REVIEW: "The Little Mermaid"

Genre: Fantasy; Romance; Drama;

Director: Rob Marshall

Writer: David Magee

Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay and Javier Bardem

The Little Mermaid is the best Disney live-action adaptation. It doesn't mean it achieves brilliance, but it does rise above the bar previously set by the previous adaptations. It offers some new takes on subjects like sexuality, a feminist approach to some scenes that were first presented as "damsel in distress" situations and it also sets a multicultural/diverse set. But the movie's secret ingredient is Halle Bailey - she's the best reason for audiences to buy a ticket and go watch the film on a movie theatre.

The movie starts with a relatively dark approach in the visual department (for a Disney movie), but it then evolves for the standard and brighter looking (and more family friendly) movie audiences expect it to be. The visual effects work is inconsistent - it does look great in darker scenes (maybe the low lights help cover some flaws and unrealistic CGI creations), but it looks too much like a cartoon movie in the "day light" scenes. The underwater hair dynamics also don't seem realistic and let's just not mention Scuttle's scene where he (a seagull) is having a little underwater chat without being short of breathe. For a movie with a $250M budget from a moviemaking titanic company like Disney, I was expecting better - or maybe Avatar: The Way of Water set the bar for underwater scenes way too high.

But visual effects details apart, The Little Mermaid is solid in the narrative, acting and music departments. The movie's plot is a direct adaptation of the original's animated version, with plenty of scenes that are pure re-creation of some iconic scenes of the 1989's film - the fireworks scenes where Ariel goes after the ship, the ship's sinking, the "Part of Your World" music scene or the "Kiss the Girl" - but it also takes a new approach to a well-known tale with plenty respect for the original animated version. It's an adaptation for the new generations in terms of cultural message, diversity and gender equality - those who are faithful to the 1989's might not find some changes to be pleasing, but considering our nowadays context, this The Little Mermaid is an adaptation of its time.

At the front and center of the movie, there's Halle Bailey... and a star is born! Bailey who has a voice from Heaven, the face of a fairytale and the on-screen magnetism of a true-born moviestar takes on the tricky (and controversial) role of Ariel and she makes a huge splash! It's an impressive breakthrough performance, specially coming from such a young actress carrying such a stravaganza-sized production. She nails the musical sequences (specially "Part of Your World" and "For the First Time") and even when she's prived from using her voice, hers are some of the most expressive eyes and contagious smile you'll ever see. 

The other members of the cast don't excel, but they deliver exactly what is asked from them. Hauer-King is a charming presence and has a strong chemistry with Bailey. Melissa McCarthy delivers Ursula as a frustrated and wicked figure and never goes beyond that, despite delivering "Poor Unfortunate Souls" scene perfectly, like a Broadway star. The voice cast is good, but I have to mention Awkwafinam who's hilarious at first but then starts being annoying with her comic line delivery seagul-style. Also, a note about Jessica Alexander, who plays Vanessa, Ursula's alter ego - she's magnetic in her little screen time and she left me wanting more of her.

In terms of the recreation of the original songs, I believe it is one of the major positive points of the movie. The take on some of the most iconic Disney tunes respects the original ones with all its heart and it's beautiful to hear it. It's nostalgia for those who grew up watching 1989's The Little Mermaid on VHS and singing along the characters. "Wild Uncharted Hearts" and "For the First Time", both written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, are worthy additions to The Little Mermaid's soundtrack and Bailey's singing for "For the First Time" will live rent-free on my mind for the next few days.

In the end, The Little Mermaid could be much better in terms of visual effects (the definition that "most" doesn't mean "best"), but it is faithful to the original's narrative and treats the source material with respect and heart. New takes on timely songs evoke many nostalgia feelings from the audiences in their 30's and 40's while offering a movie made for the younger nowaday audiences. Halle Bailey is a star made for the screen and she's enough of a reason to go watch it on a theatre. I consider it to be the best live-action adaptation of a classical Disney movie.

RATING: 7 / 10

Oscar potential categories:

• Best Production Design
• Best Costume Design
• Best Visual Effects - not worthy, but Disney will push it here for sure
• Best Original Song ("For the First Time)
• Best Original Song ("Wild Uncharted Hearts")