The Little Mermaid hits cinemas across the region on May 25.
Just like with movies Disney Other live-action adaptations of her classic animated films, the The Little Mermaid It uses nostalgia as a primary driver. Although it is full of poignant events, it owes a great deal to the famous music and the original story that always touches everyone. Nothing added to extend the movie by two hours really feels necessary. I don’t mean that this version of a movie The Little Mermaid Not bad, it can even be said that it is one of the best real-life remakes of all time DisneyBut aside from Halle Bailey’s stunning performance as Ariel, the film doesn’t have as many elements as impactful as the same moments from the animated version.
What is beyond doubt is that Bailey has a very powerful presence. It sparkles like a pearl in the centre The Little Mermaid, which evokes sympathy even as she is silent for the latter half of the film. It’s always been a story The Little Mermaid Centering on loneliness, childhood, and the need for self-affirmation, Bailey balances these themes deftly. She is optimistic and curious in her moments of recklessness, but she delivers a wonderfully tenacious performance in Ariel’s quieter moments of doubt.
Most importantly, Billie lends her charming version of the song Part of your world A feeling of wild, real nostalgia that would give chills to anyone who desperately wanted more. It’s an unforgettable performance. Watching her sing this song about longing for a life beyond the one you feel stuck in is so inspiring, and I wish I could relive the experience of listening to it for the first time over and over again. The frustrating thing is that few other musical moments can even get away from this high.
confer Bailey on her charming version of the song Part of your world A feeling of wild and real nostalgia.
The second standout performance comes from the brilliant Melissa McCarthy as the sea witch Ursula in a chillingly funny performance. She shines with her evil glory, cleverly embodying one of the most notorious villains Disney Without going to great lengths to imitate exactly the great Pat Carroll. Her version of the song Poor unfortunate souls Lots of fun, but the whole scene is hard to enjoy due to the bewildering choice of dark lighting for her lair.
And with nearly half of the two-hour movie taking place underwater, the most frustrating aspect of the film is the… The Little Mermaid is that it looks dull when it’s underwater. Where the depths of the ocean are bleak even at the best of times and exude a sense of emotional coldness, heightened by the unfavorable visual effects. We don’t get to see many other marine people besides Triton (played very strictly by Javier Bardem) and his daughters, and there’s just something strange about the way their faces appear above their moving bodies. Likewise, the decision to present sea creatures realistically rather than take a more cartoonish fantasy approach robbed most of the vibrant feel of Kingdom of Atlantica.
A realistic-looking lobster can’t articulate in the same cartoonish way Sebastian did in the original movie.
There’s really no reason to make Ariel’s animal friends look as realistic as if they were straight out of a National Geographic show. Although Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, and David Diggs seem to be having a great time voicing Flounder, Skater, and Sebastian respectively, they can’t do much with the deadpan character design. Perhaps the goal was to bring some kind of realism to the story… but is there really a need to make a story Disney realistic classic? Especially a story featuring a talking fish? A realistic-looking lobster can’t articulate in the same cartoonish way Sebastian did in the original movie. By presenting Ariel’s friends in a realistic style, they lose most of their humanity and appear to be extra inanimate objects rather than fully-fledged personalities. This is not a new problem, as it included a movie Lion King realist who Disney Great voice acting, but Simba and his friends suffer from the same inertia that comes from drawing human emotion on an animal’s face.
But on the other hand the scenes above sea level are very different, and here is where we see the remake expand Eric’s Island (and his love of exploration) in some clever ways. Whereas the original film was limited to the castle walls, this film attempts to bring some life to the island. movie can The Little Mermaid The overall ambiance and costume design make the island look like it’s in the Caribbean. It’s alive in a way that Atlantica can’t, full of new sights and sounds and friendly faces. And these major changes give some logic to Ariel’s decision to leave the sea behind, without stopping the reason only for her brief meeting with Eric (played by Jonah Hauer-King). But like most new additions, these changes may be impressive but hardly memorable.
And speaking of extras: let’s talk about the new songs the movie offers. This is where the live-action movie could have differentiated itself from the original animated movie, but unfortunately it was a disappointment. Eric delivers a theatrical solo that Hower-King brilliantly performs vocally, but the timing and lyrics themselves make the moment a little silly. And there too Scuttlebutt, is another fun rap-like song performed by Diggs and Awkwafina, but its odd timing (moments before Ariel’s shocking discovery of Ursula’s infidelity) is inopportune. In fact, the only new song that seamlessly integrates into the movie is For the first timea playful song that Ariel performs with an inner monologue as she discovers the surface for the first time.
What works in the film is that this story is a reminder of the most poignant thing about Ariel: that it’s not just about romance, but about the danger and desperation of feeling misunderstood and underestimated, and the sheer relief of finding a place where we feel… belonging to it. What Ariel demonstrates is that The Little Mermaid It offers a story that barely avoids turning into tragedy (as it does the original fairy tale).
Translated by Dima Muhanna
Halle Bailey’s brilliant performance as Ariel is the backbone of this live-action Disney remake of The Little Mermaid. Melissa McCarthy follows closely with an engaging performance as Ursula. But this version as a whole struggles to stay afloat. The film’s problem is its lackluster underwater scenes, realistic sea creatures that lack cartoonish charm, and story additions that might be special but easily forgotten. What works in the movie are the elements it takes from the original, most notably the stellar performance of Part of Your World. But while this version doesn’t always succeed in its nautical elements, there are enough original ideas recreated here to keep the film from being a complete failure.
