The Little Mermaid (2023) Review

The Little Mermaid is considered one of the great movies from Disney’s animated catalogue. It was the film that started the Disney Renaissance and ushered in a wave of classics like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. 35 years since its release Disney has remade it into a live-action film.

Ariel (Halle Bailey) is the youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem) and has a fascination with all things human. Ariel’s father forbids the teen to go to the surface. That doesn’t stop Ariel from saving Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) when his ship sinks during a storm. Ariel gets offered a Faustian deal from Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) where the sea-witch offers to transform Ariel into a human but she must kiss Eric in three days or else her soul is forfeit.

There was hostility to the idea of a Little Mermaid remake. Some commenters saw it as nothing but a cash grab and saw Disney as being creatively bankrupt. More unsavoury commenters were hostile because of the casting of Bailey as the title character. Some Disney remakes have been great, like The Jungle Book, others are rehashes of the originals, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin being prime examples, and some have been downright bad. The Lion King and Pinocchio are considered some of the worst Disney remakes.

The Little Mermaid did seem to suffer from some challenges. The underwater setting meant that there was a reliance on CGI which had a risk of making it seem lifeless. The use of photorealistic animals meant it had the same issue as The Lion King since real animals can’t emote. The first act of the 2023 film did seem like it was going to be a shot-for-shot recreation of its 1989 counterpart. There were some subtle changes like the first time Ariel goes to the surface to see Prince Eric’s ship and Ariel’s rescue of Eric was extended for the live-action film. Other changes were perfunctory like making Ursula Triton’s sister, therefore Ariel’s aunt. Whilst other changes were a downgrade, like in the original there was the creepy image of all the souls Ursula had trapped.

However, even during this stage of the film it was still able to shine because of Bailey. She was an incredible find for the film. Bailey’s rendition of “A Part of That World” was terrific as her character exposed all her longing to explore the world. The Little Mermaid was Bailey’s first leading role and it must have been a difficult task since she was acting on a bluescreen with animals that weren’t really there, yet she nailed it. The behind-the-scenes footage was ridiculous.

The Little Mermaid came into its own by showing more action on land and during the second act. Eric was given a lot more characterisation in the remake than he did in the original. He was shown to be a kindred spirit to Ariel since he wanted to explore the world, was outward-looking, and made his small island into a prosperous kingdom. The remake even gave Eric his own song of longing to mirror Ariel’s.

Also like Ariel, Eric had a dominating parent since his mother (Noma Dumezweni) also wanted to keep her child insulated and had a distrust of ‘the others.’ Triton hated humans, and the Queen feared the ‘seapeople.’ Ariel and Eric were not just characters longing for personal freedom or looking for love, they had the potential to unite their people and the prejudice against each other.

The second act was focused on the courtship between the pair. Eric didn’t realise Ariel was the girl who saved him because Ariel lost the ability to speak and sing. The remake gave Ariel an extra complication since she could not remember she needed to kiss Eric. The people around had to provide the youngsters with a nudge so they could realise their true feelings. This made The Little Mermaid remake more like the original Beauty and the Beast and the remake of Cinderella. Beauty and the Beast had a focus on matchmaking, while like the Cinderella remake, there was an effort to show their main couples getting to know each other.

This act also had a scene of wonder because Ariel was a literal fish out of water. It was new, colourful, and vibrant when Ariel and Eric explored the Caribbean Island and met the people, as shown when the pair go to a market.

It’s compulsive for a musical remake to add a new song. In The Little Mermaid’s case, it got three. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote these songs and two of the three were really good. There was the aforementioned Prince Eric’s solo and the best new song was when Ariel was taken to the castle and sings of her excitement and trepidation. The filmmakers ensured they got the most out of Bailey’s singing voice. However, there was no need for a rap number from Awkwafina.

The Little Mermaid was a delightful family musical. It found the right mix of being faithful and respectful to the animated original whilst adding enough to make it feel fresh. It was one of the better Disney remakes.