The Little Mermaid [2023] – Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy

The Little Mermaid is the best live action remake from Disney so far. Yes, it has some weak points, but Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarty delivered! Character, music, and performance.

Everyone knows that Disney hasn’t had the best of luck with their live action remakes. From Cinderella all the way to Aladdin & The Lion King. Something was just not working. However, Disney might have just broken its streak of bad remakes.

The Little Mermaid works! Even if the movie relies heavily on the original for the first two acts, director Rob Marshall chose to upgrade the third act in a way that still works.

In addition, hats off to Halle Bailey. From iconic scenes to iconic music, she delivered an iconic performance as Ariel. And I’m sure it wasn’t easy. But, her charisma, performance and energy were only matched by Melissa McCarthy. And yes, I can’t believe that i just said that. When McCarthy was cast, I had my doubts. I’ve had just seen Queen Latifa do an excellent job in the live remake. However, McCarthy was perfect as Ursula. Over the top camp and drama queen. There’s one specific screen where she’s looking for something and can’t find it. That will forever stay in my mind rent free.

Lastly, shoutout to Daveed Diggs. He made Sebastian even better. The comic relief of the movie was turned to one hundred. And it was great!

Sadly, the movie is not perfect. It might be a small thing, but McCarthy’s makeup was bad. Like 1970s cheap horror movie bad. Plus, Javier Bardem was disappointing as King Triton: Bland, plastic, emotionless and boring,

Should you watch it?

Definitely. One if not the only live action remake that works. I screamed with excitement whenever Ariel or Ursula was on screen. Also, it helps when you have a dreamy Jonah Hauer-King playing Prince Eric.

Where can I watch it?

The live action The Little Mermaid is now playing in theaters.