Ariel (Halle Bailey) is a mermaid who is entranced by the human world and dreams of being able to live in it. After saving a young prince named Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) she disobeys her father’s orders and makes a deal with her evil aunt to be able to join the human world. But can she avoid the curse placed on her during the bargain? 

Disney’s efforts to remake all of their beloved cartoons into live action films continues with this adaptation of 1989’s animated classic The Little Mermaid. This version features some new songs (with lyrics from Lin-Manuel Miranda) as well as a few new scenes but is generally faithful to the original with extra padding. So much so that it runs at 135 minutes compared to the original’s 83 minutes. 

The results in general are mediocre and anyone who grew up with the original are likely to just shrug their shoulders and say, “so what was the point?” 

There is nothing here that is unique, more interesting or better than the original film. But I guess it is generally “fine” other than that. 

None of the new songs are particularly good or live in the memory. The special effects are really bad in places and at best are just fine. The only big names in the cast flounder. Javier Bardem as King Triton is generally awful, not helped by an awful beard and armour that makes him look like an amateur stage play star. Whilst Melissa McCarthy as Ursula seems to be having some fun but does not seem to go as nearly over the top as she might. The new scenes/storylines are just ballast that make the run time far too long. Whilst the trend to have a dark and murky backdrop during effects heavy moments just make the whole thing dull (literally) to watch. 

Then there are Ariel’s sidekicks who all fail to be anywhere near as fun or interesting as the original. Scuttle (Awkwafina) has an awful new song. Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) is no where near as fun. Flounder (Jacob Tremblay) just looks freaky. Whilst the decision to have Scuttle dive under water early in the film and hold an entire conversation with Ariel and Sebastian is just weird! She is moving her mouth under water to talk under water. I know this is a film about mermaids and talking sea creatures but it is just weird. 

So in an effort to say something positive, Halle Bailey is very good as Ariel. 

Otherwise just stick to the original.