Live Action Little Mermaid Movie Review

For those of us into mermaiding, we all eagerly swam over to the theaters on May 26th, 2023, after the new live action Little Mermaid was FINALLY released! This masterpiece took years to produce and film. Mermaids like me waited somewhat impatiently for this live action adaptation of our favorite mermaid movie about following your dreams, finding true love, and escaping tyranny.

But now it is here and boy do I have a lot to say! In this article I will be summarizing and reviewing The Little Mermaid (2023).

Little Mermaid trailer

Disney released multiple different teaser videos and finally the full trailer, that shows more of the characters along with scenes from the movie and significant quotes.

Here is my reaction video to the final trailer. I could hardly contain my enthusiasm!

Little Mermaid synopsis (Spoiler alert)

Little Mermaid(2023) features Halle Bailey as the curious, adventurous and rebellious mermaid princess Ariel.

Despite her father's warnings about humans, Ariel is fixated on learning more about them. When she strays up to the surface, she finds a ship of sailors, including Prince Eric, whom she is immediately enamored with.

When a storm threatens his life, Ariel rescues Eric and brings him back to the shore. They share a moment in which Eric is half-conscious, but hears Ariel's enchanting song.

Ariel returns to the sea, but Eric remains in her mind, and she in his. Both desperate to be together again, Eric sends out search parties, while Ariel decides to become human.

Ariel makes a deal with an evil sea witch named Ursula, who turns her into a human for three days, but without her voice. Before sunset on the third day Ariel must share a true love's kiss with Eric, or else she will turn back into a mermaid and become Ursula's prisoner.

As a human, Ariel reunites with Eric, who is disappointed to find she has no voice, assuming he must not be the woman he'd been looking for. But they form a connection as they spend a day riding around town and visiting the marketplace, where they go shopping, eat food, and dance to Caribbean music.

They end the day with a canoe ride in a lagoon, in which Ariel's sea creature friends sing "Kiss The Girl." Before they can share their kiss, Ursula's sidekicks knock over the boat and they fall into the water.

Ursula realizes her plan might fail, so she decides to become a human and try to steal the prince from Ariel. The plan almost works because Ursula uses a necklace that contains Ariel's siren voice. She tricks the prince into almost marrying him, but a fight ensues between Ariel and Ursula, resulting in the necklace breaking and Ariel's voice returning to her.

Ariel is able to speak to Eric, and he realizes she is the one he'd been looking for. They lean in to kiss, until the sun sets and Ariel transforms into a mermaid again. Ursula drags her into the ocean.

King Triton sacrifices himself to save Ariel. Eric arrives to help Ariel stop Ursula. They defeat her in the end, and King Triton is freed, along with all the other merpeople Ursula had enslaved.

King Triton decides to turn Ariel into a human so she can be with Eric, realizing Ariel will be happier that way. With the union of the human prince and the mermaid princess, humans and merfolk come together in unity.

The movie ends with Eric and Ariel being sent off on an adventure to travel to "wild uncharted waters."

Little Mermaid review

This adaptation of Disney's animated Little Mermaid is sure to captivate audiences with its stunning visuals, compelling story line, phenomenal acting, and beautiful music. I enjoyed the addition of comical elements throughout the movie.

I would rate it a 4.5/5.

Check out my video review!

Performances

I thought the performances in the live action Little Mermaid were absolutely phenomenal! The producers gathered the perfect cast for this movie.

Halle Bailey emulated the original Ariel with her curious, adventurous, and rebellious spirit. She perfectly encapsulated the Ariel we know and love, while bringing even more to the table. While Jodi Benson blew us away with her rendition of Part of Your World, Halle's performance literally brought me to tears.

Jonah Hauer King has become a heart throb, with his thick curly hair and those dimples! But his acting was also spectacular. He portrayed Eric as a free spirited, adventure-loving seaman who wants to have fun aboard his ship with his crew. He acted as a relatable young man, who wants freedom from his parents and from his responsibilities. His performance was believable and entertaining. He can even sing beautifully, as he did with his song "Wild Uncharted Waters" which was a big hit with the fans!

Melissa McCarthy put on a spectacular performance as the evil sea witch Ursula. I was particularly impressed by her voice acting. She really brought us a wicked character, manipulative and unhinged. I loved her version of Poor Unfortunate Souls. Who knew she could sing so well? She really nailed it.

Javier Bardem played King Triton. He was just as serious as the original character. His tone was always very stoic and controlled. He did a good job at showing the toxic fatherly rage in the scene where he destroys Ariel's treasure cove. It was intense, frightening, and saddening. However, you see his character growth, as he realizes in the end that he doesn't own his daughters and they can make their own decisions.

Daveed Diggs played the voice of the anxious crab who assists King Triton. While I thought he did an excellent job, I am more in favor of the performance of Samuel E Wright, the original Sebastian. I think Sebastian being played by an older man is more befitting for the uptight crab. That being said, I very much enjoyed Daveed Diggs' performance. I would have loved to see Sebastian played by a native Caribbean man, but Daveed still crushed it as a voice actor. I thought his singing in Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl was wonderful.

Jacob Tremblay was adorable as Flounder. He was 12 when they first started filming. His voice acting sounded very similar to the original Flounder. I like the fact that he participated in the singing of Kiss The Girl.

Awkwafina is a rapper, comedian and actress who played the voice of Scuttle. I thought it was interesting that they gender swapped the goofy seagull, but she really made it work. Her voice acting almost sounded gender neutral. She did a great job at bringing some extra comedic relief to the film. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was her song Scuttlebutt. It seemed a bit out of place and overly silly to me. Many have complained that her characters voice is grating and irritating, but I think it is meant to be that way, just like the original Scuttle.

Noma Dumezweni was Eric's mother, Queen Selina. She was much like King Triton, serious and a little overbearing. It was a welcome addition to the cast to have one of his parents shown. It just makes sense that there would be a parent concerned with his obsession over finding the girl who saved him. Her presence and role in the film really helped to show that Eric and Ariel have a lot in common. It is an interesting parallel to show a human monarch that is so similar to the merfolk monarch. It reveals that the two worlds have more in common than they thought.

If you haven't seen the film yet, then don't read the next few sentences, or else something exciting will be spoiled. That is the inclusion of Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel. This was a total surprise to me that made me absolutely giddy! She played a vendor in the market on Eric's island. This little Easter egg included her character passing a fork (Dinglehopper) to Ariel, which Ariel, of course, used to brush her hair, to the bemusement of everyone around her. Love that they payed homage to the scene in the animated film where she surprises everyone by brushing her hair with a fork.

Those are my thoughts on the main cast.

Visual effects

When I first heard about the live action Little Mermaid, I was skeptical that the visual effects of the underwater scenes would look realistic. But I must say I thought they were well done.

It looked pretty realistic. Most of the fish were clearly CGI but they were still adorable.

The visual effects team aimed for a balance between realism and fantasy but leaned more toward realism. Some say the film didn't have the same vibrancy as the animated classic. I also noticed that in some of the underwater scenes it can be hard to tell they are under water.

Music

The music was phenomenal! I absolutely loved their rendition of Part Of Your World. I was so happy they added a song for Eric, but disappointed they didn't take the opportunity to give Ariel and Eric a duet.

There was a change made to the lyrics in "Kiss the Girl" that ruffled some feathers. Many people called them woke, when they changed "there is one way to ask her" to "Use your words, boy, and ask her." I think it was an improvement. There is no harm in changing a few words to be more appropriate in today's Me Too world.

Cinematography

It's no surprise that the cinematography consisted of stunning shots of the ocean, castles, and cliffs of Sardinia, where the movie was filmed.

The cinematography is simply mesmerizing. I especially loved the shots of prince Eric swinging from ropes on his ship.

Costume design

With as big a budget as Disney had, I must say I'm not crazy about the tops they used for the mermaids. They didn't look very realistic. I'm a wee bit disappointed they didn't do seashell tops.

The human costumes, on the other hand, were exceptional. They introduced outfits similar to the ones in the original film, but new and original! I do wish they would have recreated the dress from the scene where she first walks out of the ocean after her father transforms her into a human for good.

Themes and messages

There are a lot of varying opinions on the themes and messages of this movie. Some criticize Ariel as stupid and irresponsible for going after a man she just met. And they think that it isn't feminist because she gave up her voice for a shot at love.

I see things differently. I find Ariel's story to be empowering. She made her own decision, took action to achieve her dreams, she managed to become human royalty, and she even freed hundreds of poor unfortunate souls from Ursula. I think she should be a well respected character.

There were messages of love, freedom, exploration and adventure, open-mindedness, inclusivity, and following your dreams. Sure you can find negatives, but I think the overall message was a positive one. I guess I'm a glass half full kind of person!

Conclusion

You can probably tell I was a super fan. Hopefully I helped you to see the mermazing qualities of this iconic movie!

#liveactionlittlemermaid #littlemermaidreview #littlemermaid2023

About the author

Shello! My name is Mermaid Liv, a professional mermaid and content creator. I share my love of mermaiding through this blog, along with my Youtube channel.

If you've never heard of it before, mermaiding is a hobby, profession, and sport that involves wearing mermaid tails made for swimming.

I began making tails in 2013 and have continued my mermaid journey, starting my Youtube channel, working at a mermaid festival, performing at gigs, and being featured in the Netflix Docu Series MerPeople.

Follow me on Instagram for mermaid photos and videos: @the_real_mermaid_liv and be *shore* to check out my Youtube channel.