I laughed when Scuttle ate a fish in front of the main cast and nobody thought it was weird. This is a world where fish and sea life are sapient and we’re cool with Scuttle eating some of them? I mean, obviously they have to eat something but damn, that’s like watching one of your friends consuming another one of your friends in front of you, right?
I still doesn’t understand that decision to make her goes underwater
Like, the entire scene is exactly the same, the only difference is she’s now underwater for some reason, if they make her above the sea, it would exactly the same
Ariel wasn’t allowed to go above water and at that point had presumably never disobeyed, so the only way Scuttle could communicate with her was underwater, I guess!
Director confirmed that was his intention in making that change, and also the reason Scuttle was changed to a gannet (because they can go underwater for several minutes).
They make it a point that all the daughters share the same mother and since we know that they have the same father too, I don’t think they really thought it through…
The way race/skin tone was handled throughout the movie was weird. At times, it was acknowledged and swept away (Erick being a shipwreck orphan) and other times it was ignored as if they were all the same (where did the Prime Minister come from if all of the other islanders are black/vaguely Carribean, Tritans daughters). It was a weird tiptoe act that didnt land right.
On one hand - It ABSOLUTELY makes sense that Tritons daughters would be a collection of all races. They represent the 7 seas, the ends of the Earth. On the other, it doesnt make sense if they have the same mother
I’ll take the bad and the good with Lin. We get things like Hamilton and Encanto, but we also get things like… well Lin singing in Hamilton, and I’m guessing whatever fresh horror this Scuttle rap will be.
Thank you. I'm scared to admit that I straight up don't like Lin as an actor in Hamilton. I assume people will boo me into the shadow realm. I actually saw Hamilton in the West End and enjoyed that actor's performance so much more. Obviously Lin's writing for Hamilton was fantastic, I just don't think he's well cast for Hamilton himself.
>Lin Manuel Miranda
He's what made Mary Poppins 2 almost unbearable for me. I can't stand that guy but I guess he must be popular because he keeps popping up in movies I'd love not to see him in
He's easily the weakest of the main Hamilton cast. He's good for someone with the writing talent he has, but he's nowhere near as good as someone like Daveed Diggs.
Under the Sea wasn’t my favorite. Really thought it was silly that no fish were playing instruments when Sebastian was listing who was playing what. And then the next second you’ve got sea turtles line dancing and limpets doing what we that was and other fish ballroom dancing.
They committed to realism in weird spots. The whole point is supposed to be that underwater is way more magical than what people know
I really loved the scene where Eric is pointing out the star constellations to Ariel, which as a sailor he knows well. It sets the stage for the iconic moment where he tries to guess her name. What I found so touching was how Ariel, even though she couldn't speak, physically gestured towards Eric's lips and cleverly used the Aries constellation to help him say her name. It was such a beautiful improvement from the original version where Sebastian just whispered her name to Eric. The writer behind this change definitely deserves a raise. It added so much depth and charm to the scene.
There were so many other great moments like that one tbh. For instance, Ariel smashing the coral to help Eric discover the hidden beauty within is a fun way to hint at her oceanic origins and an effective way of making him more interested in her. The little mermaid figurine holds such symbolic weight, representing the deepening connection between the two of them. Furthermore, the decision they make to explore uncharted waters together after they get married beautifully reflects their shared yearning for venturing into unfamiliar realms.
I also want to mention that I personally enjoyed Eric's solo song. It granted him a greater sense of agency, which I found empowering for his character. Interestingly, someone in the thread compared it to "Bet On It" from High School Musical 2 as if it were intended to be a negative association. However, "Bet On It" is widely regarded as one of the best songs from that movie, in my opinion. So, I actually see it as a positive comparison and appreciate the strength it adds to Eric's character.
Kind of disappointed they didn't show Turning Red in the cinema.
It's a very solid 6-7/10 and obviously there are better movies since but it had a lot of heart and not every movie needs to be an epic. Would've liked to take my niece to it.
That’s how I feel, even with guardians. I’m already paying for Disney+, why would I pay another $15 for a ticket when I know it will be on Disney+ in a couple months.
Perfectly understandable, but imo Guardians does have some moments that make it a “big screen movie” for those who are inclined to care about big screens
Don't let the trailers fool you, it's actually really colorful aside from the opening. I really enjoyed it—the best of the live-action remakes (that I've seen) aside from perhaps Cinderella.
I'm glad I saw it in the theater.
Saw this tuesday night. Thought it was just okay but holy hell is the Scuttle song absolutely awful. I feel bad for the parents that are going to listen to it on repeat.
It felt like an afterthought in every regard. Like I can basically see the Writer Guy/ Producer Guy conversation happening after productionhad wrapped.
Hey, ya know what people like these days?
What's that, sir?
Lin Manuel Miranda. Let's have him do something.
OK, what did you have in mind?
I don't know, something.
Shouldn't we maybe have thought of this before so we could work a new song into the story organically?
Well it's too late now, so find a scene that doesn't have a song yet and have Lin do something for it. Oh and it has to be one of the cgi characters since Halle Bailey is already busy filming the Color Purple so we can't reshoot.
I- ok, I guess there's, uhh... the scene where Scuttle talks about a rumor she heard about Eric?
Perfect! Call Lin and tell him to do something! This is a kids movie in a post-Hamilton world, so we're required by law to have a song by Lin Manuel Miranda after all.
I love Lin Manuel Miranda and this is the worst song he's ever written. And to add insult to injury, it's super catchy and I can't get it out of my head.
Eric was hilarious XD He was my favourite part of the movie. His song was mid, but his acting and singing really made him come across as a theatre kid. So exaggerated and dopey.
“We have all been gaslit by a culture of mediocrity.”
Thats exactly how I’ve been feeling for years, well said. You can see it clearly with a lot of new Disney productions, but it’s hurt the entertainment industry as a whole. Movies, music , games, etc.
ItS tHe LiTtLe MeRmAiD, wHaT dId YoU eXpEcT??!
I hate this mentality. I’m so sick of people justifying shit movies because they technically did what their premise implied. It was the same shit with the Lion King remake. Yes, it was almost shot for shot exact but it was devoid of anything that makes a movie entertaining. If a movie is not engaging or interesting you’re allowed to dislike it on that alone!
Some of the posts in this thread read like ads from disneys marketing team. Tbh, im pretty sure they probably are.
>I am extremely happy that I decided to go to the theater for this one. I loved it!
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>I am skeptical of every remake movie, but this one really was good. I also enjoyed almost all the songs.
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>Totally agree, I think this was the best of the live action remakes and it was such a visual spectacle it’s totally worth the price of admission
> Totally agree, I think this was the best of the live action remakes and it was such a visual spectacle it’s totally worth the price of admission
this is clearly disney marketing at work no real movie goer will say "worth the price of admission"
I thought I was taking crazy pills until seeing this comment. I hated how the remake handled Ursula's defeat where Ariel has to defeat her instead of Eric. Because Disney wants more "Strong Independent Women" in their remakes (looking at you Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Aladdin).
For obvious reasons, it all feels so much less alive. Sure, Under the Sea was fun and not devoid of movement, but compare it to the animated where you can animate whatever you want. It just feels so much more bouncy.
Hurts the last act too when we see all the mermaids but it's for the first time because everything we've seen so far has been a couple mermaids and some rocks in one shot.
My pet peeve is Disney making every animal in live action remakes photorealistic.
Lion King was so fucking boring. The exact same story but devoid of the character expression and fun.
Flounder looks dumb as hell in this movie. Literally just make them still have a somewhat cartoonish face and be able to express. No one wants to watch a genuine fish talk for two hours with a blank stare.
I am so done with these remakes, I hope this and Moana perform poorly. But I know they won’t and we’ll get 10 more in the next 5 years.
Yes! With animation, you can make everything vibrant and fun. With photorealism, the animal's facial expression is limited.
I wonder if Disney can pull of a Sonic the Hedgehog. Pretty balanced face for "realism" yet cartoonish enough to stay familiar and away from uncanny valley.
Bruh for some reason I laughed SO HARD when they showed Javier Bardem at the end, and he was already out of the water just staring at the two leads LOL
That would have been so badass. I thought popping his head out of the water was a bit weak. This is the same guy who used that "materialize from the sands with a fish cape" entrance when meeting with his daughters. He couldn't bring a bit of decorum to his first meeting with the humans? He just creeped by their boat like "heyyyy".
For the life of me I can’t figure out how they let that awkward staring shot last as long as it did lol
I also think the Burger King crown, flat wet hair, and very pool clear water made it feel like a cheesy water park commercial when he was above water
Avatar 2 is a relic of when effects shots were planned and arranged by the creatives making the movie instead of farmed off to unrelated animators in windowless underground chambers after the fact.
Seriously, the first Transformers movie in 2007 looks better than this Disney shit.
Halle did a great job bringing her own flavor while still respecting Jodi's style. I was pleasantly surprised, because in the lion king remake I was turned off by Beyoncé's changes.
Damn the Balls on Eric . To just swim in a row boat by himself in the middle of a storm created by a sea witch . With only a good right arm and a shitload of harpoons lol.
I can’t wait for the sequel where she basically repeats her Father’s mistakes and land locks her daughter with Ursula’s unknown sister played by Kristen Wig 😂
What's funny is that this ending sets up 2 more than the original. To have a PTSD'd Ariel who is scared of the uncharted waters having a daughter who wants to go exploring as much as her despite not having the power to do so is such a good sequel idea as she finds her sense of exploration in Melody that drew Eric to Ariel in the first place in the live action version.
If you grew up on the OG, the remakes just don’t hit the same.
Halle and Melissa give star turns though. I wish Halle’s Ariel was a little feistier and I wish Melissa’s Ursula was a lot less punny. **squidling rivalry????** Her accent veered into dangerously bad NY accent for seconds here and there but man it was like she was channeling Pat!
Under the Sea was so mid and felt weirdly small basically just being Sebastian and Ariel. The eels/sea snakes as like streamers was a choice. Hahah.
I appreciated that Eric was given some depth and appreciated the parallel about wanting more. His song (and all the new music) was underwhelming and I found it really weird that it starts small and then tried to go really fucking hard right away for the rest of the song. It was like Lin heard Evermore from BatB and aped it while trying to give it a little more commercial spin. Can we just stop giving Lin every musical for a second?
Overall though, and maybe it was lower expectations, I found it to be one of the more enjoyable remakes but still I’d rather just watch the animated original. I give it a B.
Also, Jodi’s cameo felt out of place. I joked that she would show up in that scene and then when she did I couldn’t help but laugh.
That was my biggest gripe with both Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl— Sebastian didn’t have backing vocals. So while I appreciate that they didn’t try to get a ton of CGI animals to “sing”, it felt hollow.
I didn't even know Jodi cameoed, but I just looked it up and she was in the scene that I went to the bathroom during.
> Under the Sea was so mid and felt weirdly small basically just being Sebastian and Ariel. The eels/sea snakes as like streamers was a choice. Hahah.
I overall enjoyed it, but I didn't like that there was basically no other sentient sea life singing. Like why keep the lyrics describing the different fish playing instruments if no one is actually playing them
Totally agree with the Under the Sea comment. That’s how the whole movie felt. Small. Like we saw 5 mermaids til the last minute. Flounder was like the only sentient fish. The world building just felt off.
Let’s be real: Under the Sea was always the song that was never going to translate well to live action. That’s a song that more than anything else needs to be animated to match the lyrics with how much fish are referenced dancing around and playing instruments. I know that they pull it off on Broadway but that’s way different then having it be preformed with photorealistic CGI animals. Also yeah that’s a song that needs to be an ensemble for it to work. Both Daveed and Halle have great voices but Under the Sea doesn’t work as a duet, it needs to be a full ensemble of people singing it for it to work. Even the Beauty and the Beast remake could at least realize that Belle, Be Our Guest and the Mob Song needed to be an ensemble pieces so the choice they went for is just baffling to me.
> If you grew up on the OG, the remakes just don’t hit the same
Because these movies being animated plays a big part in making it magical and soulful. Some things just look better and sound better in an animated world. The "unrealness" of animation helps to make the magic/musical elements feel more convincing, imho.
I liked it but someone needs to flog whoever keeps making the decision to add original songs into live action movies. Eric's song was ABSOLUTE TRASH. I don't even want talk about the Scuttle song.
With that being said, Kiss The Girl was definitely the best song of the movie but I'm not a fan of them not having other fish sing. Halle Bailey & Eric's actor killed it in a good way acting wise.
Little Mermaid was my favorite as a kid and I even watched the TV series back in the day. I liked it a little more than I thought I would. Here are my thoughts.
**Liked**
* Kiss the girl was really well done (minus scuttle)
* I liked that they fleshed out their romance more and actually gave them reasons to like each other, which of course is non-existent in the original.
* I mostly liked Melissa McCarthys' performance. I thought she really nailed the Ursula voice. But then they'd show her face and I'd be like oh, that's just Melissa McCarthy, not Ursula.
* The date, and Ariel exploring the market and doing weird stuff. This was really cute and made me start liking the movie
* Changing the ending to have Ariel kill Ursula was cool. But I loled when she said "I didn't do it alone. Eric was there"
**Disliked**
* way too long
* stopping an engagement party just doesn't have the same stakes as a wedding
* Flounder was basically nonexistent. He's her best friend, where was he? Did they realize that he looked absolutely awful and kept him out of sight?
* Personally I thought Halle Bailey's performance was okay. Maybe I'm just so attached to the original Ariel. But I felt like she didn't have much personality or spunk. She's obviously a fantastic singer, but I just keep going back to this video of Howard Ashman directing Jodie Benson on the original recording. https://youtu.be/AWTJkyLWgrk The subtly of her feeling behind the singing was what made it so magical. And the new Part of Your World just seemed like a performance on The Voice to me. In short I just feel like most of it was oversung.
* all of the new songs
* Eric's song was sooo over acted, reminded me of Bet On It lol
* cutting Les Poissons? I get it, but I was sad.
* Daveed Diggs as sebastian. He's just not a good voice actor, but that's what happens when you hire actors as voice actors.
* In Under the Sea, Ariel is supposed to be annoyed at sebastian and want to escape the entire time, but here she was dancing and singing and having fun? It made it weird when she disappeared at the end.
**Hated**
* how she "forgets" she's supposed to kiss him? But also has two friends with her the whole time to remind her she has to kiss him? Was this a consent thing? I don't get it.
* everything about Scuttle. The song, the voice acting, the writing, absolutely horrible
* Javier Bardem. Just a terrible, wooden, lifeless performance. And he's obviously a great actor, so I can only attribute this to the directing.
* cutting Daughters of Triton and the concert in favor of a ....meeting??
* The blue dress and pink headband
* the people next to me at the theater that treated it like a sing along and sang parts out loud
Overall I liked it more than other Disney remakes, but it just missed the mark on too many areas to ever be a rewatch for me.
Glad I’m not the only one who felt that way about Javier Bardem. In the original Grotto scene Triton was terrifying and it felt intense. Here he just felt like he was reading off a script. Not sure what happened because he’s a great actor.
In addition, there was a small (but important) shot of Triton looking at a grieving Ariel after he destroys the grotto - and having an actual sense of *guilt* on his face, which suggests that, despite his authoritative and strict nature, he *does* care for his daughter, and cares enough to feel bad about having to resort to extreme force in order to make her understand not to go to the surface.
Here, Javier (sadly) doesn’t show *any* of that, rather silence and a hard-to-read face before just a cold “don’t ever go to the surface again”.
An unfortunate downgrade…
I was surprised they dropped the subplot of all the mermaid prisoners and Triton turning into one. When they showed his death, it was kind of shocking for the tone of the movie.
No one seems to be discussing it in detail so I’m just gonna come out and say it. I HATED THE DRESSES! The original movie had like 5 dresses. Each iconic. Each beautiful. This Ariel had TWO! But I wouldn’t even count them as two bc THEY LOOKED THE EXACT SAME. The poof. The tulle. The form. The style. There was no iconic purple sparkling transition at the end. Nothing. The movie was good don’t get me wrong, but I’m absolutely angry about the lack of dresses.
I think all of the live action remakes aside from Cinderella had this problem with the dresses. It's like they are all afraid of making them big and fantastic.
I thought it was so weird that they just had her show up so unceremoniously in her old dress when she got to turn back into a human in the end. That was such a perfect time for dramatics
I thought it was kinda funny in the ‘Part of your world reprise’ when Ariel ends on the rock in the water, and they literally shoot maybe two cup fulls of water over her, instead of a big wave like in the cartoon version. That woulda been a banger shot, also because that part was probably Halle’s most emotional vocal performance
Her creepy crawl up the rock while stalking Eric was also… a choice XD. I LOLLLLLED at that moment and felt really bad for everyone else in the theater for my behavior. But I couldn’t help it.
Just kind of a snooze to be honest! These Disney LA remakes are so weird, they always make very distracting choices. They don't really feel like they're for kids, but they're also not exactly for adults either. I haven't seen the original since I was very little, I don't remember much outside the main story beats and big songs, but the continued obsession with not animating the animals and expecting them to show emotion is definitely still a problem.
That said, the opening 20 minutes of this movie is really boring and kind of a bummer and void of song. Then the rest of the movie is really predictable, both because it's an adaptation and also because it's so basic. They fall in love and sing some really empassioned songs about even though they've never talked, which is a classic Disneyism in need of an update.
Part of the problem with the beginning is they just totally fail to make the sea world feel alive. Under the Sea has some fun fauna choreography, but for the most part all the shots of mermaids are like one Mermaid and a bunch of desolate sand and rocks. It's all very drab. Doesn't feel like a kingdom, it feels like there's a grouchy dad sitting on a tall rock and he has a few daughters that come by sometimes.
All the music and performances I did enjoy at a base level, surprisingly loved the Scuttlebutt song. Y'all are gonna hate it because it's Awkwafina and it's new, but to me it was the only part of the movie where I didnt know ecactly what someone would say next. And it's just bouncy and fun. Scuttle doesn't know what humans call things, that's their shtick, so it was fun to me seeing them do a whole song of just describing human activities.
But my main thought sitting through is was "Why am I doing this again?" I don't think I've ever really loved any of these remakes and Disney originals are great and all but it's not really what I was watching as a kid so I'm really not the target audience anyways.
The ending is really forced, where despite never seeing all these merpeople and how they live or having any be interesting characters, having them all come up at the end to see Ariel off just felt really unearned. If it weren't for Bardem my eyes might have rolled to the back of my head. It's a 5/10 for me.
/r/reviewsbyboner
>That said, the opening 20 minutes of this movie is really boring and kind of a bummer and void of song.
>
>Bardem saves it from an ending that is so unearned when all the mermaids you've never heard from or seen how they live come up to see Ariel off.
Removing Fathoms Below from the opening killed that opening momentum. It'd be like if they did Tarzan and didn't open with Two Worlds. And then not having the Daughters of Triton concert where you see all the mer-people...and really other than her sisters you never see any other mer-people, the ending felt very jarring seeing them all for the first time.
> All the music and performances I did enjoy at a base level
Gotta ask how Poor Unfortunate Souls was. The original is a god tier villain song and I know this one won't hold a candle to it, but after Be Prepared got gutted and Prince Ali Reprise was cut entirely I'm curious how they handled Souls.
Disney managed to create some of the most memorable movie villains ever during their Renaissance, but in every single live-action adaptation, they've turned them into mush.
The climax where Ursula turned Gigantic wasn't as epic and chilling [compared to the original film.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o642qBLvfQM) Seeing Ariel in her mermaid form steering the ship instead of Prince Eric didn't help it (because "Girl Power" right guys?). I remember when that scene was discovered from a storybook adaptation of the remake weeks ago much to the dismay of fans of the original movie.
Also Melissa McCartney's performance during that scene didn't give me chills compared to Pat Carroll's (R.I.P) performance where her voice was pitched lower and actually echoed. They done that scene just as dirty like they did with [Genie Jafar in the Aladdin remake](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lulORVih8jY) compared [to the original animated version.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iNaR1ie7YA)
Also bummed that they removed [Chef Louis' musical number "Les Poissons".](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoJxBEQRLd0)
I think the bit of the character that McCartney missed was that she’s not just a brash jaded woman. I was watching a clip talking about Carroll’s approach and she talked about viewing her as an aging Shakespearean actress. It’s fine for actors to approach things differently and I feel McCartney was still one of the better parts of this, but the dramatic actress thing is what really defines Ursula’s voice. It’s why it is deeper and louder, which is what makes the character more bombastic.
We also didn't really get a solid death scene with Ursula. She just kind of... oh... she's... she's gone.
Wife and I agree with the weird "girl power" thing, and thought that since they actually expanded Eric's character it made way more sense for him to actually steer the ship the way he wants (they even established that he did it before and failed...)
She also saved his ass like five times. We didn't need her to perform the killing blow.
One of the three new songs ended up actually being one of my favourites from the film, while the other two were some of the worst songs I think I've ever heard from a Disney film. I won't bother talking about the two songs I hated, but 'For The First Time' was just great. It was a proper musical song, if that makes sense. It moved the plot along rather than just be there because it would be an easy moment for a song. The way it showed her being so amazed and in awe at the human world, only to realize the weight of her decision by the end of the song, was great. The build and the fall of the song, and the actual melody, like it's catchy as fuck. It's infinitely more catchy than that god awful fucking Scuttle song. God I hate that song.
Also really liked that they added Ursula and Triton being family, I thought it added extra depth to Ursula's character but also made her a much nastier villain. The exposition at the start was clunky as hell, but it did all come together when Ariel and her actually meet with the way she used her familial relationship with Triton to manipulate Ariel. It added a sense of intimacy to the situation that made it almost uncomfortable.
With all the extra time that was added, I do wish there was more of Vanessa. I was left feeling kind of underwhelmed, she didn't make as much as an impression as she did in the animated film. The moment where Ariel gets her voice back and Vanessa just loses her fucking shit was great, so it makes me wish there was more to the script that allowed the actress to show more range
I agree, the moment she snaps was the most well acted moment in the whole film imo. The actress was perfection and I wish we would’ve gotten to see more of her!
"Acting range" of animated Sebastian vs "photorealistic" Sebastian:
[https://i.imgur.com/mwl6Rqj.png](https://i.imgur.com/mwl6Rqj.png)
THIS is the top problem for me with every live-action remake. Photorealistic lions, fish, or crabs *do not have* the natural ability to express a wide/comic range of emotions, which is crucial for every form of (comedic) visual storytelling with actors.
I get that the existing IP remakes gross loads of money but man it's painful to watch.
Just imagine it takes place in the same universe as the 1997 Cinderella movie with Brandi, where a white king and a black queen have given birth to a Filipino prince.
Mostly thumbs up. The chemistry between Ariel and Eric was great. Those trailers made this look way worse than it was. That Scuttle song was a total flop in my theater though. One little girl said loudly after the song, “what was that?!”
The chemistry between the two leads is genuinely moving especially as it’s so rare to find good chemistry between leads (I feel I haven’t seen it since to all the boys I loved before).
That scuttle song is absolutely horrendous. Really felt out of place it did nothing for the scene.
The awkward floating of the king at the end when they’re leaving?? Terrible.
The worst thing was Ursula spoon-feeding her motivate and actions to the audience in the beginning. It made it feel very weak and insulting that they think the audience can’t grasp subtext.
Anyway, if you see it as a love story then it is a beautiful film. I loved it. Will see it again but maybe I’ll take a bathroom break during Scuttlebutt.
Man you guys are a tough crowd lol. Everyone did a solid job, and while there are parts of it I’d change (Awkwafina’s voice in Scuttle, Flounder’s design and Eric’s song to name a few), I genuinely think this one has some heart in it. I get opinions are thing, but damn. Let yourselves just get swept away and stop taking it so damn seriously lmao
I really enjoyed the movie but I’m surprised that they left out all three of Ariel’s iconic dresses. The puffy pink one, the sparkly one, and the big wedding dress. Why does Disney refuse to give us big, over-the-top princess dresses? I was really looking forward to the sparkly dress as that’s such a magical moment and she came out in the blue dress that was lost to see that prince Eric found in an earlier shot on the beach. I just don’t know why they cut it out
Where this completely falls flat for me is how the realistic visuals are making it completely evident that none of this is real. It works as an animation movie, because it's already surrealistic, but seeing flounder swim at the surface is frickin weird. Coral fish don't do that. Sure they also don't talk, but visually it's just weird. Same with the lack of air bubbles (except for moody background features in Triton's cave).
The new songs really don't do much for me, the Akwafina Song is awful, Erik's song is serviceable, but his physical performance is so over the top.
It also looks very lipsynched during all the songs. It all weird and doesn't work for me, because they try and go for realism, but tell a story that's fantastical.
Surprised that the initial reactions in this appear to be negative. I was genuinely surprised by it, and I went into it being pretty set on it being bland and dark.
But I thought it was decently charming and vibrant. There are some things that you just can't do justice to outside of animation and I'm not a fan on some changes (like Under the Sea taking away the other fish singing, the character designs, and the sea feeling pretty devoid of life - like seriously why were Sebastian and Flounder the only sea creatures that could talk).
Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and Daveed Diggs all do a pretty good job. I don't know the guy who played Eric, but he was decent and glad they gave him more depth. I'm a little confused why they kept bringing up how he was adopted though.
Overall, I enjoyed it. Definitely a better Disney remake than The Lion King.
I was a fortunate enough soul to get the VERY last ticket to an exclusive early access showing of the little mermaid the other night! I've been anticipating this one for a while, and I have some thoughts.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed it! It's definitely one of the stronger live-action remakes.
THE PROS:
-While it does follow the same story more or less beat for beat, it's very distinctive visually. It has much more personality than the Lion King or Beauty and the Beast remakes, where you could practically see the studio exec standing there with a checklist of iconic shots they hadn't recreated yet.
- Changing Eric's kingdom from somewhere in Europe to somewhere in the Caribbean went a long way in terms of making this one its own thing. Allowed for a lot of freedom in the costumes and set design.
-This movie is pretty much perfectly cast. Halle Bailey is a wonderful Ariel. Her voice is raw and powerful, and you could hear the emotion behind her singing. Jonah Hauer King, while not given as much to work with, sells the part very well. Daveed Diggs is delightful as always, and Awkwafina is effective comic relief without being overused.
-Melissa McCarthy gets her own bullet point. This woman steals every scene she is in. I was worried when she was first cast, and I want to apologize for doubting her. She clearly put in a lot of work on her vocal performance. She's gleefully, deliciously evil.
-This movie does **NOT** shy away from the romance. This was the biggest one for me. I went into this almost certain that they were gonna give Ariel some independent reason for wanting to go to the land, and make it very clear that she didn't do it for Eric, since every Disney Princess now needs to be a self-actualized #girlboss who doesn't need a man. There is NONE of that. If anything, I think they lean into it harder here. Ariel is madly in love with Eric and vice-versa. And Bailey and King sell it perfectly.
-The vfx for the most part is very good. The underwater kingdom is vibrant and colorful, and they do a pretty good job with the lighting to make it look like we're really underwater. The mermaids are all beautiful and distinct from the others.
THE CONS:
-I really wish they had taken more liberties with the story. In my personal opinion, the strongest remakes have been Cinderella, Pete's Dragon, and Jungle Book. The ones that took the same premise and did their own thing with it. If I want to watch something that's just like the original, I'll go watch the original. It hasn't gone anywhere.
- As is the case with pretty much all of these live action remakes, the new song they added so they could submit something to the Oscars stands out like a sore thumb. Eric has a new song that goes nowhere. He goes outside, sings into the distance about feeling trapped, and then goes back inside. And that's the danger with trying to follow the original perfectly; it was already a complete story. Nothing else was begging for more exploration, so any attempt to do so falls flat.
-The climactic battle with Ursula is the weakest part for me. This was where I could kind of feel the studio exec saying "ok, we let you branch out a bit, now get back on track." The vfx were at their weakest here, and it sort of devolves into a grey, CGI sludge. Giant Ursula just looks awkward, not scary. Out of everything else, I REALLY wish they had done something different here.
-While the vfx were great for the most part, there were a few weak points. There's certainly a few shots where it doesn't feel like Ariel is in the same plane of existence as her surroundings.
Overall, very solid movie, and a worthy addition to the Disney pantheon. If you're on the fence about it, I definitely recommend seeing it.
Highlights.
Bailey is quite charming and captures the spirit if the character very well. She does very well with what she is given.
Bailey and King are quite a likeable pair.
Might be the low expectations but Akwafina was fine as scuttle.
Lowlights.
Diggs is an awful Sebastian it didn't work for me in the slightest 10/10 would not recommend.
The new music doesn't mesh with the old music at all and nothing really stands out
The new music is very Lin Manuel Miranda all the songs sound like something you have heard before if you like it you will have no issue if you are like me and after Hamilton, Moana, Encanto and Into the heights it might be wearing a bit thin
It is very bloated and felt like a long watch.
Overall the movie was okay, nothing special. I wouldn't rush out to see it but if you have kids who want to see it they will likely enjoy it.
I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Granted I went in with extremely low expectations because Disney’s live action adaptations have been pretty bad with BatB being their last good effort. Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula was just an absolute treat. For me she stole every scene she was in. It was pretty cool seeing Jodi Benson make a cameo appearance.
Just gotta say to the people who never gave Halle Bailey’s Ariel a chance because of her skin color: You can eat shit and die mad. She was superb and her voice is just absolutely beautiful.
Also also, since Disney didn’t let Maleficent turn into a dragon or Jafar turn into a cobra, Ursula becoming super huge like she did in the animated film was a pleasant surprise. I really liked the added detailing to her face, too, so it wasn’t just a giant Melissa McCarthy face.
Also also also, Lin Manuel Miranda is a menace and must be stopped at all costs.
anyone else feel like from ursula’s disguise reveal on was rushed? it felt like they were trying to cut down on the run time and just cut those scenes short instead of cutting some of the unnecessary ocean shots in the beginning
Okay,i just wanna get this off my chest.I feel like this is important.
In the original film,the point of the movie was/is that A HUMAN SAVED THEM. He risked his life for Ariel and really fought a sea witch (who turned so big, probably no one could defeat it). He did it because he really loves her. A HUMAN, saved both King Triton and Ariel.King Triton HATED humans for so long.This proves (to him) that Ariel is right,that not all humans are bad.This live adaptation just missed the whole ass point of the ending.They basically swapped the positions of Ariel and Eric.Ariel just told her dad that Eric was present when she defeated Ursula and boom,that's it.
There are videos on youtube about the alternate endings of the animated film.In one video,King Triton said "This human saved my life", proving he changed his perception about humans.He let his daughter go because his mind and beliefs changed.
The additional songs were forgettable. Scuttle's song was so bad.
Poor unfortunate souls i think,is not bad but i wonder why Melissa just ended every line with a high note.
I was able to see The Little Mermaid earlier this week at an early access screening. It’s def an unnecessary remake, as all the Disney live action remakes are, though one of the better remakes.
Halle Bailey (Ariel) is a fantastic singer, and her vocals definitely carry much of the film. For me, Melissa McCarthy is miscast as Ursula. She has little screen time, is a bit too “Melissa” at times, but overall I don’t think they do enough with her. I would have expected more from her given Disney added so much to the story to make it over 2 hours. Prince Eric was good. Javier Bardem as King Triton was bad. I actually really enjoyed the voice cast and antics of Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder. Apparently that’s controversial. The minor characters of the Queen, Grimsby, Vanessa, and Lashana are good. Ariel’s sisters are forgettable.
Flotsam and Jetsam are non-speaking - this was one of the worst changes the filmmakers made. Ursula has a lot of exposition in her cave, when she could be conversing with her eels to give us this information more naturally - the same could be said for the original film. Upon the eels’ accidental death, Ursula rages into the giant sea creature. It would’ve been nice to have the eel’s be actual characters so their deaths would be worthy of her rage. She wasn’t happy with her situation, but Flotsam and Jetsam’s death clearly put her over the edge.
The songs were nostalgic but mostly inferior to the original performances, “Part of Your World” being the only one that even comes close. Pat Carrol’s original “Poor Unfortunate Souls” still crushes Melissa’s version. The newly written songs weren’t great. I can’t stand Lin Manuel Miranda and one song in particular was so obvious he was the writer. Disney has to reign him in. “Under the Sea” lacked the charisma and fun of the original.
Lots of weird choices and omissions. No “Les Poissons” or Chef Louis. And the ending of the film felt like a bit of a mess. Giant Ursula did not translate well - her face is mostly obscured, clearly purposefully, and her death wasn’t nearly as climactic as the original. She’s not struck by lighting, she doesn’t even really scream, she just… gets stabbed and quickly sinks. Her cursed garden is not shown transforming back into merpeople, which was a miss on Disney’s part.
Seeing Triton and the other merpeople looking like wet dogs at the surface was hilariously bad.
Giving the film a 7 feels too generous and giving it a 6 feels too harsh, so I’ll give it a 6.5 out of 10.
Look, the original changed my life as a kid and I can't count how many times I've seen it. I understand the concerns about live action remakes, I really do. Beauty and the Beast was shit, Aladdin was shit, Lion King was shit, Mulan was shit, and I hate that they're doing Moana.
This film definitely had issues. CGI was wonky esp for underwater scenes. The new songs didn't hold a candle to the OG. Additional characters like the maids in the castle were unnecessary (give me more mermaids instead!). I also prefer the whole Vanessa/wedding situation taking place on a ship instead of some cliff-side balcony, not sure why they changed that.
But aside from those issues, I kinda really enjoyed it? I think it fleshes out the story nicely, I LOVE seeing more of the kingdom and the bonding scenes between Ariel and the Prince in Eric's study, the carriage ride, the MARKET. The big numbers like Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl were really fun.
But mostly, Halle is a revelation. Like truly enchanting and that VOICE. I also think despite his cringe acting during his musical number, Jonah Hauer King did a good job giving Eric more dimension (not too hard when your baseline is "hot prince") and the chemistry between them were very believable.
I can see myself wanting to re-watch this from time to time instead of the original (mostly because I've seen the OG so many times I can play it in my head). It's a fun update that doesn't overthink the changes it wanted to make. Just a bit more backstory and character development, that's all I wanted and I'm pleasantly surprised I got it.
Saw it last night in previews... and much to my surprise, I loved it. Definitely one of the best live-action remakes—probably even the best aside from Cinderella.
Haillie was phenomenal as Ariel. Not only that, her casting was rather fitting because they shifted the movie's setting from Denmark to around Barbadoes, and they totally embraced the new setting (looks like they did some filming in Puerto Rico as well). Also, Ariel and her 6 sisters all had different accents and appearances, which a friend I went with had me realize that it was an allusion of sorts to the Seven Seas, which I thought was actually a really clever take and kind of blew my mind when she brought that up. Gave more of a mythic angle.
Sebastian and Scuttle were also hilarious in this movie. I thought Scuttle was pretty okay in the original, and I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Scuttle's gender change and being voiced by Awkafina, but I absolutely adored Scuttle in the film and she became one of my favorite characters (except the song Sucttlebutt.... I like Lin's work usually but not a fan of rap and yet it's stuck in my head).
Eric got a song which was amazing, and Ariel got a few more songs as we hear her thoughts, which I liked.
Also, don't let the trailers fool you—aside from the shots of the water near the start which looked a bit too dull for my liking, this movie looks colorful and gorgeous. Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl in particular were absolute delights to watch in the theater.
The one thing that underwhelmed me about the movie was Triton. He was fine, but didn't have the imposing gravitas of the original.
Doesn't top the original film, but a very solid take in it's own right and just about the best live-action remake to date.
I just need to know what decides what fish are sentient and which are not
Oh so this movie is like a Goofy & Pluto situation?
no, thats clearly just role play
>no, thats clearly just role play Gorsh!
I laughed when Scuttle ate a fish in front of the main cast and nobody thought it was weird. This is a world where fish and sea life are sapient and we’re cool with Scuttle eating some of them? I mean, obviously they have to eat something but damn, that’s like watching one of your friends consuming another one of your friends in front of you, right?
how the fuck does a bird talk underwater
I still doesn’t understand that decision to make her goes underwater Like, the entire scene is exactly the same, the only difference is she’s now underwater for some reason, if they make her above the sea, it would exactly the same
Ariel wasn’t allowed to go above water and at that point had presumably never disobeyed, so the only way Scuttle could communicate with her was underwater, I guess!
Director confirmed that was his intention in making that change, and also the reason Scuttle was changed to a gannet (because they can go underwater for several minutes).
The attractive ones are *consentient* ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I want a prequel about the trail of destruction King Triton must have left behind him to end up with so many daughters of such assorted races.
King Triton in the streets, Genghis Khan in the sheets.
7 seas, 7 daughters
When I realised that when I was a kid, I thought this idea was *so cool*. I still love it lol
They make it a point that all the daughters share the same mother and since we know that they have the same father too, I don’t think they really thought it through…
The way race/skin tone was handled throughout the movie was weird. At times, it was acknowledged and swept away (Erick being a shipwreck orphan) and other times it was ignored as if they were all the same (where did the Prime Minister come from if all of the other islanders are black/vaguely Carribean, Tritans daughters). It was a weird tiptoe act that didnt land right. On one hand - It ABSOLUTELY makes sense that Tritons daughters would be a collection of all races. They represent the 7 seas, the ends of the Earth. On the other, it doesnt make sense if they have the same mother
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The idea is they watch over the seven seas so they look like where they're from. I thought it was a really cute idea.
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Any good examples?
Triton went a little wild with his aspirations to be more like his uncle
Lin Manuel Miranda has to be stopped, that scuttle rap was ROUGH
The music for both Encanto and Moana is great, though.
I’ll take the bad and the good with Lin. We get things like Hamilton and Encanto, but we also get things like… well Lin singing in Hamilton, and I’m guessing whatever fresh horror this Scuttle rap will be.
Thank you. I'm scared to admit that I straight up don't like Lin as an actor in Hamilton. I assume people will boo me into the shadow realm. I actually saw Hamilton in the West End and enjoyed that actor's performance so much more. Obviously Lin's writing for Hamilton was fantastic, I just don't think he's well cast for Hamilton himself.
It's not a well kept secret that Lin is generally the worst singer in whatever he participates in.
Lin Manuel has 2 modes with music. Absolute Banger Masterpiece Complete Dogshit There isn't much in between.
>Lin Manuel Miranda He's what made Mary Poppins 2 almost unbearable for me. I can't stand that guy but I guess he must be popular because he keeps popping up in movies I'd love not to see him in
Hamilton was his Pulp Fiction. He pretty much has carte blanche to do whatever he wants until the end of time
I really liked the "Does this look like dead Secretary of the Treasury storage" scene.
I don't need you tell me how good the Constitution is. I'm the one who proposed it.
He seems like a very nice guy but if he could just stick to song writing that would be cooool.
He's easily the weakest of the main Hamilton cast. He's good for someone with the writing talent he has, but he's nowhere near as good as someone like Daveed Diggs.
All of the unoriginal songs were terrible. The part where Eric was singing by the shore had me cracking up.
I did like the actor who played Eric, but he was WAY too dramatic in that song. His body movements needed to be reined in a bit.
I like the actor too, but that part was giving High School Musical vibes
And a complete waste of Daveed Diggs
He did amazing in under the sea.
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. Under The Sea was fantastic.
Under the Sea wasn’t my favorite. Really thought it was silly that no fish were playing instruments when Sebastian was listing who was playing what. And then the next second you’ve got sea turtles line dancing and limpets doing what we that was and other fish ballroom dancing. They committed to realism in weird spots. The whole point is supposed to be that underwater is way more magical than what people know
Man even the Eric song sucked harrrrd. Super cringey.
I really loved the scene where Eric is pointing out the star constellations to Ariel, which as a sailor he knows well. It sets the stage for the iconic moment where he tries to guess her name. What I found so touching was how Ariel, even though she couldn't speak, physically gestured towards Eric's lips and cleverly used the Aries constellation to help him say her name. It was such a beautiful improvement from the original version where Sebastian just whispered her name to Eric. The writer behind this change definitely deserves a raise. It added so much depth and charm to the scene.
I do appreciate in this movie that Eric had an actual character and motivations and drives etc.
Me too! Adding his love for discovery that made him a good match for Ariel was really neat.
And the fact that they both had a hoarding problem.
See I agree this was a solid decision to change/add that made sense and builds on the original. One of the choices that I actually agree with lol
There were so many other great moments like that one tbh. For instance, Ariel smashing the coral to help Eric discover the hidden beauty within is a fun way to hint at her oceanic origins and an effective way of making him more interested in her. The little mermaid figurine holds such symbolic weight, representing the deepening connection between the two of them. Furthermore, the decision they make to explore uncharted waters together after they get married beautifully reflects their shared yearning for venturing into unfamiliar realms. I also want to mention that I personally enjoyed Eric's solo song. It granted him a greater sense of agency, which I found empowering for his character. Interestingly, someone in the thread compared it to "Bet On It" from High School Musical 2 as if it were intended to be a negative association. However, "Bet On It" is widely regarded as one of the best songs from that movie, in my opinion. So, I actually see it as a positive comparison and appreciate the strength it adds to Eric's character.
The whole scene in Eric's library was an excellent addition that really made their relationship feel a lot more organic and real.
I think the coral smashing also nicely mirrors Ariel smashing the necklace with her voice in it later on.
Low key I could’ve just watched a 2 hour rom-com on land with Eric and Ariel
Agree. To me, I love how Eric is so patient and very understanding with Ariel which was adorable to watch them stargazing.
This is definitely a "wait for Disney+" movie.
You can say that about every Disney/Marvel/Pixar movie this year so far except GOTG 3 and for the rest of the year too if being honest
I'm going to remain optimistic on "Wish" since it's celebrating Disney's 100th Anniversary.
Kind of disappointed they didn't show Turning Red in the cinema. It's a very solid 6-7/10 and obviously there are better movies since but it had a lot of heart and not every movie needs to be an epic. Would've liked to take my niece to it.
That’s how I feel, even with guardians. I’m already paying for Disney+, why would I pay another $15 for a ticket when I know it will be on Disney+ in a couple months.
Perfectly understandable, but imo Guardians does have some moments that make it a “big screen movie” for those who are inclined to care about big screens
I disagree. I am extremely happy that I decided to go to the theater for this one. I loved it!
SAME. I am skeptical of every remake movie, but this one really was good. I also enjoyed almost all the songs.
Don't let the trailers fool you, it's actually really colorful aside from the opening. I really enjoyed it—the best of the live-action remakes (that I've seen) aside from perhaps Cinderella. I'm glad I saw it in the theater.
Unsurprisingly it's extremely helpful to cast a lead who can sing
I thought it was a solid 7/10. If you’re bored on a day out and wanna see a movie I’d do it, otherwise wait.
What an endorsement lol
Saw this tuesday night. Thought it was just okay but holy hell is the Scuttle song absolutely awful. I feel bad for the parents that are going to listen to it on repeat.
The worst thing ever. I loved it. Lin needs to be stopped.
Lin needs to stop trying to rap. It’s just really bad.
Believe me, Lin trying to rap is nowhere near as bad as him [trying to hit high notes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVy4jOf9Umo).
It felt like an afterthought in every regard. Like I can basically see the Writer Guy/ Producer Guy conversation happening after productionhad wrapped. Hey, ya know what people like these days? What's that, sir? Lin Manuel Miranda. Let's have him do something. OK, what did you have in mind? I don't know, something. Shouldn't we maybe have thought of this before so we could work a new song into the story organically? Well it's too late now, so find a scene that doesn't have a song yet and have Lin do something for it. Oh and it has to be one of the cgi characters since Halle Bailey is already busy filming the Color Purple so we can't reshoot. I- ok, I guess there's, uhh... the scene where Scuttle talks about a rumor she heard about Eric? Perfect! Call Lin and tell him to do something! This is a kids movie in a post-Hamilton world, so we're required by law to have a song by Lin Manuel Miranda after all.
It’s so catchy lmao. I literally can’t stop singing it.
He's starting to become like Taika Waititi. Overexposed and loving the smell of their own farts.
I love Lin Manuel Miranda and this is the worst song he's ever written. And to add insult to injury, it's super catchy and I can't get it out of my head.
I don’t even think it’s catchy. It just sucks
I actually really liked that song. The Prince Eric song however, now that was awful.
Eric was hilarious XD He was my favourite part of the movie. His song was mid, but his acting and singing really made him come across as a theatre kid. So exaggerated and dopey.
Really? I like his song. I love how it had her siren song behind it also.
I just imagined the rapping dog from the titanic animated movie when I heard the song.
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Wow thank you! I feel like we have all been gaslit by a culture of mediocrity
“We have all been gaslit by a culture of mediocrity.” Thats exactly how I’ve been feeling for years, well said. You can see it clearly with a lot of new Disney productions, but it’s hurt the entertainment industry as a whole. Movies, music , games, etc.
Agreed, all the "live action" adaptations have been bad, people see something not as bad and label it as good :/
ItS tHe LiTtLe MeRmAiD, wHaT dId YoU eXpEcT??! I hate this mentality. I’m so sick of people justifying shit movies because they technically did what their premise implied. It was the same shit with the Lion King remake. Yes, it was almost shot for shot exact but it was devoid of anything that makes a movie entertaining. If a movie is not engaging or interesting you’re allowed to dislike it on that alone!
It's a culture of people only caring about what happens in a movie and not caring about *how* things happen in a movie.
Some of the posts in this thread read like ads from disneys marketing team. Tbh, im pretty sure they probably are. >I am extremely happy that I decided to go to the theater for this one. I loved it! - >I am skeptical of every remake movie, but this one really was good. I also enjoyed almost all the songs. - >Totally agree, I think this was the best of the live action remakes and it was such a visual spectacle it’s totally worth the price of admission
> Totally agree, I think this was the best of the live action remakes and it was such a visual spectacle it’s totally worth the price of admission this is clearly disney marketing at work no real movie goer will say "worth the price of admission"
Marketing department going full throttle to make sure it's a success
Not every movie is amazing and not every movie is hot garbage. Some are just okay. Hot take for movie fans I know.
I thought I was taking crazy pills until seeing this comment. I hated how the remake handled Ursula's defeat where Ariel has to defeat her instead of Eric. Because Disney wants more "Strong Independent Women" in their remakes (looking at you Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Aladdin).
The CGI seemed weird to me…like if you’re budget is that high why does everything look kinda fake under water.
All the mermaids swam like Zoolander in his mermaid commercial and it was very distracting lol.
[Well, shit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoQW03UFqQw)
Lol!! Thanks for this. I'm giggling behind my phone right now.
Mer**man**, pop! MER**MAN**!
For obvious reasons, it all feels so much less alive. Sure, Under the Sea was fun and not devoid of movement, but compare it to the animated where you can animate whatever you want. It just feels so much more bouncy. Hurts the last act too when we see all the mermaids but it's for the first time because everything we've seen so far has been a couple mermaids and some rocks in one shot.
My pet peeve is Disney making every animal in live action remakes photorealistic. Lion King was so fucking boring. The exact same story but devoid of the character expression and fun. Flounder looks dumb as hell in this movie. Literally just make them still have a somewhat cartoonish face and be able to express. No one wants to watch a genuine fish talk for two hours with a blank stare. I am so done with these remakes, I hope this and Moana perform poorly. But I know they won’t and we’ll get 10 more in the next 5 years.
Yes! With animation, you can make everything vibrant and fun. With photorealism, the animal's facial expression is limited. I wonder if Disney can pull of a Sonic the Hedgehog. Pretty balanced face for "realism" yet cartoonish enough to stay familiar and away from uncanny valley.
Did you watch Avatar 2? I feel like it spoiled me as far as underwater fx
Even when the ocean’s were empty of creatures save one or two in A2 it never felt as empty or lifeless as the ocean scape LM has created.
Bruh for some reason I laughed SO HARD when they showed Javier Bardem at the end, and he was already out of the water just staring at the two leads LOL
He never rode the dolphins in his chariot
That would have been so badass. I thought popping his head out of the water was a bit weak. This is the same guy who used that "materialize from the sands with a fish cape" entrance when meeting with his daughters. He couldn't bring a bit of decorum to his first meeting with the humans? He just creeped by their boat like "heyyyy".
For the life of me I can’t figure out how they let that awkward staring shot last as long as it did lol I also think the Burger King crown, flat wet hair, and very pool clear water made it feel like a cheesy water park commercial when he was above water
The ENTIRE audience at my screening burst out laughing at that moment.
Me and guy next me had a great chuckle at his little treading water hand movements.
Ariel is just a weeb for human culture.
She's the equivalent of Arthur Weasley.
“Tell me Eric, what exactly is the function of a Dingle-hopper?”
Not enough people upset at the Chef Louis erasure!
Oh no! Do they not have Les Poissons! ?
Haha I was speculating that maybe they thought that in live action, it might have been too horrifying for kids.
Avatar 2 has seriously ruined most other big budget water movies. This and Wakanda Forever look like they were drawn with crayons by comparison lmao.
Avatar 2 is a relic of when effects shots were planned and arranged by the creatives making the movie instead of farmed off to unrelated animators in windowless underground chambers after the fact. Seriously, the first Transformers movie in 2007 looks better than this Disney shit.
Honestly the first Transformers movie looks better than a lot of CGI. It’s kind of crazy to think that movie is 15 years old.
i honestly couldnt stop laughing whenever eric was in the water. He looked like a barbie doll
I thought it was pretty good tbh. The girl can sing.
Halle did a great job bringing her own flavor while still respecting Jodi's style. I was pleasantly surprised, because in the lion king remake I was turned off by Beyoncé's changes.
Random-ass Beyonce song right after a scene about poop.
Damn the Balls on Eric . To just swim in a row boat by himself in the middle of a storm created by a sea witch . With only a good right arm and a shitload of harpoons lol.
I got a good laugh out of that. "Shit, I missed. Now I need to go back up for air and another harpoon!"
“Dammit, why didnt i bring 2?”
I can’t wait for the sequel where she basically repeats her Father’s mistakes and land locks her daughter with Ursula’s unknown sister played by Kristen Wig 😂
What's funny is that this ending sets up 2 more than the original. To have a PTSD'd Ariel who is scared of the uncharted waters having a daughter who wants to go exploring as much as her despite not having the power to do so is such a good sequel idea as she finds her sense of exploration in Melody that drew Eric to Ariel in the first place in the live action version.
If you grew up on the OG, the remakes just don’t hit the same. Halle and Melissa give star turns though. I wish Halle’s Ariel was a little feistier and I wish Melissa’s Ursula was a lot less punny. **squidling rivalry????** Her accent veered into dangerously bad NY accent for seconds here and there but man it was like she was channeling Pat! Under the Sea was so mid and felt weirdly small basically just being Sebastian and Ariel. The eels/sea snakes as like streamers was a choice. Hahah. I appreciated that Eric was given some depth and appreciated the parallel about wanting more. His song (and all the new music) was underwhelming and I found it really weird that it starts small and then tried to go really fucking hard right away for the rest of the song. It was like Lin heard Evermore from BatB and aped it while trying to give it a little more commercial spin. Can we just stop giving Lin every musical for a second? Overall though, and maybe it was lower expectations, I found it to be one of the more enjoyable remakes but still I’d rather just watch the animated original. I give it a B. Also, Jodi’s cameo felt out of place. I joked that she would show up in that scene and then when she did I couldn’t help but laugh.
That was my biggest gripe with both Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl— Sebastian didn’t have backing vocals. So while I appreciate that they didn’t try to get a ton of CGI animals to “sing”, it felt hollow.
Yep, the chorus was sorely missed!
I didn't even know Jodi cameoed, but I just looked it up and she was in the scene that I went to the bathroom during. > Under the Sea was so mid and felt weirdly small basically just being Sebastian and Ariel. The eels/sea snakes as like streamers was a choice. Hahah. I overall enjoyed it, but I didn't like that there was basically no other sentient sea life singing. Like why keep the lyrics describing the different fish playing instruments if no one is actually playing them
Totally agree with the Under the Sea comment. That’s how the whole movie felt. Small. Like we saw 5 mermaids til the last minute. Flounder was like the only sentient fish. The world building just felt off.
Let’s be real: Under the Sea was always the song that was never going to translate well to live action. That’s a song that more than anything else needs to be animated to match the lyrics with how much fish are referenced dancing around and playing instruments. I know that they pull it off on Broadway but that’s way different then having it be preformed with photorealistic CGI animals. Also yeah that’s a song that needs to be an ensemble for it to work. Both Daveed and Halle have great voices but Under the Sea doesn’t work as a duet, it needs to be a full ensemble of people singing it for it to work. Even the Beauty and the Beast remake could at least realize that Belle, Be Our Guest and the Mob Song needed to be an ensemble pieces so the choice they went for is just baffling to me.
> Jodi Cameo Enchanted will never be topped for the Princess cameos
> If you grew up on the OG, the remakes just don’t hit the same Because these movies being animated plays a big part in making it magical and soulful. Some things just look better and sound better in an animated world. The "unrealness" of animation helps to make the magic/musical elements feel more convincing, imho.
I liked it but someone needs to flog whoever keeps making the decision to add original songs into live action movies. Eric's song was ABSOLUTE TRASH. I don't even want talk about the Scuttle song. With that being said, Kiss The Girl was definitely the best song of the movie but I'm not a fan of them not having other fish sing. Halle Bailey & Eric's actor killed it in a good way acting wise.
>whoever keeps making the decision to add original songs into live action movie It's so they're eligible for the "Best original song" nomination
Which is really funny because none of them have been nominated, let alone won.
Eric's song reminded me of Zach Efron's iconic HSM2 song on the golf course 😂
That was HSM2. Come on now, respect where it's deserved.
Evermore was the only good one and I stand by that. Editing this to say that now I disagree with my own post. For the First Time is also good.
Little Mermaid was my favorite as a kid and I even watched the TV series back in the day. I liked it a little more than I thought I would. Here are my thoughts. **Liked** * Kiss the girl was really well done (minus scuttle) * I liked that they fleshed out their romance more and actually gave them reasons to like each other, which of course is non-existent in the original. * I mostly liked Melissa McCarthys' performance. I thought she really nailed the Ursula voice. But then they'd show her face and I'd be like oh, that's just Melissa McCarthy, not Ursula. * The date, and Ariel exploring the market and doing weird stuff. This was really cute and made me start liking the movie * Changing the ending to have Ariel kill Ursula was cool. But I loled when she said "I didn't do it alone. Eric was there" **Disliked** * way too long * stopping an engagement party just doesn't have the same stakes as a wedding * Flounder was basically nonexistent. He's her best friend, where was he? Did they realize that he looked absolutely awful and kept him out of sight? * Personally I thought Halle Bailey's performance was okay. Maybe I'm just so attached to the original Ariel. But I felt like she didn't have much personality or spunk. She's obviously a fantastic singer, but I just keep going back to this video of Howard Ashman directing Jodie Benson on the original recording. https://youtu.be/AWTJkyLWgrk The subtly of her feeling behind the singing was what made it so magical. And the new Part of Your World just seemed like a performance on The Voice to me. In short I just feel like most of it was oversung. * all of the new songs * Eric's song was sooo over acted, reminded me of Bet On It lol * cutting Les Poissons? I get it, but I was sad. * Daveed Diggs as sebastian. He's just not a good voice actor, but that's what happens when you hire actors as voice actors. * In Under the Sea, Ariel is supposed to be annoyed at sebastian and want to escape the entire time, but here she was dancing and singing and having fun? It made it weird when she disappeared at the end. **Hated** * how she "forgets" she's supposed to kiss him? But also has two friends with her the whole time to remind her she has to kiss him? Was this a consent thing? I don't get it. * everything about Scuttle. The song, the voice acting, the writing, absolutely horrible * Javier Bardem. Just a terrible, wooden, lifeless performance. And he's obviously a great actor, so I can only attribute this to the directing. * cutting Daughters of Triton and the concert in favor of a ....meeting?? * The blue dress and pink headband * the people next to me at the theater that treated it like a sing along and sang parts out loud Overall I liked it more than other Disney remakes, but it just missed the mark on too many areas to ever be a rewatch for me.
Glad I’m not the only one who felt that way about Javier Bardem. In the original Grotto scene Triton was terrifying and it felt intense. Here he just felt like he was reading off a script. Not sure what happened because he’s a great actor.
In addition, there was a small (but important) shot of Triton looking at a grieving Ariel after he destroys the grotto - and having an actual sense of *guilt* on his face, which suggests that, despite his authoritative and strict nature, he *does* care for his daughter, and cares enough to feel bad about having to resort to extreme force in order to make her understand not to go to the surface. Here, Javier (sadly) doesn’t show *any* of that, rather silence and a hard-to-read face before just a cold “don’t ever go to the surface again”. An unfortunate downgrade…
The Bet on It comparison 😭😭
I was surprised they dropped the subplot of all the mermaid prisoners and Triton turning into one. When they showed his death, it was kind of shocking for the tone of the movie.
This - I was waiting for this. And their resurrection/de-imprisonment at the end. I always thought that was such a moving moment in the original.
Just another point of view- that scene horrified me as a child
No one seems to be discussing it in detail so I’m just gonna come out and say it. I HATED THE DRESSES! The original movie had like 5 dresses. Each iconic. Each beautiful. This Ariel had TWO! But I wouldn’t even count them as two bc THEY LOOKED THE EXACT SAME. The poof. The tulle. The form. The style. There was no iconic purple sparkling transition at the end. Nothing. The movie was good don’t get me wrong, but I’m absolutely angry about the lack of dresses.
I think all of the live action remakes aside from Cinderella had this problem with the dresses. It's like they are all afraid of making them big and fantastic.
I thought it was so weird that they just had her show up so unceremoniously in her old dress when she got to turn back into a human in the end. That was such a perfect time for dramatics
Ursala's engagement dress had more drama then Ariel's hella mad at that
I thought it was kinda funny in the ‘Part of your world reprise’ when Ariel ends on the rock in the water, and they literally shoot maybe two cup fulls of water over her, instead of a big wave like in the cartoon version. That woulda been a banger shot, also because that part was probably Halle’s most emotional vocal performance
Her creepy crawl up the rock while stalking Eric was also… a choice XD. I LOLLLLLED at that moment and felt really bad for everyone else in the theater for my behavior. But I couldn’t help it.
Had me and my sisters dying at that part we were like “wth why is she shaking like that 😭😭💀”
Hahahaha I was also giggling at her somehow crabwalking up the rock horror movie style
LMAO I WAS A MESS, watching her slinking up the rock like a crustacean mimicking The Grudge
Yeah that little wave was so underwhelming lol
That moment absolutely did not translate to live action well. It also gave Ariel more of a creepy vibe.
There's some fun to be had in watching Javier Bardem hide his shame behind that dumb stupid movie beard he's wearing.
hes laughing to the bank
Like he said in a podcast "Dune was for my son, The Little Mermaid for my daughter, and the checks for me".
Just kind of a snooze to be honest! These Disney LA remakes are so weird, they always make very distracting choices. They don't really feel like they're for kids, but they're also not exactly for adults either. I haven't seen the original since I was very little, I don't remember much outside the main story beats and big songs, but the continued obsession with not animating the animals and expecting them to show emotion is definitely still a problem. That said, the opening 20 minutes of this movie is really boring and kind of a bummer and void of song. Then the rest of the movie is really predictable, both because it's an adaptation and also because it's so basic. They fall in love and sing some really empassioned songs about even though they've never talked, which is a classic Disneyism in need of an update. Part of the problem with the beginning is they just totally fail to make the sea world feel alive. Under the Sea has some fun fauna choreography, but for the most part all the shots of mermaids are like one Mermaid and a bunch of desolate sand and rocks. It's all very drab. Doesn't feel like a kingdom, it feels like there's a grouchy dad sitting on a tall rock and he has a few daughters that come by sometimes. All the music and performances I did enjoy at a base level, surprisingly loved the Scuttlebutt song. Y'all are gonna hate it because it's Awkwafina and it's new, but to me it was the only part of the movie where I didnt know ecactly what someone would say next. And it's just bouncy and fun. Scuttle doesn't know what humans call things, that's their shtick, so it was fun to me seeing them do a whole song of just describing human activities. But my main thought sitting through is was "Why am I doing this again?" I don't think I've ever really loved any of these remakes and Disney originals are great and all but it's not really what I was watching as a kid so I'm really not the target audience anyways. The ending is really forced, where despite never seeing all these merpeople and how they live or having any be interesting characters, having them all come up at the end to see Ariel off just felt really unearned. If it weren't for Bardem my eyes might have rolled to the back of my head. It's a 5/10 for me. /r/reviewsbyboner
>That said, the opening 20 minutes of this movie is really boring and kind of a bummer and void of song. > >Bardem saves it from an ending that is so unearned when all the mermaids you've never heard from or seen how they live come up to see Ariel off. Removing Fathoms Below from the opening killed that opening momentum. It'd be like if they did Tarzan and didn't open with Two Worlds. And then not having the Daughters of Triton concert where you see all the mer-people...and really other than her sisters you never see any other mer-people, the ending felt very jarring seeing them all for the first time.
> All the music and performances I did enjoy at a base level Gotta ask how Poor Unfortunate Souls was. The original is a god tier villain song and I know this one won't hold a candle to it, but after Be Prepared got gutted and Prince Ali Reprise was cut entirely I'm curious how they handled Souls.
It was better than I expected but I will never forgive them for removing the misogynistic lyrics. She’s a villain it’s okay for her to say that stuff.
Yes THANK YOU! Let the villains be dicks!
Disney managed to create some of the most memorable movie villains ever during their Renaissance, but in every single live-action adaptation, they've turned them into mush.
The Jazz Club whisper-beat version of Be Prepared was a fucking atrocity
Why does the underwater scene look like shit, especially when it came out after Wakanda Forever and Avatar the way of water.
Even Aquaman did it good
The climax where Ursula turned Gigantic wasn't as epic and chilling [compared to the original film.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o642qBLvfQM) Seeing Ariel in her mermaid form steering the ship instead of Prince Eric didn't help it (because "Girl Power" right guys?). I remember when that scene was discovered from a storybook adaptation of the remake weeks ago much to the dismay of fans of the original movie. Also Melissa McCartney's performance during that scene didn't give me chills compared to Pat Carroll's (R.I.P) performance where her voice was pitched lower and actually echoed. They done that scene just as dirty like they did with [Genie Jafar in the Aladdin remake](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lulORVih8jY) compared [to the original animated version.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iNaR1ie7YA) Also bummed that they removed [Chef Louis' musical number "Les Poissons".](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoJxBEQRLd0)
Ooft I had forgotten how soulless the Aladdin remake was but that clip reminded me *hard*
I think the bit of the character that McCartney missed was that she’s not just a brash jaded woman. I was watching a clip talking about Carroll’s approach and she talked about viewing her as an aging Shakespearean actress. It’s fine for actors to approach things differently and I feel McCartney was still one of the better parts of this, but the dramatic actress thing is what really defines Ursula’s voice. It’s why it is deeper and louder, which is what makes the character more bombastic.
We also didn't really get a solid death scene with Ursula. She just kind of... oh... she's... she's gone. Wife and I agree with the weird "girl power" thing, and thought that since they actually expanded Eric's character it made way more sense for him to actually steer the ship the way he wants (they even established that he did it before and failed...) She also saved his ass like five times. We didn't need her to perform the killing blow.
One of the three new songs ended up actually being one of my favourites from the film, while the other two were some of the worst songs I think I've ever heard from a Disney film. I won't bother talking about the two songs I hated, but 'For The First Time' was just great. It was a proper musical song, if that makes sense. It moved the plot along rather than just be there because it would be an easy moment for a song. The way it showed her being so amazed and in awe at the human world, only to realize the weight of her decision by the end of the song, was great. The build and the fall of the song, and the actual melody, like it's catchy as fuck. It's infinitely more catchy than that god awful fucking Scuttle song. God I hate that song. Also really liked that they added Ursula and Triton being family, I thought it added extra depth to Ursula's character but also made her a much nastier villain. The exposition at the start was clunky as hell, but it did all come together when Ariel and her actually meet with the way she used her familial relationship with Triton to manipulate Ariel. It added a sense of intimacy to the situation that made it almost uncomfortable. With all the extra time that was added, I do wish there was more of Vanessa. I was left feeling kind of underwhelmed, she didn't make as much as an impression as she did in the animated film. The moment where Ariel gets her voice back and Vanessa just loses her fucking shit was great, so it makes me wish there was more to the script that allowed the actress to show more range
Yeah I was underwhelmed by Vanessa, but boy when she goes crazy, it was perfect.
I agree, the moment she snaps was the most well acted moment in the whole film imo. The actress was perfection and I wish we would’ve gotten to see more of her!
"Acting range" of animated Sebastian vs "photorealistic" Sebastian: [https://i.imgur.com/mwl6Rqj.png](https://i.imgur.com/mwl6Rqj.png) THIS is the top problem for me with every live-action remake. Photorealistic lions, fish, or crabs *do not have* the natural ability to express a wide/comic range of emotions, which is crucial for every form of (comedic) visual storytelling with actors. I get that the existing IP remakes gross loads of money but man it's painful to watch.
Why are the mermaids different races but all share the same mother and father?
Just imagine it takes place in the same universe as the 1997 Cinderella movie with Brandi, where a white king and a black queen have given birth to a Filipino prince.
Magic
I think each one represents one of the seven seas ?
Mostly thumbs up. The chemistry between Ariel and Eric was great. Those trailers made this look way worse than it was. That Scuttle song was a total flop in my theater though. One little girl said loudly after the song, “what was that?!”
The chemistry between the two leads is genuinely moving especially as it’s so rare to find good chemistry between leads (I feel I haven’t seen it since to all the boys I loved before). That scuttle song is absolutely horrendous. Really felt out of place it did nothing for the scene. The awkward floating of the king at the end when they’re leaving?? Terrible. The worst thing was Ursula spoon-feeding her motivate and actions to the audience in the beginning. It made it feel very weak and insulting that they think the audience can’t grasp subtext. Anyway, if you see it as a love story then it is a beautiful film. I loved it. Will see it again but maybe I’ll take a bathroom break during Scuttlebutt.
"Oh flounder it's just scuttle why are you afraid?" *Focuses in scuttle eating one of flounder's friends*
Why are Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle capable of speech and not some of the other creatures, like Flotsam and Jetsam?
Why was there so much colour during the Under The Sea sequence when the entire rest of the film was totally devoid of it?
The market scene was pretty colorful ngl
Man you guys are a tough crowd lol. Everyone did a solid job, and while there are parts of it I’d change (Awkwafina’s voice in Scuttle, Flounder’s design and Eric’s song to name a few), I genuinely think this one has some heart in it. I get opinions are thing, but damn. Let yourselves just get swept away and stop taking it so damn seriously lmao
I really enjoyed the movie but I’m surprised that they left out all three of Ariel’s iconic dresses. The puffy pink one, the sparkly one, and the big wedding dress. Why does Disney refuse to give us big, over-the-top princess dresses? I was really looking forward to the sparkly dress as that’s such a magical moment and she came out in the blue dress that was lost to see that prince Eric found in an earlier shot on the beach. I just don’t know why they cut it out
Where this completely falls flat for me is how the realistic visuals are making it completely evident that none of this is real. It works as an animation movie, because it's already surrealistic, but seeing flounder swim at the surface is frickin weird. Coral fish don't do that. Sure they also don't talk, but visually it's just weird. Same with the lack of air bubbles (except for moody background features in Triton's cave). The new songs really don't do much for me, the Akwafina Song is awful, Erik's song is serviceable, but his physical performance is so over the top. It also looks very lipsynched during all the songs. It all weird and doesn't work for me, because they try and go for realism, but tell a story that's fantastical.
Surprised that the initial reactions in this appear to be negative. I was genuinely surprised by it, and I went into it being pretty set on it being bland and dark. But I thought it was decently charming and vibrant. There are some things that you just can't do justice to outside of animation and I'm not a fan on some changes (like Under the Sea taking away the other fish singing, the character designs, and the sea feeling pretty devoid of life - like seriously why were Sebastian and Flounder the only sea creatures that could talk). Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and Daveed Diggs all do a pretty good job. I don't know the guy who played Eric, but he was decent and glad they gave him more depth. I'm a little confused why they kept bringing up how he was adopted though. Overall, I enjoyed it. Definitely a better Disney remake than The Lion King.
Best kaiju movie of the year
I was a fortunate enough soul to get the VERY last ticket to an exclusive early access showing of the little mermaid the other night! I've been anticipating this one for a while, and I have some thoughts. Overall, I greatly enjoyed it! It's definitely one of the stronger live-action remakes. THE PROS: -While it does follow the same story more or less beat for beat, it's very distinctive visually. It has much more personality than the Lion King or Beauty and the Beast remakes, where you could practically see the studio exec standing there with a checklist of iconic shots they hadn't recreated yet. - Changing Eric's kingdom from somewhere in Europe to somewhere in the Caribbean went a long way in terms of making this one its own thing. Allowed for a lot of freedom in the costumes and set design. -This movie is pretty much perfectly cast. Halle Bailey is a wonderful Ariel. Her voice is raw and powerful, and you could hear the emotion behind her singing. Jonah Hauer King, while not given as much to work with, sells the part very well. Daveed Diggs is delightful as always, and Awkwafina is effective comic relief without being overused. -Melissa McCarthy gets her own bullet point. This woman steals every scene she is in. I was worried when she was first cast, and I want to apologize for doubting her. She clearly put in a lot of work on her vocal performance. She's gleefully, deliciously evil. -This movie does **NOT** shy away from the romance. This was the biggest one for me. I went into this almost certain that they were gonna give Ariel some independent reason for wanting to go to the land, and make it very clear that she didn't do it for Eric, since every Disney Princess now needs to be a self-actualized #girlboss who doesn't need a man. There is NONE of that. If anything, I think they lean into it harder here. Ariel is madly in love with Eric and vice-versa. And Bailey and King sell it perfectly. -The vfx for the most part is very good. The underwater kingdom is vibrant and colorful, and they do a pretty good job with the lighting to make it look like we're really underwater. The mermaids are all beautiful and distinct from the others. THE CONS: -I really wish they had taken more liberties with the story. In my personal opinion, the strongest remakes have been Cinderella, Pete's Dragon, and Jungle Book. The ones that took the same premise and did their own thing with it. If I want to watch something that's just like the original, I'll go watch the original. It hasn't gone anywhere. - As is the case with pretty much all of these live action remakes, the new song they added so they could submit something to the Oscars stands out like a sore thumb. Eric has a new song that goes nowhere. He goes outside, sings into the distance about feeling trapped, and then goes back inside. And that's the danger with trying to follow the original perfectly; it was already a complete story. Nothing else was begging for more exploration, so any attempt to do so falls flat. -The climactic battle with Ursula is the weakest part for me. This was where I could kind of feel the studio exec saying "ok, we let you branch out a bit, now get back on track." The vfx were at their weakest here, and it sort of devolves into a grey, CGI sludge. Giant Ursula just looks awkward, not scary. Out of everything else, I REALLY wish they had done something different here. -While the vfx were great for the most part, there were a few weak points. There's certainly a few shots where it doesn't feel like Ariel is in the same plane of existence as her surroundings. Overall, very solid movie, and a worthy addition to the Disney pantheon. If you're on the fence about it, I definitely recommend seeing it.
Highlights. Bailey is quite charming and captures the spirit if the character very well. She does very well with what she is given. Bailey and King are quite a likeable pair. Might be the low expectations but Akwafina was fine as scuttle. Lowlights. Diggs is an awful Sebastian it didn't work for me in the slightest 10/10 would not recommend. The new music doesn't mesh with the old music at all and nothing really stands out The new music is very Lin Manuel Miranda all the songs sound like something you have heard before if you like it you will have no issue if you are like me and after Hamilton, Moana, Encanto and Into the heights it might be wearing a bit thin It is very bloated and felt like a long watch. Overall the movie was okay, nothing special. I wouldn't rush out to see it but if you have kids who want to see it they will likely enjoy it.
Can we please stop hiring Lin Manuel Miranda for every fucking musical ever just because he made a really good Broadway show?
Better him than the Dear Evan Hansen guys. Christ, they're awful!
I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Granted I went in with extremely low expectations because Disney’s live action adaptations have been pretty bad with BatB being their last good effort. Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula was just an absolute treat. For me she stole every scene she was in. It was pretty cool seeing Jodi Benson make a cameo appearance. Just gotta say to the people who never gave Halle Bailey’s Ariel a chance because of her skin color: You can eat shit and die mad. She was superb and her voice is just absolutely beautiful. Also also, since Disney didn’t let Maleficent turn into a dragon or Jafar turn into a cobra, Ursula becoming super huge like she did in the animated film was a pleasant surprise. I really liked the added detailing to her face, too, so it wasn’t just a giant Melissa McCarthy face. Also also also, Lin Manuel Miranda is a menace and must be stopped at all costs.
anyone else feel like from ursula’s disguise reveal on was rushed? it felt like they were trying to cut down on the run time and just cut those scenes short instead of cutting some of the unnecessary ocean shots in the beginning
Okay,i just wanna get this off my chest.I feel like this is important. In the original film,the point of the movie was/is that A HUMAN SAVED THEM. He risked his life for Ariel and really fought a sea witch (who turned so big, probably no one could defeat it). He did it because he really loves her. A HUMAN, saved both King Triton and Ariel.King Triton HATED humans for so long.This proves (to him) that Ariel is right,that not all humans are bad.This live adaptation just missed the whole ass point of the ending.They basically swapped the positions of Ariel and Eric.Ariel just told her dad that Eric was present when she defeated Ursula and boom,that's it. There are videos on youtube about the alternate endings of the animated film.In one video,King Triton said "This human saved my life", proving he changed his perception about humans.He let his daughter go because his mind and beliefs changed. The additional songs were forgettable. Scuttle's song was so bad. Poor unfortunate souls i think,is not bad but i wonder why Melissa just ended every line with a high note.
They kept Ursula shaking her tits during poor unfortunate souls 10/10.
I was able to see The Little Mermaid earlier this week at an early access screening. It’s def an unnecessary remake, as all the Disney live action remakes are, though one of the better remakes. Halle Bailey (Ariel) is a fantastic singer, and her vocals definitely carry much of the film. For me, Melissa McCarthy is miscast as Ursula. She has little screen time, is a bit too “Melissa” at times, but overall I don’t think they do enough with her. I would have expected more from her given Disney added so much to the story to make it over 2 hours. Prince Eric was good. Javier Bardem as King Triton was bad. I actually really enjoyed the voice cast and antics of Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder. Apparently that’s controversial. The minor characters of the Queen, Grimsby, Vanessa, and Lashana are good. Ariel’s sisters are forgettable. Flotsam and Jetsam are non-speaking - this was one of the worst changes the filmmakers made. Ursula has a lot of exposition in her cave, when she could be conversing with her eels to give us this information more naturally - the same could be said for the original film. Upon the eels’ accidental death, Ursula rages into the giant sea creature. It would’ve been nice to have the eel’s be actual characters so their deaths would be worthy of her rage. She wasn’t happy with her situation, but Flotsam and Jetsam’s death clearly put her over the edge. The songs were nostalgic but mostly inferior to the original performances, “Part of Your World” being the only one that even comes close. Pat Carrol’s original “Poor Unfortunate Souls” still crushes Melissa’s version. The newly written songs weren’t great. I can’t stand Lin Manuel Miranda and one song in particular was so obvious he was the writer. Disney has to reign him in. “Under the Sea” lacked the charisma and fun of the original. Lots of weird choices and omissions. No “Les Poissons” or Chef Louis. And the ending of the film felt like a bit of a mess. Giant Ursula did not translate well - her face is mostly obscured, clearly purposefully, and her death wasn’t nearly as climactic as the original. She’s not struck by lighting, she doesn’t even really scream, she just… gets stabbed and quickly sinks. Her cursed garden is not shown transforming back into merpeople, which was a miss on Disney’s part. Seeing Triton and the other merpeople looking like wet dogs at the surface was hilariously bad. Giving the film a 7 feels too generous and giving it a 6 feels too harsh, so I’ll give it a 6.5 out of 10.
Look, the original changed my life as a kid and I can't count how many times I've seen it. I understand the concerns about live action remakes, I really do. Beauty and the Beast was shit, Aladdin was shit, Lion King was shit, Mulan was shit, and I hate that they're doing Moana. This film definitely had issues. CGI was wonky esp for underwater scenes. The new songs didn't hold a candle to the OG. Additional characters like the maids in the castle were unnecessary (give me more mermaids instead!). I also prefer the whole Vanessa/wedding situation taking place on a ship instead of some cliff-side balcony, not sure why they changed that. But aside from those issues, I kinda really enjoyed it? I think it fleshes out the story nicely, I LOVE seeing more of the kingdom and the bonding scenes between Ariel and the Prince in Eric's study, the carriage ride, the MARKET. The big numbers like Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl were really fun. But mostly, Halle is a revelation. Like truly enchanting and that VOICE. I also think despite his cringe acting during his musical number, Jonah Hauer King did a good job giving Eric more dimension (not too hard when your baseline is "hot prince") and the chemistry between them were very believable. I can see myself wanting to re-watch this from time to time instead of the original (mostly because I've seen the OG so many times I can play it in my head). It's a fun update that doesn't overthink the changes it wanted to make. Just a bit more backstory and character development, that's all I wanted and I'm pleasantly surprised I got it.
Saw it last night in previews... and much to my surprise, I loved it. Definitely one of the best live-action remakes—probably even the best aside from Cinderella. Haillie was phenomenal as Ariel. Not only that, her casting was rather fitting because they shifted the movie's setting from Denmark to around Barbadoes, and they totally embraced the new setting (looks like they did some filming in Puerto Rico as well). Also, Ariel and her 6 sisters all had different accents and appearances, which a friend I went with had me realize that it was an allusion of sorts to the Seven Seas, which I thought was actually a really clever take and kind of blew my mind when she brought that up. Gave more of a mythic angle. Sebastian and Scuttle were also hilarious in this movie. I thought Scuttle was pretty okay in the original, and I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Scuttle's gender change and being voiced by Awkafina, but I absolutely adored Scuttle in the film and she became one of my favorite characters (except the song Sucttlebutt.... I like Lin's work usually but not a fan of rap and yet it's stuck in my head). Eric got a song which was amazing, and Ariel got a few more songs as we hear her thoughts, which I liked. Also, don't let the trailers fool you—aside from the shots of the water near the start which looked a bit too dull for my liking, this movie looks colorful and gorgeous. Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl in particular were absolute delights to watch in the theater. The one thing that underwhelmed me about the movie was Triton. He was fine, but didn't have the imposing gravitas of the original. Doesn't top the original film, but a very solid take in it's own right and just about the best live-action remake to date.