The Little Mermaid (2023)
Originally published Sep 26, 2023
I find Disney’s live-action remakes of their classic animated films are comparable to scabs: we pick at them mercilessly upon their announcement, but they keep coming back because we keep giving them money and attention instead of leaving them alone. Case in point, The Little Mermaid. This was perhaps the remake that produced the most chatter before release, though not for the best reasons. Whether it be the decision to have Ariel played by a woman of color or the uncanny and hyper-realistic designs of the animal characters, this was a new itch from Disney people were eager to scratch. Against my better judgment, I gave the film a viewing before it left theaters. Unsurprisingly, it fell short of the original, but that’s not to say it didn’t do some elements better…
As fun as it is to point out a movie’s faults, I find it only fair to first shine a light on the positives. For starters, Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) was upgraded from another hot guy devoid of personality to an adventurous, restless spirit with a curiosity to match Ariel’s. Although perhaps underutilized, Ursula was also big fun, played delightfully devilishly by Melissa McCarthy while also adding a bit more dimension to her plight with Triton, even if it does leave some questions. However, the biggest positive of the movie was Halle Bailey and her outstanding performance as Ariel. In spite of the online intolerance she faced, she owned, in this simple critic’s opinion, a subjectively challenging role. Once you look past her phenomenal singing voice, you’ll realize Ariel has to spend half the movie believably conveying emotion without a single word. That’s no easy feat, yet Halle did exceptionally at managing to speak through her self-imposed silence.
Unfortunately, for every one improvement made to the original, The Little Mermaid takes two or three steps backwards. The CGI kingdom of Atlantica, while occasionally flashy, pales in comparison to the original film’s splendor. Additionally, Javier Bardem just seems bored with his role as King Triton. You know something is up when an Academy Award winning actor has more conviction in his performance in Lyle, Lyle Crocodile than this movie. At the risk of slight spoilers, the role reversal in the final battle with the giant (and poorly rendered) Ursula is ultimately a disservice. If Eric doesn’t save Ariel, what reason does Triton have to not hate humans all of a sudden?
But, with all this said, my biggest problem with this movie is the inclusion of what might just be the worst song in the Disney catalog: the Scuttlebutt. When I saw this movie in theaters, I was cackling out how hard this scene took me out of the experience. The movie would’ve functioned just fine without the uncanny CGI animal sidekicks rapping what took all of thirty seconds to convey in the original movie. I could ramble on about how many problems I have with this scene, but I feel that deserves a review in and of itself.
In spite of some select quality acting and character improvements, The Little Mermaid fails to make the same splash as the original cartoon. 5/10, thought that could easily go down if I think about the Scuttlebutt more…
