I would say that Ariel is the Disney princess that generates the most adverse opinions. Whilst she is the favorite of many (including myself), she is the least loved of many others since they consider her the least intelligent and feminist of all. The reason for this being that it is believed that she gave up her voice and her tail for a man. I must say that whoever thinks the latter do not really understand the history.
Ariel doesn’t give away her voice and tail because of a man. She renounces these gifts in exchange for knowledge, learning, discovering, and for going beyond. Ariel feels that the world she lives in is too small for her, and she knows that it holds so many wonders waiting to be discovered. Not satisfied with her situation, she leaves her greatest gifts, her voice, and her teal, which could well be a metaphor of leaving her comfort zone, in exchange for this search for something more and thus be able to quench this immense thirst she experiences. OK, I think I’m losing the plot, right? This could be a topic for another post. Anyway, from what I briefly state above, Ariel is my favourite princess. Let’s talk about the film then…
I would dare to say that The Little Mermaid is one of the best Disney live-actions, who in recent years, like a pendulum, has gone from one extreme to another delivering very good live-actions and very bad ones. The film is quite faithful to the animated version of 1989, so I think it may well satisfy those who so longed to see this film in flesh and blood or who those who simply just wanted to receive a burst of nostalgia and childhood memories. At the same time, it takes the liberty of adding new scenes or delving deeper into existing ones, making the narrative more solid, and the characters more complex. I was fascinated by the whole sequence in the market in which Ariel is gradually discovering the “upside world”. I love how Ariel and Eric’s stories developed deeper; with both separately, and then once they meet. In the end, all these extra scenes make their romance and their relationship more real and believable. After all, they are both young people who expect more from life than what they have already been assigned, and they both want to be part of that world that exists, but still lies in the unknown to them. In the end, they both share lots of things in common as they both want what they don’t have, Ariel wants to get out of the sea, and Eric wants to sail on it. I loved Eric’s character development, who in the animated version is quite flat. Special mention to his song: “Wild uncharted Waters” which I consider a great addition to the movie. Au contraire, I really hated “The Scuttlebutt”, and I don’t understand how come this made it to the final cut. Don’t take me wrong, but I can’t stand Awkwafina’s voice, and now, on top of that, having her singing… just makes it much worse. In the end, it is almost impossible to avoid making comparisons between this and the original version from 1989, so they come along throughout the movie, and we simply cannot do anything against it. There are scenes that are great in the animated version, and here are not so great, but that also happens vice versa. However, the key to enjoying this film is not to compare it and just get carried away with the story and the tide.
As for the cast, I have no complaints at all. Halle Bailey just delivers it excellently. She manages to convey Ariel’s tenderness and innocence amazingly. Even in the scenes where she is mute, she manages to be expressive enough with just her eyes and body language. As I said above, this live-action allows you to have more solidly built characters than with the animated version. And well, what to say about her voice, impressive. The scene from “Part of your world” is one of my favorite scenes from the movie and from the entire Disney world as well. I could watch this movie a bunch more times just for this scene. Melissa McCarthy amazing, I loved her. Special mention for Jessica Alexander as Vanessa, what a great character and what a great role. I LOVED each of her scenes with capital letters, they were truly a delight. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see more, much more of her on screen. Similarly, what a detail to reference the Little Mermaid sculpture in Copenhagen, Denmark when Eric sees Vanessa for the first time in this same pose.
In the end, I believe that the film delivers and will make us sigh and remember our childhood for those who grew up alongside with it. At the same time, the movie will attract new audiences and catch them with its siren song just as the animated version did with us years ago. I try to be as objective as possible in saying that this film was made with great dedication and with great effort to respect the spirit of the original 1989 version and the result is great. In the end, this new Ariel’s rival is neither Ursula, a great white shark nor climate change, but the ball of haters in their thirties and forties who continue to whine about the cast selection. I’m glad that so far, the film has been very well received and this version is giving several splashes with the fin to these detractors. I was able to see Halle in person on the red (blue) carpet in London, and it is impossible not to be infected by her tenderness and light, which she also transmits in the film. Anyway, if you’re a fan of The Little Mermaid I’m almost sure the movie won’t disappoint you. Sure, there will be things that you would change, just like me, but it is still a great job. Give it a try and let Ariel make you… part of that world.
*Text written from the phone. Apologies for any typo, spelling or grammatical mistake.