The new live action version of The Little Mermaid is one of the most anticipated movies of the 2023 summer schedule. But was it worth the anticipation?

The written review is below (originally posted on Medium). If you would rather watch the review, here is the link to my YouTube review of The Little Mermaid (2023):

Disney is a powerhouse of technology, story, and imagination. The mouse house has a gift for translating stories between mediums, and what they did was a technological wonder. But, did the adaptation from cartoon to live action film stand up?

Yes. Absolutely. I would even say that in many ways the 2023 Little Mermaid is even better than the original, with a few exceptions. What we get with the live action version is a thoughtfully told story that looked at the deficiencies of the original script and addressed those missing or problematic elements so the decisions that Ariel and Eric were making had weight and context.

I think some people who are attached to the animated version might not need or appreciate the story changes and may even find some of them unnecessary. However, I’d argue that the changes enhanced the film overall, creating more texture to the world above the sea and more meaning to the choices that the characters made. The story stayed firmly focused on Ariel and Eric.

To adapt a story is to change it. You can’t just roll out the old script and refilm it in a new medium because the very essence of story adaptation is iterative with each new version building upon previous versions or filling out the story in new ways. As part of that process, storytellers naturally shave away bits of a story here, bend the structure there, and add new story connections that fill in the gaps to meet the needs of the new medium, the new audience, and the new era in which the film is being released. Writer Dave Magee clearly understood this and did a superb job.

So, what made this new adaption of The Little Mermaid work so well?

First, the actors.

• Halle Bailey was a lovely Ariel. Her voice was ethereal. She is sweet. And she does a magnificent job of using her face and body to convey her feelings without language, which is so important in the voiceless scenes.
• Jonah Hauer-King was great Prince Eric. He carried himself well and made the character so much more rounded, sensitive, and likable than his cartoon predecessor.
• King Triton played by Javier Bardem was terrific. He was the Sea King. He also leaned into the loving and protective father role without over playing it, which made Ariel’s choices that much more believable.
• Melissa McCarthy as Ursula was a treat. I really think she was a standout. Of all the actors, she felt like a true connection to the cartoon, bringing the big bad evil witch character to the surface while throwing in a little levity to keep the movie from tipping over into taking itself too seriously.

The second thing that made this film work was that they fleshed out the characters a lot more. We got so much more of Ariel, seeing her exploring the island, learning about other lands and islands from Eric, and we hear her interior monologue during her voiceless scenes.

And Eric, we finally learn more about this guy who captured her heart. We learn what drives him. We actually see him having fun with Ariel and learning about her as a person, even without her voice, and we realize how much they have in common. By creating more depth in Eric, the live action film transforms Ariel’s story from a sweet, but flat, Disney princess film into a fully realized love story.

Third, they solved some of the story holes from the original, which I can’t go into without spoilers. Still, some of those solutions do a great job of elevating themes form the original to be more visible and pertinent to a modern audience of young people…and parents.

Fourth, the music was critical. The original music by Alen Mencken is classic, and the new additions and reinterpretation by Lin Manuel Miranda was terrific. They kept many of the old favorites, and they added a few new songs to flesh out the story. I think this is one of the reasons that Eric felt more realized as a character. He has so much more agency because he was part of the music. There were some new songs that were fun and interesting, songs that conveyed new meaning and understanding, but I wish they has a little more of the Caribbean flavor to them to make them feel like part of the fabric of the world…and not all the new songs achieved this. Still, they all served a purpose. One thing that was musically brilliant was the music from the village and the on-land background music, which had this lovely stylistic echo of the music from under the sea, which made the connection between the two worlds that much more sold.

The final thing the I should mention is the technology. Again, Disney is a technological powerhouse. Their creative labs have this innate understanding of how technology can help to convey story and they lean into this strength in impressive ways. People are so tired of CGI, and that was one of my big fears with this film. I was afraid that it would be a CGI screen bomb for 2 hours. Instead, the technology teams made magic, and the film looked like what I would imagine a cartoon would look like if it came to life.

I credit Director Rob Marshall with having the guts to pull off this film. I am sure there are those who won’t like it, or who will constantly compare it to the original. However, the 2023 adaptation of The Little Mermaid deserves to be judged on its own merits, and for that reason alone, I think it’s utterly fantastic and magical.

It’s a great family film. I really enjoyed it, and I think you will too.

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