Disney

Attis

Attis

Just watch it and I love it, a rare case where the live action can live up to the fantasy quality of the animation.

As much as we love to jump on her, Awkwafina did a good job ff. Sebastian and her are such a delight, poor Flonders is a bit underutilized.

Halle is phenomenal, both in acting and singing. All of the real characters are great, and honestly this is the first time I’m completely charmed by the white male lead ff Eric is so hot and himbo-coded.

The storytelling and musical part are great too, though yes I agree they should’ve expanded the sea world and historical rivalry lore a bit. But hey, this is a Disney movie and more aimed at children so politics can be hard to digest.

Also I was never bothered by Ursula’s makeup nn but that’s probably because I just don’t have a great visual eyes.
 
rav4boy

rav4boy

I agree that Melissa was great, though I was expecting more camp- her performance was a lot darker and bitter, though still convincing. You can literally feel Ursula’s hatred in the scene with Javier.
 
dontkillmyvibe

dontkillmyvibe

I didn’t like the movie at all. The cast was the worst part. Ariel and the prince didn’t have chemistry at all (the fact that they were not good actors didnt help) and Melissa just isn’t good for that role.
Location and music were great, and the constumes were cute.
Overall it’s a 5 out of 10.
 
Holly Something

Holly Something

I am very surprised people are questioning Melissa's level of camp, I thought she absolutely chewed every moment up and I really enjoyed her interpretation of the part. Halle was absolutely phenomenal, not just the vocals but the innocence and wonderment she brought to it were SO Ariel. The third highlight for me was Vanessa, a very small amount of screentime all in but she was fantastic.

I've NEVER understood the critique that Ariel gives everything up for a man she doesn't know, she literally sings Part of Your World before she even meets Eric.

My one main quibble with the film was Sebastian's accent, it seemed to go in and out a bit. The new songs were fine, nothing compared to the original soundtrack but Eric's song was by far the weakest of the 3.

What was really special however is that the original film has meant a great deal to me for almost all of my life. I went to a baby friendly screening the Monday after release day and even though my newborn slept through pretty much all of it, it was really special to me that I got to share this with them as our first one on one adventure.
 
~Paul~

~Paul~

He/him
Just finished watching. Absolutely loved it. Honestly, they did a great job with it.

Halle was just STUNNING to watch. Her face is so expressive. Those eyes! She was the perfect Ariel.

And I loved every single thing that Melissa did. She killed it. And I don't know yet if this is an unpopular opinion, but her Poor Unfortunate Souls is the best I've heard. The delivery of some of those lines was just incredible. She did things that I've not heard others do, and I really appreciated it.

Equally, I think Halle's Part of Your World is the best version. It has just enough modern inflection and a lot more punch than other renditions. Her voice just soars.

2 really weak aspects for me were Scuttle's song, which was one of the worst things I've ever heard, and Javier Bardem, who didn't seem to really know what movie he was in until the very end.
 
dodoriazarbon

dodoriazarbon

Long-winded Little Mermaid thoughts (from a superfan growing up):

- It was definitely one of the better Disney remakes, even if deep down they do feel rather pointless at best and completely artless cashgrabs when I'm feeling extra cynical... this had some merit to it!
- Halle was brilliant all round. No notes.
- Eric was...there. He didn't have much to work with, but the charisma was not there for me. The song was dreary as anything.
- Melissa did great.
- Javier..sweetie. He had nothing to work with but still.
- As others have said the mer world was oddly underpopulated given some of the other positive changes to the narrative they made to make it 'work' (i.e establishing the surface world vs mer people more clearly, drawing parallels between Eric and Ariel's experience, making clear that Ursula and Triton are siblings etc. Just show us like 2 more shots of mer people swimming about!).
- Some of the cinematography and general directing choices were weridly poor. The cinema burst out laughing at the final shot of Triton just as Ariel is about to sail away - it's edited and framed like a comedy film so no wonder! A lot of the drama from the original's framing across the board was just eschewed for no reason really. Vanessa's arrival should have been as haunting but it wasn't... (another bugbear is when characters in films aren't NAMED ON SCREEN)
- Cutting the Body Language verse from Poor Unfortunate Souls... what was the reason dot mov
- Why didn't Flotsam and Jetsam talk? Err...it's not like the film was going for realism. It would have given Melissa even more to play off of too.
- I understand they maybe didn't want the 'sparkly dress' moment after 'How much I'll miss her', but given that line still gave me goosebumps in this version, the moment is pulled out from under us, again due to the cutting of satisfying dramatic conclusion. Give us a little camp!
- The wedding action moving in-land was fine but felt so rushed (and not in line with the story obviously). Give us a moment or two more with Vanessa or prolong the conflict? I don't know.
 
Andrew

Andrew

He/They
I just got back and I loved it.
The original was the first film I saw in the cinema, and I never expected this the cone close, but it was fantastic, especially Halle and Mellisa. What a wonderful Ursula, and she got stabbed in the boobs at the end like to the original. Props to Akwafina and Daveed as well, giving Scuttle and Sebastian everything.
Part Of Your World Reprise opened some queer repressed childhood memory in me and I unexpectedly wept, and Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl, utter moments.

Joyful, the best Disney Live Action since, Jungle Book, better than that infact.


(Now let then turn their heads to the more less well remembered ones. I'm looking at you The Rescuers...)
 
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