Movie Review: The Little Mermaid (2023)

Have you ever heard the story of the mermaid who saved Disney?

During the 1980s, Walt Disney Feature Animation hit rock bottom after a series of high-profile missteps, most notably The Black Cauldron.

Some questioned whether Disney’s hand-drawn style of animation had grown outdated due to the recent advent of computer animation.

One film singlehandedly stopped that conversation in its tracks, as The Little Mermaid signified the start of the ballyhooed Disney Renaissance.

Now, 34 years later, Disney has retold the story as a live-action movie. How well does the new version recapture the magic of the original? Surprisingly well.

Admitting My Biases  

Last month, I sat up straight for the first time in 2023 (long story) and joined the MickeyBlog podcast for a discussion about Disney’s upcoming film releases.

During that conversation, I mentioned that The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney Renaissance movie. It’s one I’ve rewatched many times.

In fact, I’m the person here constantly praising Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid because it’s such a lovely recreation of the premise.

Does that make me more or less likely to enjoy the sequel? Historically, I’ve been pickier about sequels and reboots of films/TV series I love.

In fact, the ONLY Disney live-action remake I never reviewed for a MickeyBlog-affiliated site is The Lion King.

Someone else wrote that one because I didn’t have the heart to tell diehard Disney fans that I found it artificial, cynical, and utterly lacking in spirit relative to the original.

I quite liked Cinderella, Aladdin, and Cruella, though. So, I’m not morally opposed to live-action remakes or reboots. They just need to be good.

About The Little Mermaid (2023)

Any self-respecting Disney/film fan knows the basics of The Little Mermaid.

During the 1980s, Disney sketched out ideas for the adaptation of several Hans Christian Andersen stories. One stuck.

The Little Mermaid tells the story of a frustrated princess named Ariel, who lives under the sea.

Ariel’s father, King Triton, is the mystical ruler of Atlantica. He worries over the safety of all his mermaid daughters, especially Ariel.

In fables of old, sailors fell victim to the siren songs of mermaids. This story reverses the premise with Ariel unerringly drawn to land.

While Disney does modernize The Little Mermaid, as it should for a 34-year-old film, the broad strokes remain similar.

Ariel accidentally encounters a human sailor who happens to be a prince. He cannot survive underwater, while she cannot live on the land.

So, Ariel turns to an unlikely source for assistance. Her Aunt Ursula agrees to help via magic.

But, as Disney’s Once Upon a Time stressed, all magic comes with a price.

Can Ariel overcome a cursed spell? Will true love win out in the end? Of course, it’s a Disney movie! Plus, you already watched the original!

So, you should think of The Little Mermaid as a greatest hits album. The new movie plays all the hits but tosses in a few new tunes as well.

Let’s Talk about the Acting

For whatever reason, conversations about The Little Mermaid often come down to casting.

Since Disney couldn’t find an actual mermaid available, the producers went with Halle Bailey.

Objectively, the best way to describe her ethereal performance in this role is simple. A star is born.

That’s not hyperbole. This production asks a lot of her in that she’s wearing a mermaid costume while hanging on wires, getting water splashed in her face, and interacting with a green screen.

Despite the background nonsense, Bailey effortlessly imbues the role of Ariel with whimsy and hunger. You’ll honestly believe she feels trapped in her regal life.

I’ll also spoil the next section by discussing her voice. If we actually had something called a siren song, all the sailors would follow Bailey’s voice anywhere.

She’s a vocal magician, so much so that the story leans into her musical prowess even more than the original did. Just listen to this:

You feel better about life right now, don’t you? That’s the power of Bailey’s gift.

Still, the singing represents the smaller half of her role. She must act as well. And in this aspect, she’s a revelation.

The live-action version of Ariel must demonstrate determination, wistful desire, and even a bit of stubbornness.

At one point, Bailey performed so admirably that I briefly phased out of the dialogue and simply studied her facial expressions, which were perfect.

Alas, Jonah Hauer-King, the actor portraying Prince Eric, isn’t as good. That’s okay, though.

Disney has beefed up the role immeasurably. Besides, fans care much more about Disney Princesses than Disney Princes.

Let’s Talk about the Other Performers and Special Effects

Disney has done an excellent job in casting the supporting characters.

Daveed Diggs of Hamilton and Awkwafina of The Farewell – watch this one if you haven’t yet – sound like they’re having the time of their lives.

The duo voices Sebastian and Scuttle, respectively. You can hear the glee in their tones.

From their perspective, they grew up with The Little Mermaid. Now, they’re getting to be the characters. Who wouldn’t love that?

The sterner/more wicked roles go to Javier Barden as King Triton, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.

They deliver best-case scenario performances. My wife, Kim, and I have been on Team McCarthy for a long time now, as she hints in this old USA Today article.

We were both thrilled that the actress sunk into the role of a Disney Villainess so organically. And that brings us to the other part of the discussion.

Live-action remakes of Disney animated movies require a stronger suspension of disbelief.

As MickeyBlog’s Jared Talbot succinctly states, some folks are surprised that Sebastian is an actual crab now.

Of course, the character always was, but it’s somehow different here and occasionally even jarring.

In some cases, that helps, though. For example, the special effects for Ursula embody Disney’s finest work to date.

Those tentacles creep me out, as each one acts like it has a mind of its own.

The climactic events of the film require a tremendous amount of CGI. It somehow doesn’t feel out of place with the preceding action, though.

Still, the artificial nature of some backdrops sometimes took me out of the story.

Frankly, the only time this hasn’t happened with a live-action remake is Cinderella.

These are nitpicks in the face of genuine technical wizardry, though. It’s a sumptuous movie that feels perfectly at home at sea or on land.

Let’s Talk about the Rest of the Music

The Little Mermaid dazzled film critics in 1989 by marrying breathtaking visuals with some of the best Disney music ever.

For the first time since Mary Poppins nearly 25 years before then, Disney unlocked the perfect musical accompaniment to a story.

Much of the credit goes to the late Howard Ashman, one of the greatest lyricists of all time.

He won Academy Awards for this film and Beauty and the Beast, the latter of which his partner accepted for him in 1992.

If you’ve ever sung along to Under the Sea, Kiss the Girl, or Be Our Guest, you have Ashman to thank for the words.

Since he died more than 30 years ago, someone new earns the (impossible) assignment of replacing him. That duty/honor belongs to Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The updated film includes three new songs. I’ll tell you right now that none of them will hook you like Be Our Guest, but they all charm in their own ways.

In remaking The Little Mermaid, Disney faced new challenges with character development. In particular, Prince Eric needs a song to fill in his blanks.

Meanwhile, Ariel requires a different approach once she loses her voice.

Her song explains her ensorcelled vocal constraint in a way that’s necessary for the plot.

Finally, The Scuttlebutt is just plain weird as a song, but it’s also riotously fun for Daveed Diggs and Awkafina to sing.

Everyone sounds like they’re playing rather than working, and that’s how it should be for a Disney soundtrack.

Final Thoughts

Live-action remakes have grown divisive. As I mentioned in a recent Disney Headlines, many fans consider their generation’s version of a film the One True Story.

Some are unwilling/unable to move off the idea that something could get better with fresh eyes working on a later iteration of the premise.

I try to give every project the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that feeling.

In truth, I’m petrified that the Lilo & Stitch live-action remake will break my wife’s heart.

We get attached to things, and it’s challenging to accept that a different approach may work better.

I face these same issues with many films, including the aforementioned The Lion King, which simply didn’t work for me.

Thankfully, The Little Mermaid 2023 update didn’t ruin my childhood, nor should it ruin yours.

In truth, this story remains shamelessly optimistic and works well with a more modern take. I love the original, but Prince Eric is a block of wood in it. He’s MUCH better in 2023.

Disney has somehow managed to accentuate the strengths of the original while improving some of those weak spots.

I suspect most viewers will agree that the original is a bit more magical because seemingly all fairytales work better as animated stories.

Even so, I consider the following statement objective truth.

The Little Mermaid works extraordinarily well as a live-action film, and I expect the overwhelming majority of people to smile happily as they leave the theater.

A little girl in the row in front of us gleefully danced and sang along with the closing credits, and that’s what Disney magic is in its purest sense.

You’ll find such magic in The Little Mermaid.

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Featured image: Disney