There are two main thoughts when it comes to remakes/reboots of beloved classics and those are either, “how dare you mess with perfection,” and “show me what you got.” I am in the latter category. As filmmaking techniques change and writing and acting improves, I’m always open to see how a story can be retold in a modern era. The Disney remakes, however, have been on shaky ground for most of their outings because many almost seem like a cash grab on nostalgia. Sure, The Jungle Book was fantastic, but Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and to a lesser extent, The Lion King, all felt like they existed simply to get us to relive our childhoods and hopefully buy some toys if we had children of our own now. The Little Mermaid had every chance to do this right, and the trailers promised us that this was a world we wanted to be part of, which is why it’s so disappointing that this feels as lifeless and dull as it should invigorating and magical.
I think we all know the story of the animated classic, so we can skip the synopsis, yes? Ok, good.
I do want to touch on the positives first. Halle Bailey who plays Ariel is phenomenal, and she has the vocal chops to belt out the tunes better than we’ve ever heard before. Her curiosity towards the world above is genuine, and the excitement she shows when using a dinglehopper for the first time or learning how to dance is infectious and captivating. In a word, she’s perfect and has a long and successful career waiting for her which she deserves.
Melissa McCarthy is pitch perfect as Ursula chewing through the scenery with delight as she taunts and tempts Ariel from both within and above the ocean depths. She knows exactly what her role is supposed to be, and she revels in it.
If only everything else stood as tall as they do.
When you have this fantastic world under the sea full of bright colors, talking fish, and singing mermaids, it should be one of the highpoints of a movie. But why does it feel so dull and lifeless? It’s not that it’s not pretty or vibrant, but it doesn’t feel special. Things pick up so much more when she’s on dry land, but it feels like there’s something missing that makes these underwater moments just so bland. This is where we should be having the most fun and singing along, but there is no energy, and it feels like a promise that was broken. Maybe it’s the lackluster CGI or the strange artistic choices used to anthropomorphize Ariel’s animal friends, but it almost feels eerie.
What also doesn’t work are the new songs. Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) can sing decently well, but his song doesn’t hit as hard or well as Ariel’s “I want” song, and we won’t even get into Awkwafina’s performance. Who thought it was a wise idea to give her a musical number?
In the end, this had the chance to be great and not just great but a new classic. The pedigrees of the story, music, and the main actors gave this a huge leg up (pun intended) to create something that none of us could forget. Instead, we got a half-hearted remake that feels cold and dead. I am extremely happy that this should launch Halle’s career, but aside from that and the few, occasional glints of promise scattered throughout, I can’t recommend it. There isn’t much here worth saving, and I doubt even making a pact with the Sea Witch would be enough to make this into the movie it should have been.