Tonight's Movie: The Little Mermaid (2023)

Disney's animated modern classic THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989) is one of my favorite Disney films, which is one reason I've been ambivalent about seeing the new live-action remake.

I've also had other concerns based on the trailers, but was convinced to try it by several people whose opinions I respect. They each reported they were pleasantly surprised by the film. Given that I adore the live-action CINDERELLA (2015) remake, I thought I'd give this new version a chance.

I caught a "bargain Tuesday" screening today and can report I felt the new film has issues -- pretty much all the ones I expected based on advance clips and trailers -- but I also enjoyed it. If the original is 4 stars, this remake is a strong 2-1/2, which for me means a film is worth seeing, flaws and all.

I'm going to assume that pretty much anyone having interest in this film is already familiar with the animated version. In a nutshell, it's the tale of young mermaid Ariel (Halle Bailey) who dreams of walking on land and trying out human life, especially after she saves the life of Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King).

I'll list my issues with the film in bullet points:

*No one needs a two-hour-and-15-minute LITTLE MERMAID movie. The original was nearly an hour shorter at 83 minutes. Even if they wanted to pad it with extra songs, there's no reason this couldn't have clocked in around 105 minutes. The first half in particular goes very slowly, then it picks up the pace; I found the film's second half much stronger.

*The appearances of the CGI animals were terrifying. I'd add to that that I've enjoyed Awkwafina in numerous movies, but her Scuttle was...Awkwafina making wisecracks, not Scuttle. That tended to take me out of the movie. But perhaps I'm not being fair on that, because it was very obviously Buddy Hackett in the original!

*The production design is drab and dreary, particularly in many of the underwater scenes. There's no reason for a film to be this dark; one example is that Ariel's cavern of treasures was a missed opportunity. "Under the Sea" didn't particularly wow me, but the bright, joyous colors finally did show up in the movie when Ariel and Eric dance in a marketplace, a sequence I really liked. It made me think a little of the dance in the park in ENCHANTED (2007).

*My favorite Disney song ever is "Part of Your World," and Bailey didn't knock it out of the park for me; indeed, at times she seemed to be thisclose to going off key. She lacks the confident, strong musicality of the original, Jodi Benson, whose command of the material is never in doubt -- and who makes me cry every time.

Interestingly, I felt Bailey did much better with the more simply orchestrated reprises of the song, and she was excellent in the iconic moment with a wave crashing over a rock.

And speaking of Jodi Benson, you'll find her in a cameo in the marketplace scene providing Ariel with a "dinglehopper."

*I tend to agree with Justin Chang of the L.A. Times that director Rob Marshall "has never been a great musical stylist." CHICAGO (2002) was a bunch of disappointingly quick-cut musical numbers, and MARY POPPINS RETURNS (2018) was a loooong 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Now, with all that out of the way, why did I still find it worthwhile?

*Even with weaker performances, the Menken-Ashman score is an all-timer. (The dedication to Howard Ashman in the end credits moved me to tears.) And I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked the new song Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote for Eric, "Wild Uncharted Waters." It's a good moment and fleshes out his character more than in the original film.

*The supporting cast is excellent -- I don't think Hauer-King's Eric could be improved on. He's handsome, genial, and has a great singing voice, the perfect musical lead. Javier Bardem was perfection, very moving -- and a little scary! -- as King Triton. Melissa McCarthy, who seems to be channeling original actress Pat Carroll as Ursula, has a surprisingly powerful singing voice and did a good job.

*An improvement on the original is I didn't miss the scene with the chef chasing Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) around attempting to turn him into dinner!

*There's an overall good vibe to the film which had me smiling happily at the end. While I wasn't particularly impressed with Bailey's singing, she was a sympathetic Ariel, and she and Hauer-King's Eric make a sweet couple. The film may be too long, but I remained involved throughout and loved the ending.

I'd go so far as to say I could imagine this film growing on me more on future viewings, now that I know what to expect.

I noted that the film goes out of its way to use colorblind casting, which was a bit perplexing when King Triton apparently had just one dearly departed wife, yet his daughters appear to be from all over the world. My only issue was initial confusion on how King Triton's daughters were related. Were they adopted? I ultimately decided it was due to his magic!

And speaking of adoption, Prince Eric is now an adoptee, which made room in the story for a black queen as his mother. I admit to a bit of an eye roll at the obviousness -- but the Queen was gracefully played by Noma Dumezweni and I was willing to embrace the change, which was nicely done. In fact, the new storyline works a bit in Eric's favor as he and Ariel share feelings of not quite fitting into their worlds.

The movie was filmed by Dion Beebe, including locations in Italy.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG. There's nothing particularly disturbing other than those creepy CGI animals and, of course, Ursula.

In the end, this remake wasn't really necessary and didn't improve on the original. Nonetheless, despite its flaws, I found it to be a pleasant afternoon at the movies, and I'd watch it again in the future.

A trailer is here.

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