The star-studded film had all of the excitement of the 1989 classic
The Little Mermaid, the live-action adaptation of the classic we all know and love, was making waves years before it even came out. First announced in 2016, the movie finally came to theatres May 26 and was a box-office success! It was directed by Rob Marshall, who has directed other big-screen hits like Chicago (2002) and Into the Woods (2014), so good things are, of course, to be expected from this movie.
The star-studded film had all the magic and excitement of the 1989 classic! While some might expect the movies to be near copies of each other, there were changes made to some details in the plot of the updated movie. Some of these changes were minor while others were big and unexpected; but not to worry, none of these changes disrupt the typical Disney formula for a happily ever after.
For one, the live-action movie gives us more of an insight into Prince Eric’s (Jonah Hauer-King) life. We get to learn more about his back story – where he comes from, who his parents are, and he even gets to sing his own song!
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hauer-King explained the importance of learning Prince Eric’s backstory. “In getting to know him better, we got to know him and Ariel’s relationship better.” He elaborated by saying that it made their romance more “earned” and “justified”, which sets this new Prince Eric character apart from the first.
Prince Eric’s longing to explore the ocean parallels Ariel’s longing to be on land; this contrast shows how similar they are, despite initially wanting different things. It’s different from the 1989 movie but gives more essence to the characters. We also get a little interesting reveal about Ursula’s character, which comes as a surprise to viewers.
Ariel herself, who is played by Halle Bailey, was perfectly portrayed as an innocent and curious character. Bailey has an amazing voice that suits the Disney princess role perfectly, and her talent as an actress and a musical artist made the movie an enjoyable watch.
Jonah Hauer-King was also perfectly cast for the role and sang beautifully. Awkwafina as Scuttle was a great choice as well! She combined her skills as an actress, rapper, and comedian to make Scuttle even more of a comical character.
Most of the songs stay the same, but some have changed or are removed entirely. You’d be eager to know that the live-action film will also include new songs that Alan Menken, the composer for the 1989 Little Mermaid, and Lin-Manuel Miranda – known for Hamilton – collaborated to write! Miranda really adds his touch to the movie by giving Scuttle (Awkwafina) and Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) a rap that I’d call strange, yet amusing to watch.
Another amusing character to note is the chef, who was unfortunately scrapped from the live-action. In the original, he had made many failed attempts to cook Sebastian. It was like a cat-and-mouse game and discarding this entertaining character removed a big part of the sappy movie that could have made the audience laugh more.
The visual quality of the movie was great, and mostly relied on a lot of CGI – for the animals, Ariel’s hair, and the backgrounds. The CGI was great – not the tacky kind, and did justice to the colourful and magical underwater scenery and characters.
An important part of the film to mention is the diversity. Although a lot of people had issues with Ariel being played by a Black actress, I think it was a good call. Her skin colour did not affect the storyline at all and was a great way to bring representation to the Disney scene, especially for young people of colour.
Ariel’s entire family was also very diverse, her father was played by Javier Bardem, a Spanish actor, and her sisters and other mermaids were played by actors from different backgrounds. Their onscreen time was brief but captivating, and a huge contrast from the 1989 movie, where the only colour difference between the merpeople was in their hair.
Overall, the 2023 Little Mermaid is a great movie for everyone, especially families. If you enjoyed the 1989 version, you would enjoy this one. If I were to rate it on a scale of 1-10, I would give it an 8/10.
