There has been a lot of buzz around the upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, which is just one of a number of big family-friendly movies coming out this summer. Unfortunately a lot of the chatter has been racist backlash against Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel. Audiences will soon be able to draw their own conclusions about the portrayal – and that of the other actors, including Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Daveed Diggs putting his own mark on Sebastian – when the director Rob Marshall's film hits theaters on May 26. While we wait, let’s take a look at the reviews.
The latter two actors also faced some trolling – or at least their meme-worthy characters did – after movie posters were released showing the animated versions of Ariel’s crab and fish friends. Despite some apparent wariness from fans loyal to the 1989 movie, the first reactions to the remake were positive, with moviegoers lauding Halle Bailey, saying she proves herself, both with her singing voice and in the way she embodies the classic Disney character. In CinemaBlend’s review of The Little Mermaid, Corey Chichizola agrees, rating the movie 4 out of 5 stars and calling the actress a “bonafide superstar” in one of Disney’s best live-action adaptations. He continues:
Bailey had big shoes to fill... or in this case fins. But she absolutely rises to the occasion. The camera loves her, as she plays Ariel's determination to pitch perfection. The Disney princess is super capable in this movie, and is also basically an action star during a few choice sequences. And even when Ariel doesn't have her voice, every glance and reaction from Halle Bailey shows her character's inner most thoughts.
Alyssa Mora of IGN rates The Little Mermaid a “Good” 7 out of 10, saying Halle Bailey gives a star-making performance in a movie that is an acceptable, if not always successful, adaptation of the animated original. The critic concludes:
Halle Bailey’s brilliantly vulnerable performance as Ariel is the star of the show in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Melissa McCarthy follows closely behind with a magnetic performance as Ursula. As a whole, however, this version sometimes struggles to keep itself above water. Its problems lie in lackluster underwater sequences, realistic sea creatures missing cartoonish charm, and additions to the story that are quaint but not necessarily memorable. What works best are the elements it takes from the original, highlighted best by a show-stopping rendition of Part of Your World. While this version doesn’t always find its sea legs, there’s enough of those original ideas recreated here that it can’t go too far wrong.
Brian Truitt of USA TODAY rates the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, warning skeptical viewers that Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid is a different animal than the 1989 classic – and nearly an hour longer. This critic joins the others in saying Halle Bailey is the selling point of this remake, but says the original music from Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda stick out against the beloved originals:
Maybe it’s because Menken and Howard Ashman's 1989 numbers are so deeply entrenched in culture, but the new songs, while fine on their own, don’t totally jell with the original tracks. And the live-action element stymies a song like ‘Under the Sea’ – not only have the instruments been taken from the fish, a certain joyousness is missing, too. As excellent a ‘Little Mermaid’ as Bailey is, it was better down where it’s wetter the first time.
Caryn James of BBC rates it 3 stars out of 5, calling the lead actress “captivating” as Ariel, while Daveed Diggs is the perfect comic voice for her crab companion. James says it’s a “spectacle with an allure and vitality of its own,” but like the critic above, she says the new songs don’t measure up to the original soundtrack offerings. The review states:
The original songs by Alan Menken, with lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, are mostly intact, and the small changes are barely noticeable improvements. Kiss the Girl now says ‘Just ask her’ instead of suggesting that Eric just go in for the kiss, and Ursula's Poor Unfortunate Souls no longer suggests that men prefer women who can't speak (even though the film is set in the 19th Century). The three new songs by Menken with lyrics by Lin Manuel-Miranda don't begin to measure up, though. A rap called The Scuttlebutt, which Awkwafina and Sebastian sing, is not great but at least it avoids the blandness of Eric's Wild Uncharted Waters and Ariel's For the First Time.
Leigh Monson of AV Club grades the movie a C+, admitting that this Disney live-action remake is better than others that have come before, but that doesn’t mean that it’s good. The critic continues:
Their crack at The Little Mermaid is better than many of the company’s previous attempts, as many of the changes strike a decent balance between homage to the 1989 animated original and what can—and should be—realistic sea creatures. But when it comes to picking out what parts of Ariel’s story to tweak for the new medium, the remake still emphasizes the wrong pieces, consequentially bloating a previously brisk story into a meandering pile of producers’ script notes.
It seems like the critics are all praising Halle Bailey, with plenty of love for Melissa McCarthy, as well. However, the skepticism that surrounds the movie, which follows several highly criticized live-action remakes from the House of Mouse, seems to center around the new music written for the movie and the additions that extend its runtime by 52 minutes, compared to the 1989 original.
These reviews shouldn’t and won’t keep audiences from checking The Little Mermaid out in theaters, though, after its release Friday, May 26. Be sure to also take a peek at our 2023 Movie Release Schedule to see what else is coming soon, and see what other upcoming Disney movies you can look forward to.
