The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
The youngest of King Triton's daughters, Ariel is a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. Longing to find out more about the world beyond the sea, Ariel visits the surface and falls for the dashing Prince Eric. Following her heart, she makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to experience life on land.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
This original The Little Mermaid is one of those movies that was on repeat in my household as a kid, along with every Disney Sing-a-long VHS ever. (Thanks mostly to my sister, and my mom). But accordingly, I know every song by heart. I was worried that might be an issue going into this film. When you know how something is supposed to sound, any deviation can be very off putting. Halle Bailey f🤩king killed the songs, no doubt. But honestly, (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) Melissa McCarthy’s Poor Unfortunate Souls is what completely won me over. Floored. Music was definitely the biggest factor for me and this version delivered the goods. As for the rest of the film, it works well enough. The underwater visuals are definitely not Avatar 2 level. James Cameron has spoiled us. The VFX looks good for the most part, but character movement doesn’t always look natural. For that reason you kind of just have to accept the overall aesthetic—and that may not work for everyone.
Spoiler maybe 🤷🏻♂️ but they really went for the Giant Ursula at the end and I loved it. Thought for sure they would have a different visualization in mind for the finale, but they really stuck close to the original. I thought it was great and it’s probably something that would freak out my youngest son if he watched it.
I did watch this was my daughter which was cool because I had forgotten that it’s a good father/daughter story (probably more so than it is a romance).
Great experience. I’m not a big fan of the Disney Live Action remakes, but this really worked. I hope it does well at the box office. It really doesn’t need to be so long though.