Live-Action The Little Mermaid

[Primal Slayer]

Up to 73% RT

 

[Detective Conan]

This getting good reviews & being better received than an Indiana Jones movie directed by James Mangold definitely wasn’t on my 2023 bingo card….

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

I think this just might be in the billionaire's box.

 

[Primal Slayer]

This getting good reviews & being better received than an Indiana Jones movie directed by James Mangold definitely wasn’t on my 2023 bingo card….

I mean....one isn't a 80% remake of an already pretty good movie lol.

 

[Detective Conan]

I mean....one isn't a 80% remake of an already pretty good movie lol.

I mean…there are such things as slavishly faithful adaptions getting bad reviews, or mixed reactions. I haven’t seen it, but I’m sure the live action Lion King was an 80% remake of a good movie and that got bad reviews. I guess with Little Mermaid they managed to pulled it off in a way at that worked for critical consensus this time around.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I mean…there are such things as slavishly faithful adaptions getting bad reviews, or mixed reactions. I haven’t seen it, but I’m sure the live action Lion King was an 80% remake of a good movie and that got bad reviews. I guess with Little Mermaid they managed to pulled it off in a way at that worked for critical consensus this time around.

I mean....it's a lot easier to get something right with a 80% remake compared to a completely original film. That's the point. Sure you can fail at adapting 80% of a movie but either way, 100% original is going to be harder to get right.

 

[Drizzle]

I mean…there are such things as slavishly faithful adaptions getting bad reviews, or mixed reactions. I haven’t seen it, but I’m sure the live action Lion King was an 80% remake of a good movie and that got bad reviews. I guess with Little Mermaid they managed to pulled it off in a way at that worked for critical consensus this time around.

I suppose critics are more forgiving when the remake utilizes live actors rather than photorealistic CGI animals making up the entire cast, essentially just making it another animated movie except the animals couldn't emote like they did in the original.

 

[Detective Conan]

I mean....it's a lot easier to get something right with a 80% remake compared to a completely original film. That's the point. Sure you can fail at adapting 80% of a movie but either way, 100% original is going to be harder to get right.

Given the track record of most of their live adaptions critically even with the faithful adaptions of well liked movies, and the trailers looking kind of mediocre(at least to me), I wasn’t expecting positive reception.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Given the track record of most of their live adaptions critically even with the faithful adaptions of well liked movies, and the trailers looking kind of mediocre(at least to me), I wasn’t expecting positive reception.

It always stood a 50/50 chance.

Jungle Book - 96% RT
BatB - 70% RT
Cinderella- 83% rt

But yeah, the promos have been not the greatest and its good to see it doing decent since all eyes are on it.

 

[CB Fan]

I don’t usually write long reviews because honestly who cares but since I started this thread in 2014 and now we’re here why not?

Spoiler

So Cinderella and Jungle are my two favorite live action remakes Disney has done and I really only rewatch Cinderella. The Little Mermaid is now also in that list sitting just below Cindy.

At first I was feeling like they were going through the motions which is what I felt all the way through Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin and the less said about Lion King the better. Then we get on land and the Disney magic kicks in and never leaves. The scenes under the sea are beautiful but that first part just lacked a little umph aside from the musical numbers. But on land the movie really lets itself breathe and play and I loved it.

The things some people hated on before the release turn out to not be problems at all but instead are the film’s strengths. Halle is Ariel she captures the innocence, curiousness and determination Ariel has perfectly. Her musical numbers are so good and sound perfect in the theater. Melissa does Pat Carroll proud and had the audience laughing. She kills Poor Unfortunate Souls and I didn’t even think about the missing verse in the song. Flounder and Sebastian look cute, Jacobs voice works so well for Flounder. Daveed isn’t Samuel E. Wright but he does well. His vocal performance in Under the sea comes alive when he’s doing the faster paced verses. I’m convinced nobody today is as perfect a fit for Scuttle as Awkwafina and I didn’t think I’d like it but her little song was cute. They all join forces for Kiss the Girl which I liked a lot. Jonah is good enough for Prince Eric, his chemistry with Halle is great though but I didn’t like his song.

There are couple of times where the cgi is a bit off but it’s very good overall. I enjoyed the visuals for Kiss the Girl, Under the Sea and Poor Unfortunate Souls. The ship wreck is a great sequence. And as said earlier the chi for the animals worked for me never once was I taken out of the film by how they looked. Ariel’s tail is gorgeous and is animated very well. And Ursula’s Tentacles are really cool with their bioluminescence.

Outside of all that Javier in the first half is just flat but in the second half he gets a little better. I would’ve liked more from his delivery especially in his scenes with Ariel. This movie is 2hrs already but I just could’ve used more breathing room in the first half some scenes could’ve lingered just a few seconds more I think. Much like the animated movie the sisters are here but not really important perhaps they could get spin offs or Disney+ show or something. I also would’ve liked more commotion from the sea life as we never hear any of the other sea creatures talk. And finally more details about the feud between Triton and Ursula would’ve been nice.

All that to say it was a good time, not perfect but I enjoyed it.

 

[psylockolussus]

For me, I would group Mulan with Cinderella/Jungle Book. I am hoping this joins that group...

But I am not enjoying the clips I'm seeing so far.

 

[Kane52630]

I say this as someone who's a fan of Awkwafina, this is a tough look.

 

[Lily Adler]

I say this as someone who's a fan of Awkwafina, this is a tough look.

Just throwing this out there. I actually hate all the new songs on the soundtrack.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Not only that but it also sounds like a bad Lin Manuel ripoff song.

 

[Lily Adler]

Not only that but it also sounds like a bad Lin Manuel ripoff song.

I think Disney needs to leave Lin-Manuel Miranda alone for a bit and focus on other composers/songwriters for their movies.

 

[CB Fan]

It works in the movie. The audience loved it. I would agree Disney could stand to move on from Lin Manuel Miranda for a bit tho.

 

[Drizzle]

Just throwing this out there. I actually hate all the new songs on the soundtrack.

The new Ariel song is alright but the Eric song is bland and Scuttle's song is just migraine-inducing.

 

[TheVileOne]

This getting good reviews & being better received than an Indiana Jones movie directed by James Mangold definitely wasn’t on my 2023 bingo card….

I mean the reviews for Indiana Jones are more mixed than aggressively bad, and the rating on this film is only 70%.

Also, Little Mermaid has had almost 200 reviews out compiled on Rotten Tomatoes, and Indiana Jones has not.

 

[TheVileOne]

I say this as someone who's a fan of Awkwafina, this is a tough look.

More out of place than that new song they made for Aladdin that didn't sound like it fit at all.

 

[Drizzle]

All because I listened to the soundtrack on YouTube, my feed is now flooded with camrips of scenes and I have to say I'm liking what I'm seeing. I'm trying to avoid overpriced theater charges until Spider-Verse next weekend but Halle's siren song and nostalgia is making it tough to resist.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

I mean the reviews for Indiana Jones are more mixed than aggressively bad, and the rating on this film is only 70%.

Also, Little Mermaid has had almost 200 reviews out compiled on Rotten Tomatoes, and Indiana Jones has not.

If one reads the "Fresh" reviews for this film, they read more as "This film is pretty bad and doesn't work, but Halle Bailey is amazing in it. Fresh."

 

[TheVileOne]

All because I listened to the soundtrack on YouTube, my feed is now flooded with camrips of scenes and I have to say I'm liking what I'm seeing. I'm trying to avoid overpriced theater charges until Spider-Verse next weekend but Halle's siren song and nostalgia is making it tough to resist.

I can't stand it when that happens. YouTube is a real mess. I don't want to watch such clips.

If one reads the "Fresh" reviews for this film, they read more as "This film is pretty bad and doesn't work, but Halle Bailey is amazing in it. Fresh."

Its Tomatometer has also since dropped to 67%.

 

[Drizzle]

I can't stand it when that happens. YouTube is a real mess. I don't want to watch such clips.

Oh for sure, I usually avoid clicking on anything pertaining to a movie, show or game when it's released before I see it for spoilers but in this case I'll let it slide since it's still the same basic story as the animated version. The only real change that caught me off guard in any of these Disney remakes was when Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and the rest of the enchanted objects temporarily died at the end of Beauty and the Beast.

 

[CaptainWagner]

I think Disney needs to leave Lin-Manuel Miranda alone for a bit and focus on other composers/songwriters for their movies.

There's a world of difference between the songs LMM writes for projects he gives a **** about and the random tunes he tosses to the contractual obligations. There's plenty of accomplished songwriters out there, they need to build a bigger stable of talent.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

I say this as someone who's a fan of Awkwafina, this is a tough look.

This is the song you'd play as a punishment to your kids, not a reward.