I was one of the people who grew up in their childhood watching Disney's 1989 version of The Little Mermaid wishing I could be apart of Ariel's world. Like many little girls, being a mermaid was apart of everyone's dream (who am I kidding, I still want to be a mermaid) so when a live action Little Mermaid was announced I was ecstatic. When I found out who was going to play Ariel, I was even more excited because I had a mermaid that would look like me. A brown skin girl with locs, playing one of my favorite childhood princesses? I was so overcome
with joy that I was emotional. I spent a lot of money on merchandise and outfits preparing for this premier. I'm talking a grown adult buying the live action Ariel dolls, and new outfits.
I showed up to the theater with the Little Mermaid themed Loungefly bag, Minnie ears, denim jacket, matching t shirt, and I can't forget the $24.99 AMC theater exclusive light up popcorn bucket.
I told you, I bought a lot of merchandise, and that's not even all of my collection. It was so heartwarming seeing all the families and everyone dressed up as multiple characters. From the multiple Ariels in the audience to King Triton, Flounder, and a few under the sea designs. You can tell this story is near and dear to people's hearts. It was time to introduce a new generation to our beloved Ariel.
Before we got closer to our date of watching the movie (May 26th) I began wondering if I set my expectations up too high and I was going to get let down. I knew Halle Bailey would sound beautiful regardless because of what I heard during the trailer, but what if this live action remake followed the pattern of Disney's latest live action remakes and fell short?
It didn't just hit the mark, it exceeded my expectations.
The Graphics
I went to go see this movie on an IMAX screen and it was worth the extra money. I think this is the best way to capture just the visuals alone. The underwater scenes were so beautiful. The best scenes including "Under The Sea," and "Poor Unfortunate Souls." I was worried the underwater scenes were going to look cheap and dull but the colors were so vibrant. The only con was the final fight scene towards the end. But I am giving Disney the benefit of the doubt by saying that the fight scene is very hard to animate and bring to real life and I think they did the best they could. Which given what they had to animate, the scene still turned out well. I wasn't sure what the big deal was online about how Flounder looked? I think he looked fine in the movie and definitely more realistic. The animals I thought were animated very well. Overall the movie was very visually appealing, well done animation team!
The Characters
I think the movie did a very good job of fleshing out a lot of these characters and giving them more of a back story that allowed the audience to find them more personable.
Scuttle: I was tremendously worried about casting Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, as I am not a fan of her gimmicks or blaccent. But I will admit I was pleasantly surprise. They allowed the character's comedy to shine as it did in the original, but without the comedy being over the top or corny. Scuttle and Sebastian made me genuinely laugh on more than one occasion during the movie.
Ursula: As much as a fan I am of Melissa McCarthy, I was also slightly apprehensive once she was cast as Ursula. It's not easy pulling off Ursula's sass and wicked intentions. But once I saw the trailer and heard her absolutely nail the laugh, I knew she was going to knock it out of the park. Melissa truly embodied the character with her sass and voice without sound like she was mimicking the character. She paid homage to the original Ursula while adding in her own touches that just further fleshed out the character. The added backstory of Ursula was a nice touch as well.
Vanessa: I had to add her in here because I loved Jessica Alexander's portrayal of this character although she was only on screen for a few minutes. The "You're too late!" line gave me goosebumps seeing her raw emotions of panic turned into victory on screen.
Prince Eric: I love that they added more of a backstory to Prince Eric. He has a love for exploring and traveling and I think this tied in greatly with our main character and their chemistry on screen.
Ariel: Halle Bailey not only delivers with her singing but her acting as well. Halle has this innocent child like quality about her that reminds me so much of Jodi Benson's version of Ariel.
Honorable mention in this movie Grimsby: In the first movie we meet this forgettable character that is Eric's caretaker. Now in this film we see him more as a confidant for Eric that also helps our main characters out in more ways than one. This was another character that was fleshed out for the audience.
The Music:
I purposefully did not listen to the soundtrack before seeing the movie because I wanted to be pleasantly surprised and feel all the emotions while watching the movie. As expected, I cried during Halle Bailey's version of Part of Your World. Her voice in this song gave me goosebumps and she received a high applause in our theater. This is why she was cast as Ariel and truly worthy. She has immense talent and there was not a lot of dry eyes in the theater after hearing this song. I was also pleasantly surprised by "Under the Sea." I did not know how they were going to honor the original while putting modern touches on it. Adding Halle Bailey's voice was unexpected but fit right in the theme. I applaud Daveed Diggs's version of this song and found myself dancing along to the tune in the theater as I once did as a child. The unexpected newly added song was Jonah Hauer-King's "Uncharted Waters." I will admit, when I first heard Prince Eric start to sing I initially thought, "Oh no please don't add this unnecessary song." But when I began to listen to the lyrics I enjoyed listening to Eric's internal struggle and the song captured my emotions. While it may not be on a constant repeat for me, I can appreciate adding another layer to Eric's character. "Poor Unfortunate Souls," was everything I needed and more. This is where Melissa McCarthy really paid homage to the original character while adding her own footprint in the small details. Again the animation in this scene is incredible. I was only disappointed that I didn't get to hear Ursula's iconic "BODY LANGUAGE," line in this scene. "For the First Time," was another original song to this live action remake and I feel this song went so well with the movie. As we know Ariel's voice gets taken away and so we are hearing this song in her head about all her knew experiences in this strange world when she first arrives. It gives the audience insight to Ariel's feelings of the newness going on around her. I will say, the only song I still prefer the original to is "Kiss the Girl." I only say this because the original had this whole aquatic orchestra going on that made the song sound like a whole rhythm and blues production. This new version focused more on the "natural sounds," surrounding the lagoon which was reasonable and still made a great version of the song. However, when I want to play it back I will go to the original 1989 version. Another new and original song is "The Scuttlebutt," and let me tell you, if you thought you were tired of "We Don't Talk about Bruno," just wait until your kids hear this. A rap song with Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs was unexpected but made me laugh, smile, and even bob my head for the 2 minutes of the song. This tune is an example of adding modern touches to a remake while still keeping true to Scuttle's comedy of the original.
Overall:
This is hands down the best live action remake Disney has made. I am fully aware of how big that statement is but I stand by it. My daughter said "That was awesome and I didn't expect for it to be funny." Which is high praise coming from her. Run don't walk to go see it. I shed multiple tears throughout this film and on the way home. From the visually stunning animations, the goosebump inducing vocals, and the modern touches to an original classic. Thank you cast and crew for your hard work on this film. It was truly enjoyable from start to finish.
Oh and "You're welcome for The Scuttlebutt." ;)
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