Now that I've watched The Little Mermaid I have quite a lot to say about the movie. Let's start off with
THE POSITIVES
THE CAST- The casting for The Little Mermaid couldn't have been more perfect. Halle Bailey's breathtaking performance as Ariel is hands down the greatest aspect of the movie. Her singing, her charm and her line delivery is almost identical to Jodi Benson's Ariel while adding a little bit of her own style to the character. Mellisa McCarthy as Ursula is deliciously evil and her rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls freaking slaps. Jonah-Hauer King does a pretty great job as Prince Eric. He really brings out the character's adventure spirit. Jessica Alexander as Venessa was a scene stealer. And Daveed Diggs as Sebastian and Awkwafina as Scuttle provide solid comedic relief.
THE SONGS- The movie features almost all the songs from the first movie with the exception of Les Poisson and Daughters of Triton which were sadly cut from the movie. Halle Bailey's rendition of Part Of Your World gives you literal chills. Every line she delivers brings out her desperation and longing for the human world. Mellisa McCarthy, like I said, knocks it out of the park with her rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls which brings out the devilish personality of this character. Under The Sea is a BOP as always. On top of that there are three new songs written by Lin Manuel Miranda which are all good songs ( except for one, we'll get to that later.)
THE CHEMISTRY- One of the things that I liked about the movie is the chemistry between our two leads. Their relationship here feels a little more fleshed out than in the original. We get to see them bonding over time as they both seek the passion for adventure.
PRINCE ERIC- I feel like the filmmakers did a justice to Prince Eric. They made him more fleshed out than in the original giving him a backstory and a song. We get to see more of him and his passion this time around.
THE VFX- Okay. So the trailers and the TV spots for this movie were absolutely terrible and I was a lot more worried about the VFX while going into this movie. But boy was I proven wrong. The VFX, even if not as amazing as it could've been, is beautiful to look at. The underwater world looks so colorful and vibrant that it creates an immersive experience for the audience. Though the designs of the animal sidekicks ventured into the uncanny valley territory.
THE NEGATIVES-
THE SCUTTLEBUTT- As much as I love the songs in the movie this one song was easily the worst aspect of it. It feels so forced and unnecessary and is really annoying. IDK how Lin Manuel thought a rap between Sebastian and Scuttle would be a cool idea.
THE PACING- It pretty much follows the plot of the original movie but adds some of its own story which ends up feeling a little rushed and overstuffed. The second act felt a little uneven at times but thankfully the ending neatly ties it all together.
FINAL VERDICT-
The Little Mermaid is one of the better live action adaptations from Disney that pretty much retains the heart and soul of the story we know and love. It's not perfect and definitely has it's issues but it's a beautiful and charming movie nonetheless which comes close to recapturing the magic of the animated original.
PERFORMANCES- 9/10
MUSIC- 8/10
STORY- 6/10
VISUALS- 7/10
FINAL SCORE- 8/10.
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