Film Review - The Little Mermaid
Images courtesy of The Walt Disney Company.
Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid truly feels like the culmination of Disney live-action remakes from the last few years. But this remake once again reminds us how unnecessary they are.
Even if some haven’t seen the 1989 animated film, audiences know the film’s plot inside and out. Ariel is a mermaid princess who wants to know more about the surface world above. After saving Prince Eric, she falls for him immediately. Soon after, she makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula to become a human and get a glimpse of what life is like on land, by sacrificing her voice.
To their credit, Marshall and his team try to expand upon the classic story in this updated version. Screenwriter David Magee provides more development for Prince Eric and the relationship between him and Ariel as they’re now both motivated by the exploration for the unknown outside their kingdoms. This makes their kinship in the latter half of the film more balanced and believable. The goals and outcomes of these characters are portrayed through new songs by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The classic songs are still there and relatively untouched, but the new songs either don’t seem to fit with the film’s style or simply feel unnecessary: no fans over the years have asked for Scuttle the bird to have a Hamilton-style rap with Sebastian.
In terms of the cast, Halle Bailey is rightfully the film’s true star. Bailey easily portrays Ariel’s curiosity while her eyes have that sense of wonder and desire. Combined with her stellar voice and beauty, she is everything you want Ariel to be. However, the rest of the cast all feel rather safe. Ursula is an iconic and delicious Disney villain that any actor should cherish in the opportunity to do something different. But Melissa McCarthy’s performance is exactly what you would expect which is disappointing. Daveed Diggs and Awkwafina play Sebastian and Scuttle just as well as you’d think they would, providing the film’s humour. Jonah Hauer-King and Jacob Tremblay both do a fine job, but Prince Eric and Flounder could’ve honestly been played by anyone. Meanwhile, Javier Bardem has been unfortunately miscast as King Triton, giving off a less than intimidating presence as king of the ocean.
However, what’s really missing from The Little Mermaid, like most Disney live-action remakes, is true spectacle. The film’s imagination is limited by it being technically live-action, when it should feel alive in every frame given it’s a fairy tale underwater musical. For example, ‘Under The Sea’ is a musical sequence where the filmmakers can be incredibly creative in terms of choreography and design - but because the film has established itself in a grounded world, the ocean life, while still colourful, can’t play instruments or even be expressive. Instead they just swim around, which is supposed to come off as dancing, with blank stares, because at the end of the day - they’re supposed to be real fish.
Even Aquaman had the audacity and joy to feature an octopus playing the drums.
The Little Mermaid is screening in cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.