Disney is on a roll remaking animated classics of its popular princesses. “Cinderella,” “ Beauty and the Beast” (Belle), “Maleficent” (Aurora), “Aladdin” (Jasmine), “Mulan,” and now “The Little Mermaid."
There's only so much the studio could do with the beloved original tales, as a lot of the story elements need to be kept intact, but not all of them are suitable to the modern audience. Imagine a story about a mermaid princess who's willing to give up her whole identity and voice for human legs, and has to make a stranger of a prince fall in love with her in three days. Otherwise, she would not only turn back into a mermaid, but she would also be living a life sentence of servitude to a sea witch.
The live-action version of “The Little Mermaid” directed by Rob Marshall (“Mary Poppins Returns”) is sticking to the core storyline, at the same time, successfully adding modernized backstories, intrinsic motivations, and common ground elements to the main characters, Ariel (Halle Bailey) and Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), and as well as diversity among the merpeople and humans. There are also little new, meaningful moments shared between Ariel and Eric during their whirlwind time together, which add a freshness factor.
Among all her sisters of the seven seas, Ariel is the adventurous one. With insatiable curiosity about the human world, she causes all kinds of troubles and unwittingly drenches herself in danger whenever she comes to the surface or collects artifacts from sunken shipwrecks, to the worry of her stern father, King Triton (Javier Bardem; "Skyfall," "Eat Pray Love"). This in turn puts the king's right-hand (crab), Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), and friends, Flounder (Jacob Tremblay) and Scuttle (Awkwafina, “Shang Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings,” "Raya and the Last Dragon," "Crazy Rich Asians") in comically compromising situations.
Bailey dives in with a childlike, free-spirited quality. She has an angelic voice that is also powerful (most notably when belting out “Part of Your World”) and hits all the right notes gracefully. Even when she has lost her voice, her expressions convey Ariel's sea of emotions, in a star-tuning performance.
The undersea is vibrantly realized with silky clarity and alacrity. Numerous oceanic plants and sea creatures bursting with energy, color and cuteness, especially when they gleefully break into songs. Lustrous long tresses floating fluidly. Scaled skins subtly simmer and fish tails are attached like second skin. The way the merpeople move, breathe and talk looks like they truly live underwater. The trailer doesn't do justice.
The tentacled villain, Auntie Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), is ready to usurp power and puts an inky twist in her magical spell that Ariel wouldn't remember of having to earn a true love kiss. And when push comes to shove, she uses the siren song swimmingly. McCarthy soaks in her evil role with menacing hilarity.
It's a good thing that Ariel and Eric (adopted here instead of being born into royalty), seem to have bonded instantly over their interests for sea voyage and freedom to explore uncharted waters, yearning to know more about the world beyond their horizons, learning about different cultures and extending relations.
This is not simply a little tale of a mermaid turning into a human and marrying a prince, living happily ever after in a seaside castle. The ending is a poignant one; it shows what it means to truly listen to someone's voice and set them free to find their own destiny. It shows the meaning of sacrifice, love, support, co-existence and representation. “The Little Mermaid” comes to life with both visual and voice, in more ways than one.