Jonah Naplan May 25, 2023
The reception surrounding the Disney live action remakes of the last decade has not been kind. But that could be for good reason. The worst ones—the 2019 adaptation of “Dumbo,” last year’s “Pinocchio” and even “The Lion King”—are at a base level, soulless; devoid of any and all heart and spirit. It used to be that two—or in the case of 2019, three—were released every year, but—and I have to imagine partly because of their poor acceptance on top of low financial performance—it feels as if they’ve died down significantly since the wild world of Covid began. Robert Zemeckis’s “Pinocchio” adaptation—regardless of quality—was not granted a theatrical release last year, and neither was the 2020 adaptation of “Mulan” that I completely forgot existed until doing quick research for this review.
I’ve seen the majority of these movies, both the superior animated films and watered down remakes. But considering the fact that up until now they haven’t increased in any quality or intrigue, I could not answer a question about why these continue to get made. Disney is soon gonna run out of classics to milk, and throw in the towel with a “Make Mine Music” remake—the only Disney animated film in the canon not currently available on Disney+.
Their sour track record has been thankfully broken by a respectful, often joyous, and spirited “The Little Mermaid” remake, an adaptation that others should watch and take notes from. It has most of the things I think a Disney remake should have: the magic—though not copied and pasted—of the original, decent to exemplary performances, toe-tapping musical numbers, and a reason to make us care about its existence. In the case of “The Little Mermaid,” there are actually several reasons. The first comes to us very early on when we learn that the role of Ariel has become dominated by the wonderful Black actress, Halle Bailey—delivering both refreshing racial diversity and a replenished enthusiasm.
Bailey is a wonderfully majestic singer, and the numbers where her voice really gets to shine, namely “Part of Your World,” provide the film’s most technically and musically impressive moments. The young singer-songwriter blooms as Ariel, providing the curious precociousness but also blunt resourcefulness that her character requires. Ariel is meant to be played as gullible—her adventurous nature soaring to heights that make her an easy target for danger, especially on land. She is a fish out of water, after all.
Adding 52 minutes onto the slim runtime of the original, this “Little Mermaid” is much richer and beefed up than the animated classic. If it’s been a minute since you’ve seen the source material, “The Little Mermaid” follows a young and ambitious mermaid, Ariel of course, the seventh and youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), who dreams of exploring the surface world that her father forbids and believes to be deadly. Disobeying the rules with her fish pal, Flounder (Jacob Tremblay), Ariel saves a dashing young man named Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) from a thrashing storm that wrecks his crew’s ship. Her beautiful singing voice awakens the prince from the trauma-induced coma, but she quickly flees once Eric’s men go out looking for him. Dubbed a “mystery girl,” Eric becomes smitten and determined to reunite with the young lady who saved his life.
Not so pleased with Ariel about this, Triton becomes furious, placing Sebastian (the Caribbean-accented Daveed Diggs) and Scuttle (Awkwafina) on her tail. But Ariel, curious beyond her years, continues to disobey, falling into the trap of Triton’s estranged, tentacled sister Ursula (Melissa McCarthy). Ursula poses Ariel a deal: she will grant the little mermaid a pair of legs in exchange for her beautiful vocals. She has three days to form an authentic romance with Eric, and kiss him before the hourglass runs out. If she fails to do so, she will become enslaved as Ursula’s miserable prisoner for all eternity.
Considerably darker than most children’s movies, “The Little Mermaid” has always been one of the more edgy Disney tales. The first thing this adaptation gets right is capturing the highly strung apparatus that is Ursula’s ego and ambition. McCarthy is excellent here, bringing to the table everything we’d hope and expect from the sea witch, and then some new directions we wouldn’t initially anticipate. I do, however, feel that she was slightly underutilized, and only really shines when the film allows her to.
The same goes for the delightful Bailey. “The Little Mermaid,” though superior than most Disney live action remakes, often feels at a halt to take any ballsy risks, especially regarding the characters. Prince Eric in particular is given the unfortunate fate of being subjected to categorization that does not allow him to rise above the typical “troubled pretty boy” aesthetic. Hauer-King is given a new “I Want” song, but it feels so uninspired that it becomes cringey.
The best music in this “Little Mermaid” is the beloved songs we already know. I found the “Under the Sea” number to contain wonder aplenty, as did “Kiss the Girl,” which of course in turn contains an anticlimactic ending. Director Rob Marshall—helmer of the 2003 Best Picture winner, “Chicago”—knows how to make characters sing and dance, and it’s all done quite well here, save for an embarrassing rap song by Scuttle, that I can imagine Disney might apologize for in a few years.
The music, the characters, the spiky tone of it all is here. But the biggest issue “The Little Mermaid” faces, specific to only live action remake fare, is the highly manufactured, transcendental, and vibrant underwater world that does not mesh well with the very-much-so human renditions of these characters, mermaids and fish alike. Opening with surprisingly gorgeous shots of ocean life, “The Little Mermaid” begins with promise, but once the film shifts to include half-CGI-rendered mermaids, the waters start to become murky.
Most of the CGI and green screen is noticeable and ugly, and we quickly realize that it’s all painted with the same dark, dark blue color that makes sudden cuts to sunlight painful for the eyes. Likewise, the fish don’t look good on land either, particularly the strangely rendered Flounder.
Luckily, once “The Little Mermaid” grows steady on its feet—quite literally—the spirit and joy aligns, allowing Marshall and Bailey to join hands and take flight. Bailey is a massively talented actress, and I’m looking forward to seeing her in future projects that allow her more space to soar. Until then, “The Little Mermaid” is a commendable presentation of her chops, allowing the viewer to examine Ariel’s journey from routine to discovery and then back again. It’s not a cash grab; it’s a celebration.
Now playing in theaters.