“The Little Mermaid” Review: Halle Bailey Shines as Ariel in Live-Action Remake

Hi everyone!

We were invited to an advance screening of “The Little Mermaid” last night. The film opens tomorrow as the latest in a long line of live-action remakes of Disney animated films. Many of those films are pretty forgettable, but I found “The Little Mermaid” a cut above the rest – in large part due to the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel.

“The Little Mermaid” was originally written as a fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen back in 1837, and then was made into the animated classic in 1989. The animated “The Little Mermaid” kicked off what is known as the Disney Renaissance, with a string of huge Disney animated hits that also included “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” (all three of which have had live-action remakes). The live-action “The Little Mermaid” does not take away from the animated film.

The story of “The Little Mermaid” is that Ariel – a young mermaid – longs to know more about what is above the sea (to the dismay of her father, King Triton). She falls quickly for Prince Eric, who she rescues during a violent storm that wrecks his ship. She sings to him but he cannot fully see her before she has to leave him. And she makes a deal with Ursula, just as in the film to experience life on land. If you have seen the animated film, then you’ll recognize the storyline even though it isn’t exact.

Halle Bailey is sensational as Ariel. Watching her sing “Part of Your World” is mesmerizing, especially singing the end of the song with a lot of power as she grips onto the rocks. The best of the three new songs, “For the First Time” is also sung by Ariel as she adjusts to her new life on land. Her sidekicks are all here – Scuttle (Awkwafina), Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) and Flounder (Jacob Tremblay). They bring comic relief to the movie, with a lot of laughter from the audience at times. Scuttle and Sebastian also sing the worst new song in the film, “The Scuttlebutt”. Everyone I spoke to after watching “The Little Mermaid” enjoyed the movie except for that song. It just strikes a completely different tone than the film. Kids may love it, though. I enjoyed the “Under the Sea” segment, especially with the combination of the vocals from Diggs and Bailey. Composer Alan Menken from the original film is back, partnering with Lin-Manuel Miranda (Menken partnered with lyricist Howard Ashman on the original).

There is a lovely scene with Ariel and Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) in which he shares with her a look at various items he’s collected on his adventures, and she shows him how to use some of them. They bond over a shared interest, even though she has no voice.

Melissa McCarthy makes an impressive Ursula. I was a bit annoyed by the extra hurdle Ursula adds to make it certain that there would be no kiss. The story otherwise follows pretty much along the line of the animated film.

There are moments that could be deemed scary for kids.

Bailey lifts “The Little Mermaid” from just another remake to one that should stand the test of time, bringing a new take on the classic to a new generation.

“The Little Mermaid” is a bit overlong at 2 hours and 15 minutes. The original animated film clocked under an hour and a half. But except for a few instances, I felt the movie moved along well and I enjoyed it overall.

Mousesteps grade for “The Little Mermaid: B