I have been so excited to see the live-action "Little Mermaid." It's been one of my favorite films growing up and knowing that Halle Bailey, who has a lovely singing voice, got the role of Ariel, made this live action all the more special. Unfortunately, this film has not been without backlash. There has been some really nasty racism towards Halle's casting, complaints about the film being too dark, and the appearances of the live-action animals/fish. This was all before the film was even released! Now that I've been able to experience the film for myself, I have a lot that I want to say. But before I get started, I just want to make you aware that there will be spoilers in this review so keep that in mind if you want to continue reading. Without further ado, let's get into this review.
In my personal opinion, "The Little Mermaid" is visually stunning for the most part. The visuals are vibrant and beautiful so if a scene appears to be "dark," that's because it's supposed to be. For example, in the scene in the cave where Ariel sings "Part of Your World," she is longing to experience surface life, so the darkness fits with her mood. Also, she's in a cave underwater, so I wouldn't think it's very appropriate to have a scene like that very bright, and this is just one part of the darkness discourse that I've seen online regarding this film.
The scene where Eric's ship sank captivated me so much. I thought it was an incredible scene despite the chaos that was happening. It's night time so of course, it's dark, but I loved how they implemented fireworks, moonlight, and also fire to light the scene. I personally love the low light here.
When we get our first look at Ursula in her layer, it's pretty dark in there as well, but as we all know she's the villain and again she's underwater in her layer. I also really loved how her tentacles would glow underwater along with the items she used for her potions. There are many ways to be intentional with lighting in film and I just think Disney did a great job overall with the low lighting.
One dark scene that I wasn't a fan of was towards the end when Ursula grows large in the ocean. I could not see her face well, so even though I knew she was angry in that moment, I would have loved to visibly see more of her expression clearly. To be fair, it may just take some getting used to and I may not feel this way in the future, but as for Ariel and Eric in the same scene, I thought they looked fine.
There are many memorable moments in this film, but a lot of the moments that were new to the story stood out to me most. Of course, a memorable scene in the live-action "Little Mermaid" is seeing the Jody Benson cameo. For those who don't know, she is the original voice actress from "The Little Mermaid" 1989. It was just really great to see someone who was so monumental for the original film pretty much co-signing the new live-action and passing the torch.
Also, there's this scene with Ariel and Eric in this room full of Eric's collection and Ariel is trying to teach him how to blow into this shell, so they're both puckering their lips and then there's this dialogue from Sebastian, it's such a funny moment. While I'm still on the topic of Ariel and Eric, the scene where Ariel is trying to tell Eric her name is so adorable. I can't really explain it. You just have to see it to know how cute it is.
I also love the new twist of Ursula adding a spell to make Ariel forget she needs to kiss Eric before sunset on the third day. And I can't forget the recreations of original scenes from the classic animation. There's just so much to enjoy and remember.
Music is such an important element of "The Little Mermaid," so I can't do a review of this film without mentioning the music. Besides "Part of Your World," I waited until after I saw the film to listen to the soundtrack because I just wanted a first reaction to everything. Halle does a beautiful job on her songs including the new additions. I'm not surprised at all that she did well with the music. I thought "Poor Unfortunate Souls" was pretty good but not quite as incredible as the original and the same goes for "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl." I'm not sure if the original versions had more energy or if I'm judging it from based on nostalgia, but all original songs work with the film and its visuals. As for the new songs, I didn't hate "Scuttlebutt" though I know there's going to be some complaints about it. "Wild Uncharted Waters" was also good and allowed for more Prince Eric that I didn't know I needed.
The casting for this film is very well done. From the first announcement, I knew Halle had what it took to be a really great Ariel. One of the main elements of "The Little Mermaid" is her gift with singing. As someone familiar with Halle's music with her sister Chloe and just knowing how much of an incredible singer she is, I understood immediately why she got the role. But acting-wise, I think I've only seen her in "Grown-ish" before the release of "The Little Mermaid." But during the rollout for the film and seeing clips of her in her role as Ariel, she portrayed a Disney princess flawlessly. The way she delivered her lines seemed very authentic and her laugh is infectious. I think those are great qualities for a Disney princess and just another way to have kids love your character. I also really think that everyone should take into account her performance when she has no dialogue, so she had to be really convincing with her body language and facial expressions. We know Ariel goes through a lot while not having her voice, from falling even more in love with Eric to experiencing heartbreak when Eric suddenly devotes his life to Vanessa, I thought Halle did a wonderful job expressing herself in her silence. Personally, she did not disappoint me in her role.
One person that I was not familiar with was Jonah Howard King, who plays Prince Eric. When I first saw his casting, my first thought was, "Wow he looks like he could be a really good Prince Eric," but after seeing him embody the character for the film, I don't think they could have had anyone better. Jonah literally is Eric. He does a great job building upon Prince Eric's storyline and Eric has always been a top Disney prince for me, but I feel like I love the character even more. Also, Jonah has incredible chemistry with Halle. Just seeing the two on-screen and their character's romance blooming makes me melt. Ariel and Eric just have these connections I think that help spark the romance even more.
Someone who I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did was Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. I was pretty confused when I saw she got the role of a villain like Ursula and that's only because I've seen her in a lot of comedies, but she embodies Ursula so well. Her emotions like annoyance, anger and even when she cackles, I thought she nailed it. I also have to mention even though she was playing the villain, she still managed to make you laugh.
Everyone else in the cast does well. I loved Ariel's sisters and King Triton, they are all literally so stunning. Eric's mom was also a good addition to the story as well. I liked Flounder. I thought Aquafina as Scuttle was a choice, but I think it worked. Lastly, I can't forget about Sebastian. I have a soft spot for the original voice actor of Sebastian. I think he was so iconic in that role, so it's hard for me to not compare Daveed Diggs to Samuel E. Wright, but I have to give Daveed his credit. He does well as Sebastian, but of course, his new moments in the film are what makes him stand out to me.
I don't have many dislikes for the film. I'm sure I would have had more if I decided to compare it to the original classic, but that's not what I wanted to do. When seeing the film, I wanted to go in and just enjoy something new. Even though I'm very familiar with the 1989 animation, this was still a very new film. During my first watch, I was wondering about the lack of outfits for Ariel. In the original, they gave her choices, but in the live-action, she appears to wear the same dress until the end of the film. But in the end, when you watch the film, you see just how important that dress is and how much it means to both Ariel and Eric.
To conclude this review, I can just tell I will probably re-watch this live-action film more than I've watched the other live-action films. I'm not one to complain about Disney live-action films, but this one has surpassed them all for me. Even though I was totally invested in the film from the beginning, I could consciously feel myself smiling at the cutest and most romantic moments. Watching this just brought my inner child out and I'm so glad that I got to see it. The audience was quite diverse and it was nice to see such a wide range of ages and races appreciate this film.
Check out the trailer below:
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