The latest Disney live-action remake has been making waves throughout the world since it debuted on May 26. “The Little Mermaid,” directed by Rob Marshall, starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem is the best Disney live-action remake to have hit theaters in years. The updated storyline and modern retelling of the beloved Disney princess were well worth the five-year wait.
While the star, Halle Bailey, may have revived some unnecessary racist backlash when she was first cast, it did not stop her from putting on a spectacular performance. Her vocals single-handedly made her perfect for the role. Her rendition of the classic solo ballad “Part of Your World” was sung with grace and elegance.
The most impressive and improved part of the storyline was Prince Eric’s character and his relationships throughout the movie. Hauer-King played a more compassionate and charming Prince Eric compared to the original cartoon. In this film, Prince Eric and Ariel share the thrills of exploration and are curious about the world together. The perfect mirroring of their desires can be shown in Prince Eric’s new song “Wild Uncharted Waters,” where he yearns to explore the ocean to find the woman who rescued and sang to him. Another example of their similarities is when Ariel is going through Eric’s collection of things and they are able to connect over their interest in gathering novelties discovered during their own adventures.
Many of the reimaginings of the characters were done seamlessly; for instance, Prince Eric’s deep personality improvement made the love story between him and Ariel truly sparkle. However, Ursula’s character development fell flat compared to the enrichment of Prince Eric’s character arc. McCarthy’s vocals were not as powerful as the iconic villain’s could have been for the retelling. If Ursula’s character was enhanced with more humor, fear or better vocals, she would have been more akin to the original.
Two actors that surprised audiences with perfect, modern renditions of their characters were Daveed Diggs, who plays Sebastian, and Awkwafina, who plays Scuttle. Their chemistry and quick banter were flawless and added a much-needed comedic atmosphere. While the animators could have added more facial expressions to enhance Sebastian’s sassy attitude, the overall essence of his crabby personality was kept intact through Diggs’s voice acting.
While many audiences did not care for the new songs and lyric changes, each number added more perspective, compassion and depth to the characters involved. Prince Eric’s new song was able to showcase his deep love for exploring and his similar mindset to Ariel. In Ariel’s new song, “For the First Time,” she describes her first time on land, which adds a whimsical perspective and further shows Ariel’s childlike wonder. Rather than just showing her facial expressions, the writers decided to give her a voice during the sequence, which worked perfectly in the moment. The best rendition in the movie was the new version of “Kiss the Girl.” The slight lyric change to include “Use your words, boy, and ask her” highlights the important concept of consent while still keeping the same romantic energy of the song. The natural-looking animation in that scene was beautifully choreographed, which made it the most visually-pleasing scene in the film.
At first, the animation of the fish, water and side characters may come as a bit of a shock to audiences, but by the end of the movie, it feels more lifelike — fitting perfectly into all the other animated elements.
Not only were the added songs and lyrics different from the original, another positive element added was the influence of Caribbean culture on the island and the kingdom. This addition brought so much light and life to the movie in ways the dialogue could never have done.
Overall, the blending of elements from the original 1989 animated movie and the classic Hans Christian Anderson novel with slight modern twists made this movie an amazing, romantic, graceful and playful live-action remake.
