The Little Mermaid (2023)
First Thoughts
I feel like Disney live adaptations are very 50/50 on whether they’re any good or not, so I was a little worried about whether I would enjoy this or not. Everyone knows the only reason Disney are churning out live action versions of their films is so they can extend the copyright. Or, if you didn’t, you do now. So a lot of it feels rushed and like a cash grabbing attempt. Plus, I just don’t see the point of remaking a film that a lot of people actively remember going to see the first time round. It would be like remaking the original Star Wars trilogy - what’s the point when it’s still a perfectly good film?
That being said, I’m glad the live action versions of Disney films have a lot more depth to them like in Aladdin (2019), or they’ve switched up the story, like in Maleficent (2014). In the case of The Little Mermaid (2023) they’ve done both, and also made the casting a lot more diverse. Which is honestly the bare minimum they could’ve done at this point but we’ll take the win.
To be honest The Little Mermaid (1989) has never been my favourite Disney princess film, so if the live action was absolutely terrible it wasn’t going to ruin my life or anything. That being said, I like seeing films do well for the sake of all the people who actually put effort into it, so I’m glad The Little Mermaid (2023) has had a fantastic reception.
Casting
A+ casting, honestly. Everyone was amazing. I’m just going to talk about a few members of the cast, or we’ll be here forever.
Halle Bailey – Ariel
Halle Bailey was absolutely phenomenal. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I read that she was the first person to audition and the casting people decided on the spot that she was Ariel. And, honestly? They were so right for that. She played the role so well.
We’ll get to her singing a little bit later, first we’re going to talk about her acting. She was just so good? I’d never seen her in anything before I saw this film so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’d heard good things, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed.
She portrayed so much emotion in every single scene, and all of it was just so spot on. Her chemistry with every single co-star was just off the charts. I might have to officially become a Halle Bailey stan.
Also, I feel it’s important to talk about the insane amount of backlash she faced when the casting was announced. It’s mad to me that so many people, actual adults who definitely have better things to be doing, were so bothered by the fact that a black woman was cast as the lead in a Disney princess movie. I can’t stand racists. It’s a huge deal that Disney have made a princess movie with a black lead who we can actually see is black (looking at you Princess and the Frog), so if we could just be happy for Halle and all the people who finally have some representation that would be great.
Jonah Hauer-King – Prince Eric
I love him, okay? This man I’ve never heard of came sweeping in as Prince Eric and absolutely killed it. I googled him and he’s like a little bit of a nepo baby, but I’ll forgive him for it because his performance as Prince Eric was so good. Miles better than some of the other people who were rumoured for the role would’ve been.
The thing that really got me about his performance was just how well he played the yearning that Eric feels throughout the film. We don’t get a lot of backstory for Eric in the original film, but Disney explored it a lot more in the remake, which I loved. We find out that Eric washed up on the shore of his island as a baby, thrown from a shipwreck, and was adopted by the queen. Eric yearns to explore the seas and find ways to help his kingdom but, since his father’s death, his mother has been extra protective of him, and begs him not to go out to sea.
Hauer-King plays this very well. You can see the longing in his eyes all the way through the film, particularly in his solo number, which we’ll get to later. He and Halle have fantastic chemistry together and the way they bounce off each other in every scene is so mesmerising to watch.
Ariel’s Sisters
Ariel’s six sisters didn’t have a massive role in the film but honestly this deserves an honourable mention. It’s well known that King Triton’s seven daughters represent the seven seas, although in this new adaptation they all rule one of the seas, instead of just representing them. This is honestly the bit of the film that surprised me the most.
In the orignial 1989 film, Ariel’s sisters are named Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, Andrina and, of course, Ariel. All start with the same letter and all of them are white in the 1989 film. In the 2023 film, the sisters are all rulers of a sea somewhere across the world, so it makes sense for them to be different ethnicities. Obviously, it would make sense even without that fact because they’re mermaids, and who knows how mermaid genetics work. Plus if you look at the mythology of mermaids, it’s really all over the place, so as far as I’m concerned Disney can cast whoever they like as mermaids.
Jodi Benson – Market Vendor
Honestly, what a delight to have Jodi Benson, the original Ariel, pop up in the middle of the remake for exactly one scene. Completely unexpected and, I won’t lie, I did almost cry. The scene was so fun, and both a physical and metaphorical passing of the torch, or fork as it happens. Ariel goes out into the market to explore, and comes across a stall selling food. She takes some, not realising she’ll need a fork to eat it. Cue Jodi Benson turning around, fork in hand, with a “you’ll need this”. Ariel, of course, tries to brush her hair with it.
A pretty perfect scene if you ask me.
Music
Moving on to the soundtrack! It was as great as expected.
Part of Your World
Part of Your World was, of course, absolutely incredible and I love the changes they made to the vocals. Halle Bailey has a beautiful voice - it’s crystal clear and carries a lot of emotion. It gave the song new life but also allowed it to keep the feeling of the original. The visuals were amazing, very similar to the 1989 film, which I appreciated. It’s my favourite song from The Little Mermaid so I’m very glad they did it justice.
Under the Sea
Every Disney live-action remake has a stand out production song, and that was Under the Sea for The Little Mermaid. The visual was fantastic - the colours were striking and the coordinated movements of the sea life was a treat to watch. Daveed Diggs is incredible so I knew the vocals were going to be great, but I very much enjoyed Halle’s addition to the song as well. Also, the variety of fish and other sea creatures we see, all of which are native to the area the film is set in, was also amazing.
Wild Uncharted Waters
I knew we would be getting an original song, we always do with a live-action remake. But I wasn’t expecting it to be a Prince Eric solo, and I also wasn’t expecting it to be quite so musical theatre. I have no idea what makes it sound like a musical theatre song, I just know one when I hear it. Having said that though, I very much enjoyed it. Jonah Hauer-King’s voice is lovely, and definitely suited to the song.
Poor Unfortunate Souls
I have to say, Melissa McCarthy was an unexpected choice for Ursula. Honestly, I was lowkey hoping they would cast a drag queen, as Ursula was inspired by Divine, a very famous drag queen. But either way, Melissa surprised me. I had no idea she could sing - I don’t know if I was just living under a rock or if no one knew that. The visuals of this song were as amazing as the rest of the songs, and I particularly like the fact they gave Ursula some luminescence, it really adds to the character design.
Kiss the Girl
One of my favourite songs to ever come out of a Disney film. They made quite a few subtle changes to this song, all of which I think worked in their favour. I really like the way they’ve used nature to create the sounds of the song, rather than the various animals they use in the 1989 version. Also, the lyric change! Consent is important, and I personally think it’s a great thing that they changed the lyrics to suggest that Eric ask instead of just doing it. Overall, the song is just as romantic as it was in the 1989 version of the film.
Final Thoughts
Loved it! A really excellent film, give them all awards honestly. I think this is going to turn out to be one of my favourite live-action remakes, but I honestly can’t wait to see which film they adapt next.
