Halle Bailey is a shining star in this mostly successful and worthwhile remake
“It’s a dinglehopper!” Disney has been churning out live-action remakes of their classic animated films since the mid-1990s. The velocity increased exponentially with Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book and Pete’s Dragon (2016), and Beauty and the Beast (2017). There have been six (!) direct live-action remakes since then, not including numerous character origin stories, sequels, and spin-offs. Over seven titles are in the pipeline. With few exceptions, most of these have been lackluster cash grabs, devoid of the groundbreaking nature and pizzazz of the originals, and unable to modernize themes and storylines without stumbling hard. Thus, The Little Mermaid is the latest entry into Disney’s live-action remake collection, an adaptation of the 1989 animated classic. Directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago; Mary Poppins Returns), the new The Little Mermaid succeeds in ways that previous Disney remakes failed, but at times the film trips over its own feet, err, fins.
If you were at all conscious of movies in 1989, then you’re probably familiar with the story of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, based (loosely) on the 1837 fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Closely but not entirely following the animated version, the new live-action version stars Halle Bailey in her feature film debut as Ariel, the youngest mermaid daughter of the Sea King, King Triton (Javier Bardem). Ariel is fascinated by the human world, and in particular Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), an adventurous young man whom she saves after his ship is wrecked in a vicious storm. Love and cross-culture curiosity ensues, and Ariel, forbidden from venturing to the surface again by King Triton, seeks the sea witch, Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), to use dark magic to turn her human for three days in order to woo the Prince into a deal-breaking kiss. In exchange, Ariel will give up her “soul” and her siren voice as payment. With her creature friends, including Triton’s right-hand crab, Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), best pal Flounder (Jacob Tremblay), and clumsy sea bird Scuttle (Awkwafina), Ariel is taken in by the human Islanders and Prince Eric. She falls in love with this new world, but will she get a true love’s kiss before sundown on the third day!?
Halle Bailey is a star. There’s no question about it. Her radiance on screen, combined with her outstanding vocal talent (and off-screen charm attracting millions of social media followers), is undoubtedly going to be a cinematic draw for many years to come. Her only noticeable misstep is inexperience interacting with a CGI-heavy production, but she’ll learn the ropes with practice. She takes on the mantle of a new generation’s beloved Ariel by singing the show-stopping ballad “Part of Your World” with heart-wrenching emotional power. She outshines all her co-stars, but that shouldn’t take away from Hauer-King, Diggs, Bardem, and especially McCarthy. McCarthy appears to be having a blast as the tentacled villain, belting out songs, cracking jokes, menacing the room, and (literally) chewing the scenery.
The Little Mermaid is nearly an hour longer than the animated version, with the extra minutes mainly devoted to deepening the central characters and their courtship, and yes, a few new songs. The added story elements are well-written and integrated, and even impressively modernize Ariel’s character arc without feeling forced, a point of much polarization in previous Disney live-action updates. Some of the new tunes are catchy, colorful, and fit right in with the classic songs created by the legendary Alan Menken. Others, however, are instantly forgettable, stopping the film’s flow dead in its tracks. That’s the double-edged sword of having Lin-Manuel Miranda on your team. He’s a creative powerhouse, and has now contributed memorable music and lyrics to Moana and Encanto, but his hip-hop signature style isn’t always the best fit for the project.
The visual effects are equally as tumultuous. The events that take place on land or above the sea are beautifully visualized and impressive. The CGI in the action-packed finale is particularly strong. The underwater sequences, not as strong. Coming out on the heels of Avatar: The Way of Water puts Mermaid at an unfair disadvantage when it comes to underwater filmmaking and effects. And this is a family film, so colorful and silly is the primary objective, not ultra-realism, which is a balance that The Lion King (2019) struggled with. The mermaids swimming around in the ocean and the superimposed faces onto CGI bodies don’t always look great, but those facets can be forgiven when the music and colors are so playful. The Little Mermaid manages to create more realistic creatures and worlds while allowing the emotive silliness of traditionally drawn animated characters to still seep through.
When 1989’s The Little Mermaid was released, it ushered in a new blockbuster era of Disney animated films. It quickly became part of the national (and global) lexicon. While the recent live-action remakes have raked in billions of dollars at the global box office, their cultural impact has been minimal. This new The Little Mermaid could break that spell. It’s easy to envision it being as big a deal for today’s children as the original was for a previous generation. If it’s successful, future planned remakes could take a few lessons to heart, and, while not perfect, The Little Mermaid could be the torchbearer to another golden era of Disney feature films for kids. That’s a tall order, and maybe unrealistic, to wish to be part of that world.
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The Little Mermaid opens in Bay Area theaters on Friday, May 26.
