Film Review: THE LITTLE MERMAID (2023): Halle Bailey Shines Bright in Rob Marshall’s Fun and Moving Live-Action Remake

The Little Mermaid Review

The Little Mermaid (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Rob Marshall, written by David Magee and starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Jessica Alexander, Martina Laird, Emily Coates, Christopher Fairbank, John Dagleish, Lorena Andrea and Simone Ashley.

Disney’s new live-action remake of the animated 1989 film, The Little Mermaid, is absolutely spellbinding to behold. Halle Bailey’s casting as Ariel, the title character, always seemed very intriguing but there was no guarantee that she would excel so well in this part. Bailey amazes and surpasses expectations with one of the most relatable screen heroines of all-time. Rob Marshall has crafted a movie that is something of a rarity these days–a movie that entertains and moves its audience so seamlessly that it becomes nothing short of pure movie-making magic.

Halle Bailey stars in the film as the mermaid who lives “under the sea” exploring her world with her lovable fish friend Flounder (voice of Jacob Tremblay). The pair of friends barely escape the wrath of a vicious shark as the movie starts to kick into gear. Javier Bardem has the hardest job in the film, though, expertly playing Ariel’s strict dad, King Triton, who is assembling his daughters together at the start of the film only to see Ariel is out exploring the underwater world with Flounder. So what does King Triton do? He enlists the wise-cracking lobster Sebastian (voice of Daveed Diggs who delivers some priceless one-liners to perfection) to go find her. Sebastian is torn between protecting Ariel per the King’s wishes and helping her try to realize her dream of living as a human up in the world above the sea.

As Ariel rescues the handsome prince, Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) from a shipwreck that happens in the middle of a dark storm, Ariel finds herself drawn to the nice-looking guy who also has a cute dog in the picture. Ariel must disappear when Eric’s friends and family come looking for him. Ariel goes under the sea but wonders what it would be like to be “part of that world” which is up above the water. Meanwhile, Eric starts to seek out the girl who saved his life. He doesn’t know she’s a mermaid.

Melissa McCarthy is nothing short of perfect as Ursula, the octopus-type evil villain of the piece. McCarthy revels in her rendition of the song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” in the picture. Ursula soon tricks Ariel into taking her voice away with the promise that if Ariel can kiss Eric in three days time, she will be able to live happily-ever-after as a human and speak again. Ariel is turned into a human but she can’t talk which will make wooing Eric a bit harder. It will take Sebastian and Flounder plus a forgetful but hysterical bird named Scuttle (voice of Awkwafina who has never been funnier) to assist Ariel in trying to succeed and beat Ursula at her own wicked game.

As King Triton tries to find Ariel, she learns to live up above the water by getting dressed up nicely and hanging out with the classy Eric who finds himself strangely fascinated with Ariel despite her inability to speak. Something is bringing these two characters together and it feels a lot like fate.

The Little Mermaid will surely get some well-deserved technical Oscar nominations. From the costume design to the makeup to the visual effects, this movie is superbly done. Though Sebastian and Flounder aren’t as adorable as they were drawn in the animated picture, the voice work by Tremblay and, especially, Diggs makes up for the characters’ lack of visually appealing characteristics. The costumes Ariel wears are lavish and help the story come to life while the visual effects in the action scenes are awe-inspiring. The effects which were used to bring McCarthy’s Ursula into fruition are perfect as McCarthy steals the movie whenever she appears on screen with a true grasp of the characters she is playing.

This is Halle Bailey’s movie, though, because the actress will become a movie star thanks to her finely tuned performance here. She steams up the screen with Hauer-King and their chemistry together is completely on-point. Bailey is charismatic and has to carry the movie a lot of the time and she does tremendously well doing so. The supporting cast is filled with memorable characters such as Eric’s family members Sir Grimsby (the perfect Art Malik) and The Queen (the sophisticated and terrific Noma Dumezweni).

“Kiss the Girl” is the song which is the true highlight of the live-action The Little Mermaid. I watched the animated scene from the 1989 movie right after seeing this new film and the difference is like night and day. While the animated film got the scene right for the most part, Bailey’s appeal and Hauer-King’s as well keeps the “Kiss the Girl” sequence totally unique and truly worth applauding despite having been done before in the cartoon. It just makes the audience feel the necessary emotions to adore the movie even more.

Bardem nails the role of the protective father and is very moving in his role here. He protects Ariel but realizes she is growing up. Bardem is heroic and feels relatable at the same time despite his larger than life screen presence. This role proves Bardem’s versatility as an actor.

Ariel’s losing her voice in the picture makes some of the musical numbers the movie presents difficult to visualize but the movie imagines Ariel singing with her voice (as if she’s never lost it) in such a way that audiences will wholeheartedly enjoy the back and forth of the fantasies Ariel has juxtaposed against her character’s temporary “reality.”

Marshall has made one of the best live-action movies to date based on an animated film with The Little Mermaid. Halle Bailey will win you over with the heart and soul she puts into every aspect of her role. You’ll want to be “under the sea” more than once and this movie is certainly worthy of repeat viewings. Don’t be the “poor unfortunate soul” who misses this in theaters where it deserves to be seen.

Rating: 9.5/10

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