Halle Bailey Is Anything But Sunken Treasure in ‘The Little Mermaid’

When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with The Little Mermaid. I had the pajamas, board game, two-piece outfit, bedding, playdoh set, and of course, the VHS tape. Something about that red-haired Mermaid with an angelic voice and rebellious soul spoke to me, even at a young age. I would even put a t-shirt or pants on my head to pretend I had long hair like Ariel. So now, to see Halle Bailey claim the throne as my underwater princess amplifies the magic. Disney’s history of live-action adaptations is rocky. While they’ve churned out bangers like Cinderella and The Jungle Book, they’ve had more misses than hits. The Little Mermaid might be the film to restore their reputation in that category. While the film is far from flawless, there is a sweetness about it that steers the story to shore.

It’s the 1830s, somewhere on a fictitious island in the Caribbean. Ariel (Bailey) is a spirited 18-year-old mermaid princess with vocal pipes of gold and an insatiable curiosity for life above water. The youngest child of King Triton (Javier Bardem; Dune), Ariel’s unyielding defiance is driven by her desire to explore the world beyond the water’s surface. She wants to be where the people are. After traveling to the surface to snatch a glimpse of the human world, a storm hits, and Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King; A Dog’s Way Home) is thrown overboard. Ariel rescues him, and neither can get the other out of their mind.

After King Triton discovers Ariel’s infatuation with Prince Eric, he destroys her treasure room and forbids her to continue her pursuit of life above the sea. Pushed to the limit, she’s ripe for the picking when Ursula’s eels (which we remember as Flotsam and Jetsam) slither about. Enticed by the promise of legs, she makes a deal with Ursula (Melissa McCarthy; Spy) to hand over her voice for a three-day chance at making her human life permanent once sealed with a true love’s kiss from Prince Eric.

The rest of the story follows a similar copy and paste from the animated original with a few story exceptions. Though they were intended to enhance the story and create an added depth, they ultimately offered little to no impact on the film and therefore felt unnecessary.

Bailey delivers an outstanding rendition of Ariel, offering a performance that stands on par with, if not exceeds, the original. Even in moments of silence, during her vocal theft, Bailey adeptly conveys a range of emotions through subtle gestures—a timely glance, a gentle curl of her mouth, or a slight tilt of her head. She captures the essence of the fish-out-of-water girl we love so much with precision. She’s comfortable with the character’s mermaid and human aspects, carrying them both with ease and exuding a remarkable sense of confidence throughout.

The soundtrack left much to be desired and regretted. Bailey’s voice floats over any melodies she sings in the film. But aside from the chart-toppers “Part of Your World” and “Under the Sea”, fans of the original will be disappointed. Not even Lin-Manuel Miranda had the strength to elevate this soundtrack. While it isn’t horrible, it wades in the shallow end of Disney soundtracks.

This isn’t Miranda’s best and the fact that there would be a song that would have Awkwafina reprise her rapping days shipwrecks the music even more. Awkwafina’s performance as Scuttle was loud and overbearing. The volume felt unbalanced as if lifted from the rest of the film. After enduring her screech-like tone, we’re then bombarded with an unwarranted rap that just wasn’t good. Scuttle’s character is supposed to be a nuisance, but Awkwafina’s performance felt torturous.

McCarthy’s rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” was okay. Despite my love for the actor’s filmography, I was left underwhelmed by her performance. McCarthy barely arrived to the level of villainy expected and, most importantly, necessary to fully embody the iconic sea witch. Truthfully, Jessica Alexander’s portrayal of Ursula in Vanessa’s form felt more like Ursula than the sea witch as herself.

Unlike McCarthy, King’s performance as Eric was impeccable. The chemistry between him and Bailey was soft and believable. His apprehension grows to interest and desire before our very eyes, a journey we follow overboard with hopeful hearts even with knowing the eventual outcome. The same can’t be said for his original song, “Wild Uncharted Waters,” which felt extremely “yelly”.

Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer) gave us a solid Sebastian, and despite the physical appearance of something you’d find at Petco, Jacob Tremblay did a wonderful job as Flounder. However, Javier Bardem’s portrayal of King Triton seemed to be copied from another film entirely and pasted into this movie. Triton’s character arc is paramount in the original film. From being stonewalled against Ariel’s attempt to explore the surface to providing her with the one thing she needed to continue her life on land. It was a huge moment. With Bardem’s acting less than great, the way the story flowed made that pivotal moment very anticlimactic, making it hard to have an emotional resonance with the scene.

The pacing of The Little Mermaid was interesting. I enjoyed the time they took to set up Ariel’s life and add depth to the relationship between her and Eric once she got on land. A particular scene in the castle’s study stood out: Ariel explored Eric’s treasures, resembling her own underwater secret grotto. The moment was the beginning of their courtship and showcased Eric gradually succumbing to Ariel’s enchantment.

I would’ve loved to see the latter part of the film enhanced with similar creative license. The ending is abrupt, and despite all the setup in the first two acts, the story begins to sink. It seemed as if, for a moment, the film would expand to discuss a larger theme. They hinted at the dynamics between sea people and land people and gave some speeches about understanding each other, but it offered no solid payoff.

The visual effects seemed inconsistent and turned on and off like a Snapchat filter. There were moments during the storm when the water didn’t even look like water. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at.

When it comes to these adaptations, there’s a balance of leaving the original untouched while also enhancing its story. The movie tight-roped tender moments and unnecessary additions. Still, it remains one of the best Disney live-action adaptations we’ve seen in quite some time.

The Little Mermaid is now playing in theaters.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars