Reader warning from Sebastian: Aye, Child, we are about to go deep under the sea with this review so listen to this old crab and swim away to avoid any spoilers!

My little Disney Princess heart is singing! The live action version of The Little Mermaid has been released and it is EVERYTHING my toddler self could have ever dreamed of!

Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the Sea Witch, the film welcomes Daveed Diggs (of Hamilton! fame), Jacob Tremblay (Room) and Awkwafina (Ocean’s Eight) as the voices of Sebastian the Crab, Flounder the Fish and Scuttle the Seagull respectively. Ariel’s six sisters include Simone Ashley (Bridgerton) and others.

Recap:

All of us 1980s babies and current parents are well versed with the iconic tale of a teenaged mermaid who gives up her voice for the chance to have legs and win the heart of the handsome prince. Her devil’s bargain with the Sea Witch ends in tragedy when her father gives up his throne and magical trident to the Sea Witch to save his youngest daughter’s life. One big storm and tons of magic later, everyone (except Ursula) lives happily ever after and the young royal bridal couple sail off into the sunset.

That was 1989. In 2023, with the rise of wokeness and Gen Z, Disney, writer David Magee, director Rob Marshall and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda have had to update a few key plot points to be more in line with the times.

Whilst much of the storyline remains the same, like Ariel saving Eric’s life and singing to him, the movie has been updated for Gen Z and 2023.Image credit: Glamour

Now, Ariel is a strong-minded black teenager who is a little more daring in defying her beloved Daddy. Ursula the Sea Witch is Triton’s banished sister with an axe to grind. All of King Triton’s daughters are multiracial to reflect the Seven Seas they all inhabit and rule. Scuttle has been gender swapped to become female. The chef trying to chase and kill Sebastian has been eliminated completely to be more PETA friendly. Flounder is a slimmer, most realistic looking version of himself so there is no fat shaming i.e. him struggling to get through the window in the original movie.

Turning societal norms on its head, Eric is a poor orphaned white commoner who has been adopted by the black Queen (Noma Dumezweni, the magical original Hermione in Broadway’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child production) , a new character added to the movie. This Eric and Ariel are Disney’s first interracial onscreen couple and I am here for it!

Disney hasn’t coloured too far outside of the lines with this adaptation and that is going to offend some people but let us remember the point of their movies: to make us believe in magic and on that score, they have achieved the impossible!

Impressions:

I was three, going on four, when The Little Mermaid was released in 1989. My memories of it, are at best, very fuzzy. Despite having 11 godchildren, I had not rewatched the animation as an adult until a few nights ago (my kids are Frozen and Toy Story superfans). Like with The Lion King, Pinocchio and Aladdin, I was shocked at how many risquΓ© adult jokes and themes are hidden in plain sight in these films. My adult self wanted to ground Ariel until she was 30 for being so rebellious and swimming off to get married at 16!

Not only do Eric and Ariel not get married at the end of the live action, they are seen building a real relationship around common interests and supporting each other. Image credit: IMDB

Going into The Little Mermaid live action screening, I was apprehensive about how all of that would play out onscreen (with Aladdin, my feminist views were extremely triggered) but I needn’t have worried. Instead of getting married at the end, Eric and Ariel decide to explore the great uncharted waters, a passion that they share along with collecting baubles from their adventures. King Triton’s rage still frightens me but Bardem’s version is less explosive than the animated one.

Javier Bardem plays the stern but loving King Triton in The Little Mermaid. Image credit: IMDB

The cinematography and visual effects are breathtaking. One feels like you are scuba diving and seeing all of the ocean’s underwater wonders in technicolor. You have to watch this film in 3D to get that surreal effect. It’s like being in the Two Oceans Aquarium’s tunnel – simply incredible!

Hands down, the big musical numbers “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl” are visual feasts for the eyes. Yes, some of the magic is lost in the translation from animation to live action, like Ariel playing charades to tell Eric her name instead of Sebastian singing it to him, but overall, it is wonderful.

Miranda’s influence is keenly felt with the addition of four extra songs and the changing of a few lyrics in the beloved numbers. It wouldn’t be a Miranda production if there wasn’t a rap number and honestly, using that medium for Scuttle and Sebastian to tell Ariel that the Prince is going to propose was a lot of fun.

Prince Eric in the live action version may not have his animated counterpart’s jawline but he does have more respect for women. Image credit: People

I have always been partial to a Prince Eric with a chiseled jawline (and to be fair, since I saw Kevin Richardson with his jet black hair and deep blue eyes at the Backstreet Boys concert last week and discovered he played Prince Eric when he worked at Disneyland many years ago, he is ALL I have pictured Eric as!) but Hauer-King grew on me eventually and I liked him.

Billions of little girls will grow up with a Disney Princess who looks like them. Image credit: IMDB

Bailey was always going to crush the titular role but to actually see her pull it off… wow! An entire generation of Disney kids are going to grow up seeing themselves represented on screen and the importance of that is immeasurable. From all of us brown girls, thank you, Ms. Bailey!

Having the OG Ariel voice actress Jodi Benson pop up in a cameo was a sweet touch.

Melissa McCarthy is deliciously evil as Ursula the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid. Image credit: People

I know that McCarthy was a controversial choice for Ursula and that the queer community was campaigning for her to be played by a drag queen because the animation’s version was based on one. I am going to go out on a limb here and say, take a seat, darlings. McCarthy rocked this role. From the bouncing breasts (well done to the writers for keeping that from the original) to her diabolical evil nature and cheeky snide remarks, McCarthy is fun. Her version of the character makes Triton banishing her extremely relatable for any older sibling who has had enough of their annoying little sister πŸ˜‰

Flounder’s more realistic look loses the magic of the original. Image credit: IMDB

I am saddened by Flounder’s reduced role in this adaptation but seeing how unlike himself he looks (ugh, Disney and its insistence on turning its live adaptations into Discovery Channel doccies) to fully embrace the realism nature of the film, makes me believe that it’s for the best.

When there are more adults than children in the Kids Cinema to watch The Little Mermaid and as Disney Princesses, you simply must have a selfie!

Finally, let me tell you that Leonie and I watched The Little Mermaid at Ster Kinekor’s Kids Cinema at the V&A Waterfront. Besides living our best Disney Princesses lives sans children, we had to refrain from using the epic slide in the cinema πŸ˜‰ If that isn’t your speed, you can catch the movie of the day at Nu Metro or The Labia.

Watch The Little Mermaid and become part of her world.

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