Movie Review: The Little Mermaid (2023)

Movie Review: The Little Mermaid (2023)                                                                               5-26-23

Adapted from the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, The Little Mermaid tells the story of a young mermaid princess named Ariel, who yearns for what life is like above the surface. Her dad, however, hates humans, believing that they’re nothing but heartless harpooning fish killers. Ariel seeks the help of the sea witch Ursula to turn her into a human, but she will lose the ability to talk and sing. Now, with the help of her fish friend Flounder, Sebastian the musically inclined crab, and the clumsy cormorant Scuttle to help Ariel find Prince Eric and kiss her before the sun sets on the third day.

As you may have guessed, this remake of The Little Mermaid sticks closely to the original film, but just like remakes before it, this film made subtle changes. For example, none of the animal characters, other than Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle, are capable of speaking, which really puts a damper on two of the best songs in the movie: ‘Under the Sea’ and ‘Kiss the Girl’.

See the brittle stars and flying fish in this picture? Well, apparently, they don't talk in this movie.

However, Halle Bailey does an amazing job as Ariel. Not only can she act, but can also sing very well. If you look back at the remakes of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, you’ll notice that Belle and Jasmine had their singing voices auto tuned, which does more harm than help.

Also like ‘Beauty’ and Aladdin, ‘Mermaid’ had some of the humor and charm sucked out. For example, Les Poissons, the song sung by the piscivorous Chef Louie, has been cut out completely. However, there are still some humorous moments, such as Ariel taking a bite out of a bar of soap after being rescued by Eric’s attendants.

Scuttle meeting Ariel after being turned into a human.

Other things to nitpick about this movie include having not enough mermaids in Triton’s underwater kingdom (but then again, principal photography began after the economy opened up from the pandemic) and Scuttle’s new song ‘Scuttlebutt’.

In conclusion, this remake of The Little Mermaid doesn’t hold a Dingle-Hopper to the original, this film will please fans of the original if they don’t mind the small changes. However, one question comes to mind: Which movie will end up being better on a critical level? The Little Mermaid 2023 or Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken?

Rating: 3.45 stars out of 5

For those unfamiliar, Ruby Gillman is the next film from DreamWorks, slated to be released June 30th, two weeks after Pixar’s next film Elemental. The film is best described as a cross between Luca and Turning Red, but unlike those films, this movie will be released in theaters. Here’s a trailer for Ruby Gillman in the link below.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken - Official Trailer | IMDb

If The Little Mermaid ends up being a box-office flop or doesn't manage to double its budget by August 1st, then I will take a picture of myself biting my hat and upload it online.