Movie Breakdown: The Little Mermaid
Pre-Screening Stance:
The track record for Disney’s live action remakes of its animated films isn’t exactly great (the only one I’ve ever actually liked is Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book), and if we’re being honest here, The Little Mermaid looks like more of the same.
Post-Screening Ramble:
The Little Mermaid doesn’t get everything right, but it’s definitely the best remake that Disney has churned out in a long while. Now, this doesn’t mean the film ever feels necessary. In fact, I would say it does everything in its power to not warrant its existence, as the things that don’t quite work are the new elements tacked on to the meat of the 1989 animated film, but you probably won’t care because it’s a pretty easy and entertaining watch. Halle Bailey legit soars (swims mightily?) as Ariel, and it’s hard to imagine this film working anywhere near as well as it does without her charming and charismatic performance. Melissa McCarthy also deserves praise for her turn as Ursula, but it is a little nerfed and I think it would have been fun to really let her blow it out. The classic songs are spruced up in the right ways and sound fantastic, but the new additions are generally terrible, with the cringe-inducing Scuttle (Awkwafina) and Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) rap number earning a spot on my “songs to torture people with” list. Furthermore, like all of these remakes, sometimes it looks great and then other times you wonder where all the money went.
I’ve had a lot of people tell me: “I’m going to see The Little Mermaid but I’m not expecting it to be good.” If you’re in this boat, I think you’re going to find the film to be a pleasant surprise. Again, you’ll likely be perplexed by the new additions, but the core of this film stays true to the animated one and Halle Bailey is worth the price of admission. Give it a go when it hits theaters this Friday, May 26.
One Last Thought:
I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll throw it out there again – the world needs a break from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Awkwafina. Who the hell got them both involved with this movie?
