The Little Mermaid: Review

Halle Bailey works the mermaid magic in a film that otherwise lets her down

Don’t get me wrong, I have openly criticised the insistent corporate greed from these live action remakes. That being said, the little mermaid has this particular thing about it that really resonated with me as a child, perhaps more so than any of Disney’s animated classics. Knowing that this would inevitably be churned out of the grinder, I was admittedly slightly more intrigued to see how they tackle this given the obvious technical challenges. 
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My biggest takeaway is just how low energy this feels. halle bailey is very clearly doing the heavy lifting, but is completely let down by her supporting cast. Melissa McCarthy just doesn’t work here - after frequently stating how she was inspired by drag queens for her take on ursula, you’re sort of left feeling perhaps a famous queen would’ve been a better choice for the role. Though her line delivery is sometimes fun, she never musters up the courage to really go for it and make the performance her own. That being said, the hair and makeup team shares equal blame here as they hardly do anything to transform her into the role. It really takes you out of the film just seeing McCarthy float aimlessly around posing no real threat or presence. speaking of which, Javier Bardem and Jonah Hauer-King are both insanely wooden and expressionless in their respective roles, leaving a cast that, as a whole, feels really low effort. 

At its best, The Little Mermaid is visually stunning, in the first act at least. The film surprisingly really worked right up until Ariel reaches the surface but then it falls apart into your typically bland, run-of-the-mill fare. A few new additions to the story are welcome, most aren’t (i’m looking at you scuttlebutt).

As a whole this just felt incredibly routine and every beat feels like it’s ticking a box. There’s hardly much to salvage once we get to the surface and by the end I just felt absolutely nothing. A distinct lack of extras also make this feel bizarrely baron and small in scope. Rob Marshall may have found great new talent in Halle Bailey, but as the little mermaids concerned, Disney have once again waved their magic wand and needlessly tainted our fondness of the classics.