Film Review: The Little Mermaid

I have been a keen Disney fan since I was a little girl, and 'The Little Mermaid' has been a firm favourite of mine for years. When Disney announced they were releasing a live-action version of this beloved fairytale, I was delighted, but also a little anxious that they didn't 'spoil' this much-loved musical animation that so many have grown up with and loved from childhood.

I must confess, when they first announced the casting, I wasn't sure, as I was expecting a look-alike of the original red-headed Ariel cartoon that I had known from a child, but I was also determined to keep an open-mind, especially as Disney had done a brilliant job with some of their live-action remakes, such as 'Cinderella', and 'The Jungle Book'. I also enjoyed 'Beauty and the Beast', although I am still unsure about some of the casting, and 'Aladdin' was also excellent, in my humble opinion. Some of the other remakes, however, have been rather disappointing, such as 'Lady and the Tramp,' 'Pinocchio' and I can't even bring myself to watch 'Peter Pan and Wendy' after seeing the trailer! It was with some trepidation, then, that I booked my tickets to see 'The Little Mermaid', as it had received mixed reviews from critics, and some of Disney's latest releases had not inspired me with confidence at all. However, I was greatly relieved with this beautiful retelling, and would highly recommend this remake if you're unsure about going to see it in cinemas.

Firstly, I want to say that I think the casting for 'The Little Mermaid' was spot-on, and Disney couldn't have picked a better actress than the extremely talented Halle Bailey for the role of Ariel. Not only does Halle have an exquisite and highly mature singing voice that truly did Ariel justice and left me spellbound, but her performance as a whole truly captivated me from start to finish, from her fascination with humans and the longing she portrayed to be 'part of that world', to her sweet innocence and authentic wonderment as a mute human as she explores her legs and the human world for the first time. Halle truly captured Ariel's headstrong and curious nature to perfection, and her rendition of 'Part Of Your World' gave me goosebumps.

I also enjoyed the chemistry between Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric. The love story that develops between them is a thing of beauty to behold, and the embrace they share when Ariel returns to Eric at the end of the movie is a truly special moment.

One of the things that I appreciated from this remake, was the backstory they gave to Eric, which we don't really get in the original animated classic, and the extra song that they wrote for him, Wild Uncharted Waters, is a true delight, and performed brilliantly by Jonah Hauer-King. In fact, there are a few new songs that have been added to this live-action remake, in addition to the well-loved musical numbers, although The Scuttlebutt seemed completely out of place, in my humble opinion.

Melissa McCarthy plays Ursula to perfection, and is exactly how you want a Disney villain: thoroughly deplorable with the right amount of humour, and Javier Bardem as Triton gives a solid and touching performance as a sea-king and father. The scene between him and Halle at the end of the movie truly teared me up!

The high-end performances of David Diggs as Sebastian, Awkwafina as Scuttle and Jacob Tremblay as Flounder do not disappoint, and are sure to leave you smiling and laughing out loud at some of their antics and comedic lines.

Rob Marshall, the director, has cleverly crafted this movie to delight viewers with keeping enough of the essence of the original classic that Disney fans have held dear all these years, and yet has added new content and other details that give it a fresh look and feel which is what you would want from a remake.

My husband came along to the cinema to see this movie for me, but he really was not looking forward to it at all, however, he was so enraptured with it and enjoyed it so much, he said he would definitely see it again and gave it very high praise at the end. If a movie can do that to someone who really didn't want to see it in the first place, then you know it's good!

The CGI was superb throughout the film, and was particularly enjoyable throughout the 'Under the Sea' number.

I never thought I would say this, but Disney have actually produced a remake that I think I enjoyed even marginally more than the original classic. It truly is a delight from start to finish, and was even better than what I had hoped it would be.

Of course, this is totally subjective, as are all reviews, but I would give this movie five stars and very much look forward to seeing it again.