The Little Mermaid
Released in theaters on May 26, 2023
Released on Disney+ on September 6, 2023
Runtime: 2 Hours 15 Minutes
Rated PG
Go “Under the Sea” with all your favorite characters (minus Chef Louis…your crazy accent shall be missed) and all the classic songs (with slight variations, but missing “The Daughters of Triton” and “Les Poissons”) from the animated hit which doesn’t stray too far from the original. Some positive additions (turn back now if you want to see the movie in full surprise mode) to the original story include more backstory for Prince Eric showing us his own longings and desires in a new song, a bit more about the mermaid’s siren song, and some backstory to Triton and Ursula.
Themes:
Marriage (specifically sixteen year olds getting hitched), family, mermaids, curiosity, longing for something more, the seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake, collections, researching/exploring other cultures, differences, feeling isolated, being misunderstood, death, evil, making a deal with someone, giving up something for something else, feeling isolated, feeling misunderstood, scuttlebutt, friendship, disobeying one’s parents, overbearing parents, bad decisions, regret, love, living in the past, prejudging someone, magic, siren’s song, nautical themes, betrayal, not giving up, and magical tridents that zap eels.
Language:
There is some minor name calling and I believe the Queen makes one religious exclamation.
Stuff to be aware of:
As with the animated movie there are a few intense scenes that will likely be a little more scary in “live action” to younger viewers. Ariel and Flounder get chased by a shark and Ursula’s lair can be a bit scary. Ursula’s two hench-eels (Flotsam and Jetsam) could scare some with their one glowing eye that allows Ursula to see what they see. Spoiler alert: Ursula gets really big at the end (Stay-Puft Ursula), and looks a bit more terrifying. The scenes at this part are very dark and since she doesn’t have a ton of close ups so, to me, this part wasn’t as terrifying as it could have been. Ursula’s, Flotsam, and Jetsam’s deaths are about as gory as it gets and they happen in pretty much the same way as the animated film.
Overall:
As a whole I believe this is one of Disney’s better (if not best) live action remakes. Some of their live action remakes have been so close to the original, they seem pointless to make, and some are so different than the original (I’m looking at you Mulan and Alice in Wonderland) that they lose their charm and the nostalgia factor. This “fish out of water” tail gets the balance right. We learn more about some of the characters and their backstories and dreams. These don’t take away or overshadow the original story, but help answer questions some viewers may have and give more meaning/motivation to certain characters and actions.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the new songs, with the exception of “Skuttlebutt.” It has that Lin-Manuel Miranda rap feel to it. Some of his songs I like, and some I don’t. I gave up after five minutes of Hamilton, but I love his work on Encanto, Moana, and Mary Poppins Returns. Also, Halle Bailey does a great job making these classic songs her own and man can she belt those lyrics! Halle and Melissa McCarthy are really stand outs. Melissa takes Ursula to a new level building on what came before, but also giving her a fresh take.
I have read complaints online about the animal/fish characters losing their emotion because they look like real animals and real animals do not show facial emotions the way humans do. A bit of the “human expression” from the animated movie was lost in the Lion King live action movie. I thought the voice actors and animators for Skuttle and Sebastian did a good job making them feel alive and full of emotions. Flounder looses some of his more human characteristics because, well he is a fish. Fish only make one face.
Here are my complaints. A lot of this movie is filmed too dark. I know half the movie is under water and a good junk of the rest of it takes place at night or dusk, but the editors could have lighted it up a little. Maybe I am getting old, but it was hard for me to see what was going on a lot of the time. There are a lot of great films filmed under water and at night and I can see everything that is going on.
Also, I my favorite song from this movie has always been “Under the Sea.” I felt like it got shafted a bit. In the original animated classics songs like “I just Can’t Wait to Be King,” “Be Our Guest,” and “Under the Sea” always took on a different art style a color pallet. Those songs embraced a slightly more “cartoonish” style and crazy colors. They do not do this in the live action movies because they are trying to ground them more in reality, well as real as talking fish, kitchenware, and lions can be. I was let down with the visuals in this song. The song itself was great, but the visuals didn’t come close to the original.
Overall, even with my few complaints I think this was a great live action adaptation.