The Little Mermaid (2023) Movie Review : Pop Culture Leftovers

The Little Mermaid (2023) Movie Review

May 22, 2023 12:13 pm |

The Little Mermaid, helmed by Chicago and Mary Poppins Returns director Rob Marshall, is the latest live-action remake of a beloved animated classic among several decades of adequate and abysmal efforts from the studio; this 2023 adaptation falls somewhere in the center of expectations.

From a visual standpoint, the film can be a spectacle at times, bland at others and at the worst of instances – an off putting assault on the eyes. What’s so astounding about The Little Mermaid (2023) is that the world is much more fascinating above the sea, as apposed to what’s under.

Halle Bailey is a triumph in casting, delivering a beautiful voice and a fantastic performance that keeps the film truly afloat. However, she isn’t the only saving grace, as the cast as a whole truly work for the film in almost all regards – there’s a lot of praise that can be said for the casting director here as her bold choices created one of the only components of the film that made it worth a view. Melissa McCarthy as Ursula was an unexpected highlight, fully embodying the villainous sea witch in one of her best performances to date. If there’s a fault in the casting, it would come in the form of Prince Eric – something felt odd with Jonah Hauer-King’s portrayal of the character and his original solo song failed to captivate.

Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle all play a part in making Ariel’s dream come true, but to a much different extent than in the animation. While Scuttle isn’t as memorable in the animated feature in comparison to the likes of Flounder or Sebastian, Skuttle manages to have more time on screen here than Flounder. At times, it felt as though the filmmakers were trying to drown Flounder out of the big picture in exchange for more time with Skuttle and Sebastian. Daveed Diggs’s Sebastian is welcome at all times (once you disassociate the new design from the old) but the additional time with Awkwafina’s Skuttle can become overwhelming and the lack of Jacob Tremblay’s Flounder is incredibly noticeable in the grand-scheme of things.

This leads to the real reason Disney fans will be tuning in for this latest remake and it’s to see the iconic songs brought to the big screen in a completely new light. While Bailey is wonderful as Ariel and the classic songs that are instantly recognizable hit that nostalgia button we all hoped it would, the new songs in the film hinder the experience. While composed and created in collaboration between Alan Menken (the 1989’s The Little Mermaid composer) and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songs flailed and distracted from the experience, causing what once was 83 minutes to bloat into it’s excessive 135 minute runtime.

Halle Bailey’s Ariel is a delight – delivering the vocals to bring the original nostalgia to the surface. However, while the feature is visually stunning in aspects, the fact that the scenes above water are more captivating than those under is a real issue. The extended 135 minute runtime doesn’t help matters, as somewhere along the way this remake lost the heart that made the original so special.