"You shouldn't have to give up your voice to be heard."

The Little Mermaid (2023) might not be perfect, but its themes are richly preconditioned with preach-free pertinence &, well...
KAIJU DEADITE URSULA STIRRING THE SEA is some of the SAVAGEST CINEMA I've exp'd this year.
My everything full-on juddered in that Dolby recliner.

For what it's worth, Disney's live action reimaginings of animated classics hit about 50/50 for me. I love The Little Mermaid (1989) so much...& I was ABSOLUTELY DREADING this remake; expecting a sententious, superficial, sickening eyesore for 135min.
That's 62% longer than the original...
52min tacked on to the 83min....
How'm I not supposed to feel all that???
I mean, wtf they need an extra hour for?!?
Dear Triton...WHAT HAD THEY DONE?!? 😭💔

Answer: THEY DID GOOD.

While I'm not quite sold on Halle Bailey's acting talent transferring well outside of Disney / musical movies, she truly is wonderful in this. There's a lot to love beyond her beauty & incredible voice. I especially adored how she brought out the SMART, SO-FISH-TICATED, FUN, & CLASSY sides of our warm-hearted & endlessly curious Ariel, as well as depth & INDEPENDENT aspirations that had nothing to do with finding a man.

Eric just happens, & comes with his own independent, non-romantic aspirations that just so happen to compliment Ariel's enough for them to have chemistry - inside & out. Looks & complimenting interests, courtesy of compatible personality traits & values. Certainly enough to win our support of their union as they venture off to test the waters.

****
& SPOILER-ISH: no wedding leaves room to continue the story, like...MERMAKING DAWN
Pt 1 & 2
BRING ON THE WAR & THE HYBRID CHILD!
****

But anyway, we get some character backstory. Not just them, but Ursula too. These bits fill up space without weighing down pace nor disrupting momentum, thus allowing its 135min to pass in what felt like closer 105.

This was all while wearing fancy 3D glasses, & y'all? I don't vibe with any kind of eyewear headgear (including sunglasses - never wear em), SO IF I HAD felt the time - like ATWoW - it would've been TORTUROUS.... like ATWoW.

I loved the WHOLE cast & EVERY song (including the "Scuttlebutt" 🫣) except Eric's, which was ok but nothing spesh. I also liked how they mostly kept the original songs + lyrics, & at the same time SUBTLY struck outdated contentions surrounding consent or dietary disregard from the original to widen audience inclusion.

Small gripe: I kinda missed the sea sisters' sound-off, but it's not even a whole song & its absence was the only thing I didn't entirely LOVE about the first 30min.

Unpopular opinion 👀, but I also appreciated the visual aesthetic of this over Avatar 2. What can I say? I DON'T enjoy overly ambitious violations of my senses in the form of buggy beta exercises that give me headaches & look like FBI night on CBS 🤷🏼‍♀️ . & Even tho TLM's CGI is NOT the new standard, they replicate many memorable scenes that strategically inject nostalgia endorphins enough to forgive the flaws.

All in all, this really surprised me. If you LOVE the 1989 animated classic & are wary of this, you might be in for a pleasant surprise too, so long as you're ok with minor updates & can get past Disney's persisting problems with animal characters. It's not terrible here, but they definitely floundered with Flounder 😬

So, in the words of the bad guy from True Lies - who'd be making a massive comeback in The Little Mermaid if he'd ever actually left - "don't be held back by what you think should be."
Check this one out in Dolby Cinema 3D or IMAX 3D.

🔱🔱🔱🔱
4 outta 5 Subjectively Delighted & Pleasantly Surprised Tridents

At the Movies (2023)

*60th Theatre Exp of 2023*