The Problem With "The Little Mermaid" (Review) 

what’s your favorite fish?

"it's better than live action Lion King" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement

One main thing that continues to confound me about these remakes: *WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE SO LONG?* Why the fuck is this movie 2 hours 15 minutes?

The thing is I don't believe these are meant for kids. If Disney wanted to appeal to today's kids they would focus on churning out new properties (Frozen, Encanto, whatever the kiddos like these days). These remakes are meant to capitalize on millenial nostalgia and attract audiences that already know and love the original movie/want to reexperience it in a new form. They want former kids who wondered what these stories would be like irl/imagined themselves in them to shell out $20 each to watch "live action" remakes, and we are. And they're still bad.

Flounder didn't deserve this.

I'm glad to know that The Little Mermaid live action doesn't suck because of Halle Bailey, but because Disney simply isn't trying anymore. People were so focused on Halle Bailey's casting that the actual problems were being ignored. She's the best part

There are some things that simply cannot be accomplished in live action, for which animation remains a superior medium. But I don’t want to add onto the hate being directed towards Halle Bailey, she’s lovely, and by far and away the best part of the movie.

I never understood how we went from the live action Cinderella with charm, good character development beyond the original, lots of color and emotion etc, to something like this. I'm not saying Cinderella was perfect but it felt justified in existing as it's own thing.

I think Halle also has a difficult role here. Basically she talks to cgi animals or doesn't talk at all. So it might be quite challenging.

So I recently saw the poster for the first time and I thought King Triton was Nicolas Cage and for a second I was tempted to actually pay money to see this.

I think Halle could've definitely felt limited in her performance because with all the backlash to her casting alone, if she had diverged too far people would've been up in arms

my favorite scene is the javier bardem jumpscare at the end when they look back and he's just standing there in the water completely emotionless, comedy gold honestly

Just because it’s a kid movie does not excuse it being subpar

I don't know why but I really enjoyed The Jungle Book's photorealistic animals and ever since none of the Disney remakes have managed to emulate that. Maybe TJB's animals had a bit of cartoon in them, maybe the voices were better, maybe having Mowgli as a full non-CGI character surrounded by CGI made it work, but The Lion King remake literally gave me a headache and between that and the lack of originality, I won't be seeing this new one in theatres. At this point, I think it's time to stop, but Snow White, Lilo & Stitch and Moana are being live actioned as we speak so I guess it'll be a while before we see Disney consistently putting out original movies... You know, the thing that made them succesful in the first place.

Tritan in the water at the end was comedy gold. My wife and I were dying.

The biggest problem with the new Little Mermaid is we didn't need it

Im glad you gave Spy Kids 3: Game Over the recognition it deserves

ive watched a lot of halles interviews surrounding this movie, her personality is so bubbly and bright. despite the flaws of this movie this is still one of the better ones, which may not be a lot but still, and she easily steals the show along with vanessa

When I hear Jonah/Eric say “my little mermaid”, I’m going to lose it 😂

Disney: Makes another live action remake Bakini Bottom Citizen: HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TEACH THIS LESSON, DISNEY?

How did they add the Scuttbutt song and not she’s in love from the musical?? It’s SUCH a good song 😭

I haven’t even seen this movie (and never will) but based on the clips in this video alone I 1000% agree on the color. LITERALLY THE DULLEST COLOR GRADE I THINK IVE EVER SEEN

studios fail to realise that live action remakes are so redundant, animation is used to go far beyond whats possible with live action and to make most of it cgi means youre essentially just making an animated film again and slapping a few human faces in there. it frustrates me to no end how little studios and the industry as a whole value animation

They should have honestly got Harriet Sansom Harris (Licorice Pizza, Werwolf by Night, Romeo & Juliet 1996) for Ursula. She would've blown it the fuck out of the water.

So you see, that's where the trouble started. That smile...that damn smile🐟

I knew they were gonna have Daveed Diggs rap, but of course they didn’t utilize his talent to the full potential lol. Anyone who listens to Clipping knows

Disney has some of the most creative and interesting animated films ever made in their studio filmography with the lion king, beauty and the beast, Aladdin, Snow White, fantasia, lady and the tramp, Pinocchio, Peter Pan etc… yet, more recently (within the past 5 years), Disney has drained itself of creativity and has not allowed themselves to produce anything legitimately creative in their live action studio specifically. There is some gold in all the dirt (Encanto, and some marvel properties), but Disney as a whole hasn’t as of recent done anything creative or different in the slightest. Disney as a studio being a trade mark for creativity and imagination in the genre of animated kids movies, has depleted any amount of creativity and imagination of which they so heavily lean on in their main idealistic theme. Live action remakes are at best a good way to feel nostalgic as an adult about the content and media you consumed from your childhood, at worst, it’s lazy, unimaginative, boring, uninteresting, and repetitive, which is very exhausting for most people. These animated movies don’t deserve live action remakes, not to say that they don’t deserve credit or long spanning attention, but they don’t deserve to be milked of their storytelling worth for eternity. You don’t read a book for its cover, you don’t watch a movie for how pretty it is (most of the time) you watch movies for their story. Would you remake a Scorsese film? Would you remake a Tarantino film? No! So why remake these wonderful, beautiful films and deplete them of their worth as an original idea, made by someone actually passionate about the art they’ve made and what they’ve created and be proud of what they’ve created, and be celebrated for their work. Instead of giving up the story rights to someone who’s going to call the film their own and disrespect the art form of animation as a whole. And yes I understand that these animated films a lot of times were adaptations of novels but that’s different. Would you adapt a second person novella into a first person novel?

live action will always lack that certain suspension of disbelief that animation allows for,,,, like, i get flounders a fish, but i never had to perceive him as such.. now he’ll haunt me in my nightmares ;-)

This movie was better than I expected, but seeing how the other Disney remakes are, that’s not saying much.

i'll just never understand why they chose to change the species of ariel's friends... like why couldn't they have just made scuttle a seagull? the gannet looks so out of place... and according to the director, the change was made because they didn't want to have ariel go to the surface until part of your world, so they had to made it a diving bird. yet they make sebastian a ghost crab, who can't even survive in the ocean... so whats the point???

My therapist: CGI Flounder isn’t real he can’t hurt you CGI Flounder:

I’m glad someone found the ending as funny as I did. Was cracking up about Triton with my friend all evening

One positive thing about all those insufferable live action remakes: they make you appreciate the 2D animated originals even more. Those were such masterpieces on every possible level. No matter how much technology and money they put into the modern adaptations, it's impossible to capture the spirit, flow, elegance, and liveliness of the animated versions. Makes me want to rewatch Snow White and Cinderella ❤

I got to see it early because I work at an AMC and honestly compared to most of the others it’s not as awful as I thought it would be. I think the connections between Eric and Ariel were stronger than the original and as a novelty the rest of the movie was decent. Because that’s kinda what this movie is. A novelty. It’s not there to be a better little mermaid, it’s there to point and say “oh hey it’s the thing I like but it’s real.” It’s kinda like the “Mario in unreal” of movies and compared to the trainwrecks the previous ones were? This one is tolerable in my opinion.

Saying something is a step up from the Lion King 2019 is really saying nothing at all.

So glad karsten has realised what a true masterpiece is. The Little Mermaid live action remake will go down in the history books as one of the greatest films ever made, up there with cats.

the fact that i’m at risk at seeing a film bros opinion on literally anything ever keeps me up at night

I honestly loved the movie. It was very well done, in my opinion. I only wish the plot was more extended- which I know is annoying to say given the movie is 2 hours and 15 min? But I really wish we got more scenes with Eric and Ariel- and Vanessa too! The rap scene though.... cringe. The scenes with Giant Ursula? And the King Triton scenes? I thought all of that was amazing

So frustrating that with a budget like disneys they didn't go out of their way to do something groundbreaking and really develop filming techniques in water!? Like I feel like with a movie this iconic and especially how important the new casting is they should've pushed the boat out a little 😭

if she put more weight and personality into the character people would have been outraged. safest thing was for her to play it safe

you can feel the disney executives deluding themselves into pretending that crab and fish characters are possible in live action when they so obviously arent

Halle Bailey seems to be the best part of this fisaco, judging from the reviews. She's the perfect live action Ariel.

I like the movie but hate the cgi, Jessica/Vanessa was cooking

Just because something is made 'for kids' doesn't mean it has to suck. Also, I will not allow Disney to throw it's animation legacy away like this.

There's a weird movement from Ariel just before when she was screaming "part of your world" with the wave crashing behind her. I genuinely like the movie despite all the weird choices in it but man there's just something about the editing ig? When King Triton resurface at the end of the movie there was legit someone laughing out loud in the cinema i was watching it in 😂

I find it funny that you keep calling it a movie made for kids. like technically yeah, but these disney remakes always feel like they're made for adults that are easily fooled by nostalgia bait.

I was personally offended that we didn’t get Shirtless daddy Triton. 😂 Javier looks so RESTRICTED in his armor and the way the beard, shoulder pieces, and crown restrict his expressiveness really shows.

I actually really enjoyed it and thought it was very well done. The 4D experience was very cool too.

To be fair, younger audiences DO have the attention span of a squirrel.

This film is Disney’s biggest BRUH moment. The original saved the company but this just might sink it lol.

You know, I do like sleeping, but Flounder works too

Oh boy, here we go

Internet: (complains about another cashgrab Disney remake being churned out every 5 minutes) Also internet: (watches them anyway)

2:33: Jessica Alexander as Vanessa is beautiful and cute. She deserves better and I hope she gets better roles

Baileys singing was on point.. but her acting became stiff after she became mute in the movie

I loved Halle Bailey. She is very pretty and has a amazing voice.

why don’t we get live actions like Maleficent anymore 😢 i was just thinking abt how that’s like one of the few live actions i actually enjoyed but wtf happened 😭

*stares at flounder* Look how they massacred my boy. 😩

I would have LOVED to learn more about ursula because even in the original version I wanted to know so much more about her, kind of slayed. I world watch a version of what the hell happened between ursula and king triton in detail, or a version of king triton and queen athena love story. I also wasn't crazy about the fact they changed Erik and his reactions. I want the confusion, the awkward interactions but they're still nice people. he was in a weird ass situation and that was not expressed as much as I would have liked. The singing for ariel and vanessa (although i think that was still ariel's voice cause yk) was amazing but everything else was meh.

Oof, i loved it. I loved the changes to the story and i believed the romance. My only knocks were how Flounder and Sebastian look (i wish they would’ve made them look like the original even if all the other fish didn’t. Also, Melissa McCarthy did not do it for me, Ursula needed to be more campy at the level of a drag queen. And i did feel that the runtime could have been trimmed down. But overall I’m excited to revisit it!

Disney supposedly should take note on the vibrant and colourful Carribean sea landscape The Under the Sea sequence looks underwhelming , like a landscape of unhealthy coral And I ever see a small clip from YT about the ending , The ending looks like Ariel just give “ Okay Dad , I want to go , Bye “ in a rushed and plain manner Why don’t Disney give a scene where merfolks hold a musical concert to celebrate Ariels wedding for the ending scene ? That’s more fun Glad that I don’t give a hype over this bland B-tier remake

I didn't watch any of the live action remakes in full length, but just based on the all the collective Music Videos that have been released so far, only Aladdin held up. The mere vibrancy and joy that Disney should present is only apparent there lmao.

i just wish they made ariels hair more red

Agreed. The animation of the little characters could've been better. My cousin was like, "Not my Flounder." LOL! Honestly, I think Halle should've just been a whole new Disney character. She would still do great.

But why did the cut the chef scene?

“Because he looks like just some crab” 😂

Disney is destroying my childhood one movie at a time.

You did not just compare Jonah Hauer-King with Noah Centineo? Jonah is great actor and he did awesome job in this

putting this fish instead of ariel is a huge disrespect for fish

Aquafina simply can't act. Actling black is an acting? It is an insult.

I am just going to see Halle sing honestly

as long as you praise halle idgaf.

My friend and I agreed Disney is going ‘too real’ in their live actions. It’s Disney make the non humans look a weird cartoony cuz looking real ain’t workin for them

Existing. The original one is still one of Disney's best. There was absolutely NO REASON for that crappy movie to be made.

They replaced the chef with scuttles trash song

R.I.P old karsetn runquist profile picture.

I really liked Aquafina's performance in this tbh, it fits her

Glenn Clse would've been the perfect Ursula. Fatal Attraction is there to show that psychotic, devilish smile.

dont just randomly change your logo

I’m really torn on Aquafina as time goes on…. Anyone else?? Idk she just seems like a flat actor more often than not nowadays. Any good aqua content I could watch to change my mind????

All I'm going to say is, it's better than I expected because, of course, I expected worse. Hearing Daveed's voice in a crab's body is kind of distracting, but Daveed did a great job in those two Sebastian songs. The musical performances are somewhat better ngl. Now that you've mentioned editing, in EVERY movie I'm watching, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to editing, and oh boy, I unexpectedly forgot that part while I'm watching this movie, it means, the editing was on point, and flawless. That carried the movie quietly!! It's a very very decent live-action Disney. Not soo great, but at least it's better than Mulan duh. also I think this one's better than Beauty and the Beast live-action. CInderella and Aladdin are still up there. Also to add, I just don't understand people complaining about Halle's casting but there's a lot of things to complain here lol. Halle is the near-perfect Ariel. She did it effortlessly

Good points Good singing. Such a powerful voice! Halle! The under the sea music scene was actually really beautiful. I loved the dancing fish of all kinds Um.... Yeah Bad points Acting was stiff at times. It looked like they weren't really in character Color fluctuated from pretty colorful to dark ocean Realistic animals looking weird Other then that it was pretty alright

Whenever Disney churns out another live action remake it just always compels me to go back to the original films. These films don't need modern upgrades. Disney was always more financially successful when they leaned on the philosophy of their past while creating new content that seamlessly fit in with their legacy. It doesn't even feel like Disney anymore. Their only new ideas are to tweak the old ideas.

I just hate how the entire movie looks like it's in a sad, dark and depressing aquarium stuck in a basement somewhere, with a dingy light bulb.

Halle Bailey’s singing is an upgrade from Jodi Benson? That statement alone makes me question your taste in everything…

2 hours feel like a bad length for a kids movie to me… Either make it under an hour and a half or go full Mary Poppins, super long with several lullabies in the middle of it, to make the kids fall asleep. Those should be the options.

Halle’s singing took me to another world I need more of her in musicals. Ariel is also kind of a directionless character so I kind of feel what your saying, she does capture ariel perfectly but the writing I think needed to give her a little more outside of og ariel especially in the first half.

I really tried to give the film a shot but the cgi was SO BAD. Ursula was so much more menacing in the original and having Ariel steer the ship at the end made no sense. Eric seemed so useless in this remake. The overall acting was bad. They shouldnt have stretched it out like that as we saw kids acting up in the theatre because they were clearly bored. Finally, Scuttlebutt, why the heck was that song added? How could they have listened to that song and thought yes that is a good song?

Halle and her voice were the best part of the movie

6:36 - Did they seriously have the scene where Scuttle teaches Ariel how to use a fork, UNDERWATER? How does that make any damn sense? EDIT: Add this movie to the list of all the other live action remakes that I refuse to see.

I did appreciate the changes they made to Eric and Ariel's relationship. They had more in common than in the animation and I actually believed in their romance beyond a shotgun wedding. 😂

Now this is a proper review. You actually critique what works and doesn't work in the film instead of just giving the same talking points that I've seen other people give, which tend to be: Disney woke, Black people bad. Hats off to you, my friend.

Kids deserve better

They should’ve gotten people who are experienced actors. The singing is only 10-15 minutes of the movie. Get someone who can act and carry the other 2 hours.

I'll rather watch an Illumination marathon than another Disney live action remake.

MAX APPRECIATION LETS GOO

1:59 The CGI is so bad the shot looks vaguely like a Pokémon GO ad

Everyone is afraid to say they don’t like she’s black. I don’t like that Ariel doesn’t look like Ariel. And I’m cool with a mermaid story with a black woman… that would be cool. This was changing a character.

Sorry I normally love your content but this is just a bad take. There is literally no winning with this movie. If it was more cartoony/ colorful, everybody would just be more upset about the fact that it doesn't look realistic. The choice to not have a more cartoony "shot for shot like the original" approach is something bad, but then it's also not good to have another vision? You literally said that the opening had popping colors and looks good but then you continue to say that the film looks dull and blends together? Obviously the ocean is gonna look kinda the same in most shots?? "The acting is dull" oh but im sure if everybody was overacting at 1000% people would surely be complaining about how cringey or bad the acting was. So yeah for me the cgi worked fine, I adored the performance of Halle and yes indeed the actress of Vanessa ate every second of screentime uppp but lets stop giving this negative feedback as if you have a better way of remaking this 😗

Disney needs to quit this whole live action remake thing. Almost all of them are bad. They really need to put their budget in creating new animated stories that inspire kids AND adults. Beautiful and well thought out animation, and good storytelling.