The trailer for the live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid didn’t do much for me. It simply looked okay. There’s a chance I’d have felt differently had the 1992 animated version been a favourite of mine.
Having now seen the remake, which stars Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem, there are two things I most enjoyed while watching director Rob Marshall’s take. The first is Bailey’s arresting rendition of the film’s main song, ‘Part of that World’. I loved it so much that as soon as I got home after the event, I searched and found a video of Bailey singing it live, which I then listened to several times a week for the following month.
The second most pleasant memory of Marshall’s film has to be the colourful audio-visual feast that is the scene where Sebastian the crab sings the song ‘Under the Sea’. The colourful special effects and beautiful choreography worked together perfectly, making said scene my absolute favourite in the entire film. Now I can’t wait to replay it once it’s available on Disney+.
It’s likely that you’ve heard something about the issues with Marshall’s movie. The main one is the incomplete visual effects, especially in a scene where Bailey’s likeness is missing from the animated mermaid body. Such an obvious error is certainly not something I’d have expected from Disney.
My second issue is how unfortunately immobile McCarthy’s upper face seemed to be during her scenes. Ursula is far too delightfully dramatic and fantastic a character for the full face not to be engaged while portraying her.
The last two unfortunate occurrences are about the music. I did not enjoy Prince Eric’s singing. I also was not a fan of Scuttle the Seagull’s rather unpleasant rendition of something towards the end.
Considering all the issues above, of course, The Little Mermaid has not unseated Cinderella (2015) as my favourite Disney live-action film. Yet, I say, give it a chance in the comfort of your own home. It may just be worth it for the aforementioned best bits.
Happy Film Loving
G
The Movie My Life 
The animated version is my ex’s favorite ever. I saw it so much and even before that, my buddy, Jason and I saw the animated version in the theaters back in the day and socked each other in the arm for getting emotional, just the end of the old Spartacus fi;m with Kirk Douglas. The first Disney Mermaid was such a part of my former life I was on the hunt for anything Ariel for my ex back then. When we went to Disney World, we HAD to see the live show. Felt weird when I went with my future wife at Disney World and we didn’t go to the Ariel show there. I saw it anyway in a trip in ’07 anyway, but I can’t help but wonder about this live action version. I have moved on, I have a new life, but I will have to watch this when it comes to Disney +
I have no qualms with the changes they made in the new film. If the material is that strong, multiculturalism shouldn’t be a factor. Otherwise, it’s a cash grab. I can tell you that we went to Evil Dead Rise, of all things, lol, and there were these beautiful little girls of color dressed as the new Ariel coming out of the new LM and we all smiled at them and their exuberance. THAT is what speaks, at the end of the day, the ability to inspire, no matter what race you are.
There are certainly many who are big fans of Ariel. Those I’ve spoken to aren’t big fans of this new remake as a whole, but they do appreciate the things the film got right. It’s just a shame that quite a few elements were mishandled.
I suspect that by the time this film is available on Disney+, the special effects error(s) will have been corrected; one would hope.
All the changes that made TLM extra special for even more people are positives. I’m most happy for the little humans (and the big ones) who get to feel seen and inspired as a result.
Thanks so much, as always for sharing your thoughts. 🤓
I meant to add that I know this movie won’t be part of your life in the same way the first one was. Nevertheless, I hope you get o enjoy quite a bit of it if not all.
The video you linked to was gorgeous and such a pretty song. So sorry to hear shoddy tech stuff in the movie. I *might* watch it once it is released to DVD/streaming.
I’m glad you enjoyed watching Halle sing ‘Part of That World’ to a live audience. Each time I rewatch, I look at the faces of the people in the audience. I’m telling myself that I’m too happy for them to register any jealousy I may be feeling inside.😁
Maybe Disney will fix the tech issues in time for the streaming release. 🤞🤞Either way, I hope you at least get to enjoy all the parts that are undeniably great.
🙂
it was cute and that song.. oh that song. so good. But it definitely had it’s problems as you pointed out. but that song was not one of them! ahhahahaha
Yes! Amen to that song. Hallelujah, even. 😁
Halle Bailey’s linked performance is wonderful🐬🎶 Live action Cinderella is my fav too✌️
Absolutely. Seeing your comment has reminded me to listen to it again. It’s the soundtrack to me typing this message. 😊🎶
‘Have courage and be kind’ I love the way live-action Cinderella brought these words to life so beautifully.
The trialer didn’t do much for me either, but I really enjoyed the movie!!
I’m happy you had a good time. The thought of a sequel just came to mind and made me happy. But then I remembered that classic Disney movies don’t generally have Disney sequels.