Being one of the very few critics who has enjoyed a good majority of Disney live-action adaptations and remakes including Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan, The Little Mermaid has always been one of the most beloved Disney tales and one that sparked interest when it was to be given the same treatment as other classics.
The Little Mermaid is a story about Ariel, the mermaid, who wishes to experience life above the sea. Yet to her father, King Triton’s (Javier Bardem), disapproval is forced to continue living her life among the fish and sea creatures. When she saves Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), a sailor one night at sea, she forges a deal with the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) to experience land, kiss the Prince, and remain a human forever, or perish under Ursula’s rule if she fails.
The Little Mermaid is a story everyone is familiar with. Disney was given the opportunity to take it and make something new and magical with it with Halle Bailey as Ariel in the lead role. Unfortunately, this live action adaptation is one of Disney’s weakest and loses all appeal of the original. The reimagination of the beloved classic was extremely disjointed in its portrayal. It tried teetering on realistic imagery while incorporating magical elements, failing in both because of its lack of commitment to one or the other.
The sea creatures, like Flounder and Sebastian, were computer generated to look realistic yet are able to speak. This wouldn’t have been an issue if the filmmakers added magical realism to the other creatures in the film but picking and choosing realistic versus magical elements had the film feel like it went off the deep end. The Little Mermaid would have been better off either making a dark and realistic tale or choosing to go fully bonkers with fish playing instruments, a wide variety of colors, and more. Not to mention the darkness of the cinematography that made a majority of the film difficult to see.
One of the biggest issues with the movie was the “Disney magic” that is stripped away by just taking the plot from the original and adapting on to screen with no real emotion or charm. Even if the filmmakers decided to opt for a different style of magic with a reimagined version of the beloved classic, it could have still worked.
However, this adaptation was as lifeless as could be aside from Halle Bailey. Halle Bailey’s portrayal of Ariel was fabulous. Her innocence and understanding of Ariel’s motivations and dream allowed her to shine even through the dark production design. Bailey’s voice is breathtaking and at least allows for soundtrack visitability but it was disappointing to see a film utilize her talents so well yet fail in so many other ways.
The CGI posed an issue technologically as shooting underwater needs to be done on a James Cameron type budget. Interestingly enough The Little Mermaid was given the same budget as Avatar: The Way of Water yet was not able to capture an underwater world that looked visually stunning. Given how lifeless and desolate the sea looked, it is no wonder Ariel wanted to leave and live above land, which does feature some pretty scenery and musical numbers.
The Little Mermaid was a major disappointment when it could have been a breath of fresh air for new and old viewers. Hopefully, next time Disney leaves stories alone that are better staying animated.
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