What’s It About
The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, Ariel is a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. Longing to find out more about the world beyond the sea, Ariel visits the surface and falls for the dashing Prince Eric. Following her heart, she makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to experience life on land.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Here we go again – Disney’s constant pursuit to remake every animated classic into a live version. In the last five years, they’ve been able to destroy ten classics, including Aladdin, Lion King, Cinderella, Dumbo, and Pinocchio. This time it’s The Little Mermaid, their latest classic to crash and burn. Honestly, I didn’t think I would make it past the first thirty minutes – they were brutally boring. The songs felt weirdly forced and out of place, and the overall vibe was missing. The acting was decent, but nothing about this movie seemed right. The story was still the same, and the overall outcome was the standard happily ever after theme. The main problem is not just the movie but the fact it’s based on a film most everyone knows, loves, and can sing word for word. This is why every live-action adaptation is doomed before they get produced. The Little Mermaid animated version is fun and colorful, with memorable characters and songs that leave a lasting positive impression. This version was just a bunch of actors (some better than others) saying their lines and getting a paycheck. As for the “woke” part, having a diverse cast means nothing if a White male (Prince Eric) still rules over you or one male merman king rules over every ethnicity in the sea. That observation doesn’t hurt or help this movie, but it does raise the question of why. Disney has had years to think about this, and they still put a man in charge of a female-led film. Sadly, I could go on and on about how Disney twisted the original The Little Mermaid story to fit their usual narrative. But that’s nothing new. They do that to every story. It’s disappointing that Disney can incorporate a male or White Power hierarchy no matter what year it may be. Sometimes blatantly and sometimes through hidden messages, but it’s there. The Little Mermaid is no different as far as that is concerned. At this point, most of the planet knows what to expect from the house of mouse. I only wish they didn’t take their previous successes for granted. Knowing a lot of people watch Disney movies just because it says, Disney. After this chunk of meh, that collective group has gotten considerably smaller. Good luck with Snow White and Moana.
OUR RATING – A DROWNING 4
MEDIA
- Genre – Family
- Street date
- Digital – July 25th, 2023
- DVD/Blu-Ray/4K – September 19th, 2023
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.39:1
- Sound – English Dolby Atmos, , Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, English AD 2.0 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles – English SDH, English, French, Spanish
Extras
- Sing Along Version –Sing along with your favorite songs while watching the movie with on-screen lyrics.
- Hotter Under The Water – Discover how director Rob Marshall and his team brought the story of The Little Mermaid to life with this documentary in five chapters:
- A Tale Of The Bottomless Blue – Join Rob Marshall on the set of one of the most ambitious and challenging films he’s ever directed.
- I Know Something’s Starting Right Now – Join cast members Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, Jonah Hauer-King and more and learn how they were cast in the film and what it was like to bring director Rob Marshall’s vision to life.
- Down Where It’s Wetter – Dip your toes into the virtual ocean and learn about how the breathtaking underwater world was created with visual effects, imagination and a lot of talented artists.
- Explore That Shore Up Above – From Prince Eric’s castle to the beach, explore the above-the-sea locations and the elaborate production design behind them.
- Do What The Music Say – Discover how legendary composer Alan Menken teamed up with Lin- Manuel Miranda to write new songs to accompany the original classics
- Song Breakdowns
- Wild Unchartered Waters – Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, gets his own song, written by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Go behind the song, from the writing to the recording, to the filming on a practical ship.
- Under the Sea – Get a first-hand look at how professional dancers helped bring director Rob Marshall’s vision to life as they stood in for the various animated sea creatures that sing and dance in this showstopping number.
- Kiss The Girl – Float along and get a frog’s-eye view of the beautiful set built to film the live-action version of this classic song.
- Poor Unfortunate Souls – Join Melissa McCarthy (Ursula) as she takes us on the journey of making her character’s signature song.
- Featurettes
- The Scuttlebutt On Sidekicks – Dive in and meet Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle, who not only have their own song, “The Scuttlebutt,” but also fresh looks as they work hard to make sure Ariel and Eric kiss before Ursula’s deadline.
- Passing The Dinglehopper – Ariel met Ariel when Halle Bailey worked with Jodi Benson — the voice of Ariel in the original animated movie — who appears in a clever cameo in the live-action film..
- Bloopers – Laugh along with the cast as they have the time of their lives making The Little Mermaid.