The Little Mermaid (2023) is a tonally muted reimagining of the animated classic

As long as Disney continues to pump out mediocre live action remakes, I’ll be there to brave the storm and provide an honest review. Next on the list is The Little Mermaid, a reimagining of one of Disney’s all-time best animated features. As the OG story goes, a young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch so she can explore the human world and impress a prince.

One of the beautiful things about the 1989 classic is that the story thrives in its simplicity. At 1 hour and 23 minutes long, it breezes through the main plot points in order to remain entertaining for youngsters and appease their short attention spans. There’s no complicated subplots and no huge supporting cast to distract from Ariel’s journey – it’s focused on providing a fun experience with fantastic songs to sing along to, and that’s it. Now, this remake has been crafted with the goal of bringing more depth to the story and more meaning behind Ariel’s journey, with the added hint of some updated themes and messaging. As much as I understand the approach, too many of the new additions bog down the story and stretch out the runtime to the extent that the movie feels unnecessarily bloated. Part of the problem could stem from knowing where the story is going, but getting from one plot point to the next felt like a chore at times. I can’t say many of the story additions, including the deeper exploration of Ariel and Eric’s relationship, made a positive difference. The new scenes and sequences are okay at best, but again they do more to pad out the runtime than they do to enhance the story.

Despite some woeful additions, the core story beats are more-or-less the same as the animated classic, and they’re still neat to watch. Ariel’s journey is an engaging one, and despite losing some of its fairytale charm, this film is still effective in displaying her growth as a character. However, the loss of that fairytale charm impacts the ‘fun’ that the movie offers. The best way to describe this remakes is that it’s like a tonally muted version of the animated film. By bringing it into live action and basing it ever so slightly in reality (keep in mind it’s still about mermaids and talking animals) it lacks the magic and wonder that made the story special. Many of the above-ground sequences didn’t hit with me – they felt flat and uninspired, with uninteresting characters and nothing meaningful to flesh out Ariel’s character. The underwater sequences definitely make up some of that ground, but in some cases the damage is already done.

In terms of the music, The Little Mermaid features some of Disney’s best-ever songs, and they’re revamped here in a way that’s still satisfying despite the change in tempo meaning it’s tough to sing along. Are there some lyric changes? Sure. Are they an issue? Not even in the slightest. The issues come with the new song additions that are anywhere from fine to laughably mediocre (specifically when looking at Prince Eric’s new ballad). The addition of new songs is expected and welcomed, it’s just that the chosen inclusions really don’t make the experience any better. Halle Bailey’s singing performance is great across every one of her musical numbers. Whether a specific song hits or not, nothing can be taken away from her singing talents and how she gives it her all.

Performance-wise, there’s one clear standout who shines above the rest. As much as Halle Bailey is great as Ariel and makes the character her own, it’s Melissa McCarthy as Ursula who surprisingly steals the show. When it comes to translating an animated character to live action, Melissa has executed this flawlessly. She embodies everything that makes Ursula such an evil, menacing and compelling villain, resulting in her being the best thing about the film. Every scene with Ursula is infinitely more entertaining than the rest of the story. There were concerns that Melissa would flood the role with her trademark comedy, but she leaves all that at home and focuses on becoming the villain we know and love. Then there’s Javier Bardem and Daveed Diggs, who play King Triton and Sebastian respectively, and both of them are decent. They don’t bring anything too special to the role, but they’re fine to watch.

Lastly, I want to touch on the visual effects and how it’s clear the huge production budget wasn’t entirely wasted. The underwater scenes look great – they’re populated by impressive environments that feel like a living, breathing ecosystem. Do the visuals rival the likes of Avatar: The Way of Water? No, it’s not even close, but they’re very convincing and don’t take you out of the film at all.

In the end, The Little Mermaid is another disappointingly subpar attempt at recreating the magic of the 1989 classic. The core elements of Ariel’s journey are there, and they’re still somewhat entertaining, but they’re bogged down by a flurry of narrative additions that do nothing but drag out the story to an unenjoyable level. That being said, it’s not all depressing. Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula is brilliant, bringing the character back to life in a way that honours the original as authentically as possible, and Halle Bailey is great as Ariel, putting her vocal talents to work and making the character her own. Some fans will like it, some fans won’t – it’s one of those remakes that’s objectively average and lacks the magic that could’ve made it fantastic.

5.2/10