How much controversy can one little mermaid cause? For a long time, that’s been the leading question surrounding Disney’s reimagining of The Little Mermaid, now playing in theatres.
It’s been a divisive project ever since it was announced; For Ariel, as the focus of Disney’s latest project in their endless "animation to live action" crusade, audiences now actually seeing the movie will quickly find they’ve been asking the wrong question. It isn’t the central character (or her race) worth questioning, but the assimilation of the movie itself.
The project is surprisingly entertaining, even if that’s all derived from the glossy production values and not from an elevated story and/or concept. In its live action treatment, there’s no good reason for this new Little Mermaid to exist.
Except for one: the soon to be superstar named Halle Bailey.
Bailey, playing the titular mermaid Ariel, is a revelation as an entertainer and presenting herself worthy to be a bona fide movie star. Her charm, characterization, singing voice, poise, dance, focus, and authentic presence on screen are shining. Her "Part of Your World" is a showstopper. She is reason enough to see the movie - Bailey’s Ariel really is that good.
The rest of the surrounding movie is a pleasant, expertly rended and predictably shallow recreation of story beats, shots and lines from Disney’s superior 1989 animated version.
Musical fans, celebrity followers, young children and Disney fanatics will all, to no one’s surprise, love this. Ardent enemies of those same audience won’t. In short, your attitude and how much you’re interested in the story or premise going in will make a big difference in how you’ll leaving leaving the theatre two and a half hours later.
For the few fishes who don’t know the story, mermaid Ariel longs to connect with the human world above the ocean, but visiting the surface is forbidden by her father King Triton (a robust Javier Bardem). But she gets her chance to visit after meeting Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) and the help of her wicked octopus aunt Ursula (a brilliant, transformative Melissa McCarthy).
Everyone in the cast is terrific, filled with strong supporting players - Hauer-King is warm, likeable and determined, while Emmy winner McCarthy gives her strongest character performance in a decade. Other standouts include Awkwafina’s very funny Scuttle and Art Malik’s charming Grimsby.
But the famous role of Sebastian the crab is given a top-notch voice role from Daveed Diggs (best known for his work in the musical Hamilton), who sings famous songs like “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl” with spectacular heart and flair.
There are a few new songs that (mostly) fit easily into the story and are tuneful, creating a full song list that’s enjoyable enough. Yet strangely, they chose not to include an opening or closing number, like both the original film and stage adaptations do have.
This Little Mermaid has a few odd settings and emphatic elements missing, which is odd for a $250 million blockbuster. Why do we see so little of Eric’s kingdom? Or none of Atlantica? These settings are key to the story, yet they’re totally cut from this version.
Some of the CGI animals, while not nearly as garish like 2019’s The Lion King, are oddly rendered and look out of place on screen. To top it off, there are a lot of shaky handheld camera shots that are fast, masking characters on screen, and can be somewhat disorienting.
Technical mishaps aside, it won’t detract from the enjoyment for those swept up in the truly heartfelt work from the excellent human cast. Director Rob Marshall is known for big-budget musicals, with great ones like Disney’s Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns, and the Best Picture-winning Chicago to his name.
His Little Mermaid falls somewhere in the middle. It’s a clear cash grab that will appeal to families and musical lovers. Despite it’s overeagerness to be liked, The Little Mermaid still manages to have fun with moviegoers.
The Little Mermaid
7 out of 10
PG, 2hrs 15mins. Family Musical Fantasy Comedy Epic.
Directed by Rob Marshall.
Starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Melissa McCarthy, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noam Dumezweni, Art Malik and Javier Bardem.
Now Playing at Film.Ca Cinemas, 5 Drive-In, Cineplex Winston Churchill & VIP and Cineplex Oakville & VIP. Also in IMAX.
