore.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid Movie Review Contains No Spoilers
The Little Mermaid Review: Plot Summary
In The Little Mermaid (2023), Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton, is curious and obsessed with knowing about the human world. Her father has forbidden all the mermaids and mermen to swim above. One day, Ariel breaks the “rules” of the sea and swims up to see the human world. However, a wild storm damages a ship. She helps a Prince named Eric and takes him to the shore. Ariel wakes him up with her song.
Ariel returns to the sea before Eric sees her properly. Even though Ariel is back, her heart lies on the land, especially with Eric. Her fixation with seeing the world above grows, leading her to make decisions that cause trouble. Speaking of trouble, the sea witch Ursula exploits Ariel’s obsession. Will Ariel get what she desires? Will Eric ever know who saved his life? Well, we know how the story ends.
The Little Mermaid (2023) Review: Discussion
Isn’t it tiring to watch a movie where a 30-minute story is dragged on for 2 hours? Well, that happens while watching Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid. The sluggish screenplay and slow songs make the viewing experience quite challenging. It’s a story told multiple times, so we know what will happen. I wish the writer-director had taken a distinct or engaging approach to storytelling.
The second hour has just a few exciting moments, but they mostly feature the crab Sebastian and Gannet Scuttle. No human or no mermaid captivates your mind. As a human, I don’t expect my kind to shine in this story. But why is the mermaid so monotonous? Halle Bailey is a good actor, no doubt about that. But limiting Ariel’s existence only to know about the world above (mainly Eric) irks you at one point.
The villain of the story is Ursula, played by Melissa McCarthy. She was an evildoer with no cause, but it was still fun to watch her go wild. Her wicked loud laugh helps your mind to wake up. Actor Jonah Hauer-King is endearing as Prince Eric. That’s all Jonah had to do – charm the mermaid and the audience. At least, he delivered what was expected out of his character.
Daveed Diggs and Awkwafina have voiced Sebastian and Scuttle. Sebastian, the crab, entertains you from the beginning. However, the story gets some life when the crab and gannet come together. Both the actors have done a great job with their voice acting. The rest of the cast of The Little Mermaid movie play their part well.
Dion Beebe’s cinematography makes the world below the seawater look quite mesmerising. Whenever underwater life takes over the screen, the sea creatures and different kinds of plants fascinate you and make you crave more exploration. However, the human world obsession dominates the narrative, leaving you dissatisfied. We know very little of Ariel’s world. She becomes a one-dimensional character in her own story.
Talking about music, Kiss the Girl is the song that stayed with me. Daveed, Awkwafina and Jacob have sung this fun track. The rest of the songs, unfortunately, sound like lullabies. The songs lacking the zest slow down the narrative even more.
The Little Mermaid Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, the Halle Bailey starrer isn’t enjoyable and hardly has any enchanting moments. It leaves you wondering – was there really a need to remake an already-known story as a live-action film with hardly anything different to offer?
The movie is releasing in theatres on May 26, 2023.
Are you planning to watch the movie? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, FUCK DISNEY THE MAGICK THEY HAD IS GONE FOREVER, IF SOMEONE TRIES TO MAKE ME WATCH THIS I WILL USE MY BASEBALL ON THEM, BACK THE FUCK UP, BACK OFF I SAID *SWINGING MY BAT*