REVIEW: ‘The Little Mermaid’ sets new bar for Disney’s live adaptations

After some rough waters with previous live action adaptations, Disney has found calmer seas thanks to an impressive remake of “The Little Mermaid.”

As the story goes, Ariel (Halle Bailey) is a mermaid fascinated by the human world and often looks for man-made items lost at sea. These actions, though, are all forbidden by Ariel’s father King Triton (Javier Bardem), who deems humans as dangerous.

This eventually leads to a conflict where Triton forbids Ariel from leaving the kingdom after she rescues a man during a sinking. Wanting to meet him again and explore the surface world, Ariel bypasses her father and goes to the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) who turns her into a human, but with a catch.

This “Little Mermaid” manages to succeed where previous Disney remakes fell short  because it feels like its own thing. It appears as though the creative team’s goal was making a good “Little Mermaid” film, rather than trying to improve on the original animated source material, something that’s been noticeable in previous live action movies.

Some previous adaptations have changed characters or tacked on new ones, others have added unnecessary clips to either fill supposed plot holes or give the film a bigger sense of scale, seemingly to make them more “epic” than the originals. In other cases, more fantastical elements have been cut to have a more realistic atmosphere.

Director Rob Marshall and Writer David Magee don’t take that approach. Instead, audiences are offered a lifelike retelling of the classic tale with a lot of the charm, fun and magic still there. Some new bits and pieces are added, but much of it is lightly expanding on what’s already there to make the experience richer.

One example of this is some familiar scenes being extended, such as Ariel and Eric exploring the island kingdom more. It’s also true with the characters themselves, with many being given  additional depth this time around.

Hauer-King’s Eric is an idealistic royal who is driven to explore the world not only because he has a sense of adventure and discovery, but to also better position his kingdom. The prince is an orphan who was taken in by the royal family, and Eric seems compelled to pay that back by ensuring the island nation has a secure future by connecting it with the rest of the world.

The same is true with Ariel. The character still has that great mix of wonder and naivety, as well as a great sense of optimism making her a strong protagonist. This time around, though, her boldness, bravery and attitude are expanded upon. It also helps that this classic character comes to life with an exceptional performance by Halle Bailey.

This marks her first feature film appearance, but one wouldn’t have guessed it. She’s charismatic, has a great deal of screen presence and is effective in capturing the character’s emotions. Plus, she’s a damn good singer, with each musical sequence being enhanced by her abilities.

One character who hasn’t changed all too much is Ursula, as she’s rightfully just as sinister as is in the animated picture. McCarthy is fantastic in the role, bringing out the character’s cynicism, sick sense of humor and evil nature.

McCarthy clearly had fun with the role, chewing quite a bit of scenery, which works for a character like Ursula. The antagonist’s main rival wasn’t quite as enjoyable, though.

Triton is sorely missing his warmth as a father and some of his dad-like humor that made the sea king more relatable and understandable. Even when Bardem is trying to do some of the more lighthearted scenes, he comes across as upset. Like, Javier, you’re not hunting down Josh Brolin here.

Another slight issue with the movie is the realistic looks for Sebastian and Flounder. Daveed Diggs and Jacob Tremblay do solid voice work for those respective characters. However, every time they’re on screen the lifelike look doesn’t always seem right, and one wishes they could have given at least the major supporting aquatic characters a more fantastical look.

When considering the look of the film overall, though, credit is due. The mermaids look good, as do the costumes and sets on the surface. The special effects are especially good during the major set pieces, such as “Under the Sea” which features a vibrant mix of colors and sea creatures.

There are some issues with this “Little Mermaid” adaptation but there’s a lot working in its favor. The cast is solid, the characters have a lot of personality and classic songs are fantastically performed. The movie is a fuller version of its 80s counterpart, but regardless of comparison, it’s simply a fun fairy tale on the big screen. 4 out of 5.