Movie Review - The Little Mermaid

Director: Rob Marshall
Genre: Adventure/ Family/ Musical/ Fantasy
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Noma Dumezwemi, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs
 
Description: A young mermaid (Halle Bailey) makes a deal with a sea witch (Melissa McCarthy) to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince (Jonah Hauer-King)

Review: Disney know how to create a successful animation. Turning these same animated movies into live-action flicks has not been as successful. There have been a few hits, but I can say that “The Little Mermaid” is not really one of them.

Even though the choice of Halle Bailey as Ariel was unacceptable according to many fans, she does a good job. She has a beautiful singing voice and manages to give Ariel more character than the animated version. Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the sea witch also deserves some kudos, she was chosen perfectly. Javier Bardem on the other hand, playing Ariel’s father, really has no idea what to do with his character.
It's a live-action film, with of course use of a lot of CGI, but it still feels too animated for my liking. And it’s the underwater scenes. They could have made it more realistic.

I really do like the fact that they gave Prince Eric more substance and a background. But the fact that Ariel is in love with him after only seeing him once is still strange.

I do think there are worse Disney live-action films, but “The Little Mermaid” is just okay for me.

Rating: 3/ 5

DVD Collection Update (19)

It's time for another DVD collection update. I've got 13 new ones since the beginning of January. To warn you, I went on a Disney shopping spree!

I got the first season of "Downton Abbey". I wanted to know why people loved it (and off course I wanted to see Dan Stevens...). And I now know why, it's loads of fun.

And if you know me a little bit, I also immediatley had to buy the second season. It has become a guilty pleasure of mine.

"In Bruges" is one of the funniest movies in the dark comedy genre. I really like Colin Farrel in this film, but Ralph Fiennes steals the show as the villain. his insults are hilarious! 

An absolute classic, sometimes I feel like buying one of those. "Psycho" deserves that title, because it's one of the best classic movies ever. And pretty scary too!

"Das Leben der Anderen" is one of the best non-English spoken movies. It's not a very spectaculair movie, but it's so well made and acted.

I went to see "Neighbors" last year with my cousin Linda. It was so much fun, finally a new comedy that could make me laugh. So when it came out, I just had to add it to my collection.

"Begin Again" is movie that puts an instant smile on your face. I just love this movie, I loved Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley in this film. Really worth a watch if you haven't seen it yet.

It was criticized, but I don't know why. I think "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" was an amazing film. Off course it could never top the first, but it's still a great movie!

"The Little Mermaid" was the first movie I ever saw in theaters. I think I've only seen it once after that experience, so it was time for me to own it.

I actually never saw the Disney animated version of "Alice in Wonderland", so this will be another view for my movie challenge.

Just thinking of that terrible scene in "Bambi" makes me sad, but I also remember how great the entire animation was. And adorable with all those cute animals.

I also never saw the animated Disney version of "Robin Hood", so another movie on my to-watch list for my challenge.

I think I saw the live action version more often, but I really need to watch the animated "101 Dalmatians" again.