‘Little Mermaid’ a well-done re-imagining

In 1989, Walt Disney Pictures released ‘The Little Mermaid,’ which was a commercial success and became an instant animated classic that everyone still enjoys to this very day. Over the past few years, Disney has been breathing more life into some of these classics that everyone grew up watching and has been creating some live-action re-imaginings for both the big screen and Disney Plus.

Recently, we have seen ‘Aladdin,’ Dumbo,’ ‘Cruella,’ The Jungle Book’ and others make their way onto the big screen again. Now, it’s time to see a refreshing look of Ariel and her adventures in this latest Disney live-action remake of ‘The Little Mermaid.’

The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel, longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric.

While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart.

She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life — and her father’s crown — in jeopardy.

Just like the 1989 animated take on the classic tale, ‘The Little Mermaid’ is an enchanting story filled with great music and will captivate all Disney fans.

This timeless story will leave everyone who enjoyed the original really liking this live-action re-imagining. Actress Halle Bailey does a remarkable job portraying Ariel. Her performance is really amazing and her singing voice is just remarkable. There were some heavily mixed reactions when Bailey was announced to portray Ariel, but I think she really knocked it out of the park.

Melissa McCarthy absolutely steals the show as Ursula, the film’s iconic villain. At first, I was wondering how they would portray the character and how McCarthy would do since she typically does comedies. And, as soon as I started seeing the trailers for the film, I could tell she was right for the part. The Ursula character can get a little dark at times, especially towards the film’s conclusion.

Like some recent Disney remakes, ‘The Little Mermaid’ will give you that feeling of nostalgia, especially when you hear the original songs. They did add a couple new songs and tweaked the original songs slightly, but it’s not going to take your enjoyment out of the movie at all.

The visual effects featured in this re-imagining are really well done and all the underwater sequences are amazing to watch. The designs of Sebastian and Flounder are a little different from their 1989 counterparts, but they have a more realistic look to them here.

Overall, ‘The Little Mermaid’ is great fun for the whole family and is one of the better Disney live-action remakes (which have been hit and miss over the years). With some amazing music, great characters and a feel of nostalgia, families and Disney fans will surely enjoy ‘The Little Mermaid.’

The cast: Halle Bailey as Ariel; Jonah Haver-King as Prince Eric; Melissa McCarthy as Ursula; Jude Akuwudike as Joshua; Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina; Jessica Alexander as Vanessa; Daveed Diggs as Sebastian; Jacob Tremblay as Flounder; Awkwafina as Scuttle; Art Malik as Sir Grimsby and Javier Bardem as King Triton.

‘The Little Mermaid’ is written by David Magee (A Man Called Otto; Netflix’s The School for Good & Evil) and directed by Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns; Into the Woods).

‘The Little Mermaid’ is rated PG for action/peril and some scary images and has a running time of 135 minutes.

Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews Facebook page your thoughts on the film and what your favorite live-action Disney remake is. And, coming up soon on the review front — ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beast,’ ‘Elemental’ and ‘The Flash.’