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Anna Kane, Online News Editor, reviews the new live-action The Little Mermaid

IMAY not be a disciple of Disney, but the live action film The Little Mermaid made me nostalgic of the childish wonder that cinema can provide. I can confirm that the remake is undeserving of its controversial reviews, for it manages to both honour and provide modern freshness to the 1989 original animation.

One loses sight of the fact that the story comes from a 19th-century fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. The live-action acknowledges this straightaway, opening with a shot of the sea foregrounded by a quote from the fairy tale: ‘But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more’. This opening creates a beautiful full-circle moment where we see Ariel in human form at the film’s end, finally shedding a tear as she leaves her home with Prince Eric.

Following the opening, we are taken underwater where the fantastic animation steals the show. The attention to detail from the coral reefs to the iridescence of the mermaids’ tails was astounding and revealed the extensive capacities of modern animation and CGI. The performance of the song ‘Under the Sea’ succeeded in this area especially, for, as fans of the original will know, it involves a dance sequence made up of sea creatures. The combination of upbeat music and almost overwhelming flashes of colour epitomised Disney’s ambition to awe-inspire. It is important to remember

Image: Giuseppe Milo Flickr

the target audience for this film is children, who tend to be more impressed by visuals rather than plot. The underwater musical performances were an aesthetic delight.

Halle Bailey’s vo cal performance as Ariel did not disappoint — her version of ‘Part of Your World’ was particularly moving. It is a shame that racism has permeated the remake’s reviews, with the hashtag #NotMyAriel trending on Twit ter. Bailey has all the ethereality, vocal prowess, and curiosity of the original character, and to have a black princess dominate the screen promotes diversity of mind and provides young black girls with a role model. Another well-cast character was the sea-witch Ursula, played by Melissa McCarthy. She counterpoises melodrama and wit in the role, succeeding in achieving the Disney villain arche - type. It is a shame that her eye makeup was done so lazily, for it resembled a cheap and uncreative copy of the 1989 animated Ursula. This simply did not work for this re-boot, where her makeup had to compete with the hyper-realism of her CGI tentacles. What would Ariel be without her trusty sidekicks, Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle? Still a mermaid apparently, for these three characters served as the driving forces of the plot once Ariel had sealed her deal with Ursula and made her way onto land. Scuttle (voiced by Awkwafina) and Sebastian (voiced by Daveed Diggs), reveal Prince Eric’s proposed marriage to Ursula’s human alter-ego in a newly added song: ‘The Scuttlebutt’. The rap style of this song has opinions divided, but it was refreshing to see this genre of music make its way into a Disney film. Another divergence from the 1989 animation was the re-make’s setting, the Caribbean. The exploration of Carib - bean culture was a nice touch, marking another way in which the film promotes variety. I enjoyed the scene in which Ariel and Eric explore the marketplace. The dance sequence that followed imbued the scene with a sense of joy in community, as well as the blossoming romance between Ariel and Prince Eric.

The first thing I did when I left the theatre was to call up my nine-yearold sister, instructing her to watch the film immediately. I then went home and told my housemates in their early twenties to do the same. The film was a triumph of music, colour, and happiness that anyone can appreciate.

THE FILM WAS A TRIUMPH OF MUSIC, COLOUR, AND HAPPINESS THAT ANYONE CAN APPRECIATE