You’ll be shocked when you see how live-action characters (like Flounder, Scuttle and Sebastian) look in the new edition of “The Little Mermaid.”
They’re not as cute and as lovable as they were in animated form. Thankfully, the new edition does improve on some things.
Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), for example, is hardly a cookie-cutter prince; King Triton (Javier Bardem), too, is a more full-bodied dad. They get the sea lion’s attention while Ariel (Halle Bailey) swims between them.
After saving Eric following a shipwreck, she’s smitten enough to go to Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) and strike a deal: Her voice for a chance to live life as a human.
The negotiation process is probably the only plot point this version has over the original. In McCarthy’s hands, Ursula is much more than a schemer. She’s a royal wannabe who puts on aristocratic airs only to let craven desires give her away. McCarthy works every inch of her makeup and brings more than a little terror into an otherwise “happily ever after” tale. Able to move her tentacles to good effect, she slips in and out of Ariel’s life better than those she calls friends.
Here, Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), Flounder (Jacob Tremblay) and Scuttle (Awkwafina) turn up whenever the plotholes need them. Oddly, they’re more realistic-looking than you want them to be. Sebastian and Flounder, in particular, are hardly the stuff of which plush toys are made.
They move faster than snakes and spend an inordinate amount of time out of water. While Diggs does a good job with “Under the Sea,” a protracted “Kiss the Girl” affords director Rob Marshall a chance to lean into a Caribbean vibe. He gives Jodi Benson (the voice of the animated Ariel) a cameo and the film’s choreographer a chance to steer humans instead of fish.
Original composer Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda have added a couple of songs (one for Eric) that don’t improve on anything that was in the original. They get amazing orchestral heft with “Part of Your World” but that seems designed to support a National Geographic look at life below sea level.
Bailey is delightful as Ariel. She straddles both worlds with ease and has fun trying life with legs. She’s not all that tied to her sea sisters (who look like the united nations of mermaids) and seems likely to bail no matter who lives up where they run.
Hauer-King is a good lure. He seems sincerely interested in the woman who saved him and isn’t afraid to lead a tour of his world. Many of the sea scenes, though, are built to get him into a wet puffy shirt.
The new script says he’s adopted, which explains why he’s white and Queen Selina (Noma Dumezweni) is not. The shift wasn’t essential, but it certainly gives the Eric subplot a story that could parallel Ariel’s.
Fans of the animated “Mermaid” may be eager to see what Marshall has done. His take is interesting, not revolutionary. The original, in fact, is more fun and moving. This edition is just more.
