The Little Mermaid

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Directed by: Rob Marshall

Starring:

· Halle Bailey as Ariel

· Jonah Hauer-King as Eric

· Melissa McCarthy as Ursula

· Javier Bardem as King Triton

· Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina

· Art Malik as Sir Grimsby

· Daveed Diggs as Sebastian

· Jacob Tremblay as Flounder

· Awkwafina as Scuttle

Rating: PG (For action/peril and some scary images.)

Runtime: 135 minutes

I know. I know. You’re expecting Fast X. I promise it’s coming soon! My Mom wanted to see The Little Mermaid. I obviously wasn’t rushing to see it, but she seemed excited. I remember watching the animated film (1989) as a little kid and loved it. Maybe my love for musicals started with Ariel’s singing. Full disclosure because someone reading this probably remembers, in 3rd grade we watched this in class. I 100% cried when Ariel had to leave her dad. I don’t think I had a girlfriend that year. However, we now get a live action version of this classic! Disney has been slowing turning their animated films into “live action” They recently produced The Lion King from the animated film and to me it felt like a cash grab, and not needed. Would this be the same?

Onto the film.

Wait. A disclaimer here. Mom, and I saw this in 3D. We both love 3D movies. In parts it was immersive and things (i.e. swords) came out to you, however I don’t know if it was the projector and the 3D conversion, but the images were darken. It was hard to make out who was who throughout the movie. This automatically dings it a star. We both said we need to see it again, maybe NOT in 3D to see if its dim light again.

We open meeting Prince Eric (Hauer-King) who’s on a ship with discussing his want and need to explore the world. To see the unknown! But wait, a storm is approaching. Ariel (Bailey) is under water listening to this conversation. She is intrigued with the world up top and longs to learn more. We se Eric’s ship crash in the storm, and he’s knocked out. He is drowning but Ariel saved him! She gets him to the shore and sings to him. Eric (Hauer-King) is unconscious but coherent and he hears her voice. Love is brewing.

I would imagine most have you have seen the animated film, or know the story. Ariel wants to see the World above water. She makes a deal with Ursula (McCarthy) but loses

her voice in the process. Eric (Hauer-King) is obsessed with this mysterious savior, but he only remembers her voice. How can Ariel (Bailey) convince him of who she is?

Here’s what works with the film.

The Cast is spot om! Halle Bailey is wonderful as Ariel. You believe in your curiosity and pure intentions. Her love of life. And that voice!!! WOW Her friends, Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle add humor and help keep the story moving. Well done.

Eric? He’s forgettable. However, this is Ariel’s story to its understandable but I was not impressed. Javier Bardem as King Triton a little forgettable. I felt he was phoning it in. Lastly, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula was WONDERFUL! This is coming from someone who’s not really her fan. She knocked it out of the park.

The visuals were great as well, they make the animals/fish looks real yet talk. I think it was taken the from live-action adaptation of The Lion King. It works.

The story is fine. We’ve seen it before.

Biggest complaint is the image of the film. It took me out of the story throughout. I even kept taking off my glasses to see if it would help. That’s a disappointment. I hope a 2D viewing will be better! Regardless, if you’re a fan of the original and love all things Disney go see this film. 3 stars out of 5 (It would be 4 stars if the picture was clearer.)

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