Director: Rob Marshall
Writer: David Magee
Cast: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Art Malik, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Noma Dumezweni

Here we have another live-action adaptation of a classic Disney animation. Perhaps this one would have been done long ago, had the technology allowed, but now is its time. The Little Mermaid (1989) is stipulated as the jumping-off point for the Disney Renaissance, a decade-or-so-long time of Disney producing incredibly popular animations non-stop, so it holds a special place in the history of Disney. To make a newish version with a few changes and updates was always going to be a risky venture, but that hasn’t stopped them doing the same to many classic animations over the past few years. The Little Mermaid (1989) has always been in the hearts of many, so does this adaptation sink or swim into Disney history?

Ariel (Bailey) is a young mermaid who has a fascination with humans and the surface world. However, her father, ruler of the sea, King Triton (Bardem), is firmly against anything to do with things above water. When Prince Eric (Hauer-King) enters Ariel’s world, she is captivated by him. In order to become somewhat part of his world, she makes a deal with her aunt, the sea witch Ursula (McCarthy), to become human. Of course, nothing is straightforward, and Ariel and Eric must share a true love’s kiss within three days if Ariel is to remain human, or else she will belong to Ursula forever.

I’m sure everyone is at least familiar with the story of The Little Mermaid, whether that be via Disney or Hans Christian Andersen’s original story. This movie keeps the main plotline mostly intact but adds its own flavour here and there, which works in a more modern fashion. Why people take issue with changing and updating a fantasy story and/or its characters is beyond me, but perhaps that is a discussion for another time. The film takes on all the hallmarks of the animation, keeping the parts, mainly the songs, that really matter (although a little disappointing to not have Les Poisson), and doesn’t take away the desires of the characters, particularly Ariel. The songs are still absolutely wonderful (Bailey’s rendition of Part of Your World is honestly beautiful), and we have a handful of new songs courtesy of Disney favourite Lin-Manuel Miranda. I’m not sure his style really suited this movie, as his style is a bit chalk-and-cheese when side-by-side with classic Disney musical duo Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, but they worked enough to give the characters some extra depth, particularly Prince Eric who now has his own tune in the same vein as Beast from Beauty and the Beast (2017).

The visuals were done magnificently, particularly the underwater scenes. The mermaids were given updates in their design, particularly their tails which were more fish-like, and the bralettes – no more seashell bras! Ariel and her sisters are all different nationalities, which of course speaks volumes as to the diversity of the film but also a good idea to represent the “seven seas”. Some people may take issue with King Triton having many daughters of different nationalities (meaning many different… indiscretions…), but there could be numerous explanations, if one was to open one’s mind enough. Many scenes mimicked their counterparts from the animation, and between that and the songs, it gives the film huge nostalgic value.

The performances were absolutely wonderful, for the most part. Bailey is incredible as Ariel, her voice suiting the character perfectly and her youthful innocence and bravado encapsulates her personality entirely. Jodi Benson (watch out for her little cameo) will always be Ariel to older generations, like myself, but Bailey will be just that to newer generations. Hauer-King is a mediocre Eric – he doesn’t really bring much to the character to make him stand out any more than the original character did, which is perhaps not such a bad thing. He’s rather wooden at times, and although he does get his song which allows us to understand Eric more as a character, at the end of the day he’s still a bit of a MacGuffin to get Ariel out of the water. The connection between Ariel and Eric is a little stronger than in the animation, however. Swinging back to good performances though, McCarthy was a risk to cast as Ursula, but she really did justice to one of the more love-to-hate Disney villains. I honestly thought her singing was dubbed by someone else, but as it turns out, McCarthy is an excellent singer (much to her own surprise too, apparently) and smashed the vocals for Poor Unfortunate Souls. She did justice to Pat Carroll’s original performance, too. Bardem was an interesting choice for King Triton, and although it doesn’t really feel like he packs as much of an emotional punch as a parent than his animated counterpart, the father-daughter chemistry with Bailey doesn’t go entirely amiss. The voiced characters were a mixed bag: Diggs’s Sebastian wasn’t quite as charismatic as the character we’re used to, though he does have his humourous moments; Tremblay’s Flounder wasn’t nearly as endearing as one might have hoped him to be; but Awkwafina’s Scuttle was actually more enjoyable than the original character, less annoying and had a bit more of a reason to be there. Her performance was fun and even Scuttle’s little rap moment was enjoyable, if maybe a little out of place.

Overall, I would consider this adaptation a firm success. Disney has been very hit-and-miss with its live-action remakes; I’m personally a big fan of 2015’s Cinderella and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, but was disappointed by the likes of 2019’s The Lion King and Aladdin. The Little Mermaid (1989) was released the same year I was born, and so it has always been very much a staple of my childhood. Thus, I got very teary during certain scenes that made me feel like a kid again, enjoying the hooks of the songs and the romance of it all. I get goosebumps hearing Bailey’s Part of Your World just as much as I do with Benson’s version. I would like to leave this review by saying that if anyone wishes to take issue with Ariel’s casting, I will remind you to take a long hard look at the world around you, open your mind, and remember that it is fantasy, it’s a mermaid. It’s not an issue in this world that you should be concerned with. The performance is what matters, and it was a bloody good performance, one that is sure to resonate with the majority around the world.