The film directed by Rob Marshall was a journey through the waters of inclusion and quality music. However, some elements did not work.
The little Mermaid it came out and yes, it was much more than a movie with a case of forced inclusion, if you can call it that after having seen it. And is that Halle Bailey is not the only representative of cultural diversity on screen. In fact, she didn’t even lack sense that he was there. But, everything can be explained calmly, since as said before, it was much more than that.
the little Mermaid
However, it is worth making this the first point to highlight. Inclusion is to make part of those who are not. Bearing this in mind, in The Little Mermaid the inclusion is not Ariel and that’s it, but Sebastian, since the Afro-descendant Daveed Diggs He was the one who gave him his voice. His thick accent, his popular attitude and slang made the character a spectacular added value.
You just can’t ignore the wonderful rap opportunity he had with Awkafina, who is Asian. Likewise, the version that she led of Under the sea It has been perhaps one of the most emblematic.
On the other hand, knocking down beauty standards and physical models, Melissa McCarthy appears once again as a figure of great prominence and power. The actress continues to show that size does not move anyone away from shining in an industry like Hollywood. Her character, Úrsula, was undoubtedly the revelation of the production. Every single line, song, and take she had she made the most of.
And even in the family of The Little Mermaid there is inclusion. It would suffice to simply start with Javier Bardem, Spanish that spared no sense of belonging for the pronunciation of each name. In turn, each sister mermaid to Ariel displays the different ethnicities with glory. Her costumes, her makeup and hairstyles were also a tribute to the various cultures of the world.
The characters were perfectly defined. And although many were concerned about the fidelity that this feature film was going to have with the animated classic, surprised by being one of the most attached to what the public already knew.
And it is that Rob Marshall He perfectly understood the function of each character: Sebastián’s grace, Flounder’s tenderness and Erick’s nobility are clear examples of the above. In the same way, Úrsula makes everyone laugh with her mischievous way of being unique and her unique way of being mischievous.
The best
Showing a romance between two people who are different from the rest of their worlds… That is something that could not be adapted more faithfully or in a better way. That, in fact, is the message of the original Disney version. What’s more, Marshall wanted to keep some raw elements of Hans Christian Andersen and he did it well.
On the other hand, The Little Mermaid has the best musical performances in the history of live-actions Disney. If anyone was wondering why Halle Bailey was cast, that’s the answer.
The orchestra is incredible. The work of lin manuel miranda it is flawless. If anyone doubted his talent after Charm, In the Heights or Hamilton, you can rest easy after this version of Andersen’s story.
Some waters weren’t so smooth
But not everything was perfect. Obviously it’s a Disney princess movie and there are things that couldn’t be missing, so if you don’t like any of the following, it’s not your type of movie. There are always songs overly predictable dialogue and a disastrous ending in terms of action, but obvious in terms of plot.
La Sirenita Halle Bailey The Little Mermaid 2023 Disney
Another conflict is that the emotion level is reduced to the middle of the second act and the excess of unnecessary repeated clichés is annoying. A clear example is the times that Sebastian loses Ariel. Once ok, twice it was ok, but Disney has gone too far with that resource “surprise”. Seconds too many in the songs tend to disconnect the public
Finally, the closed shots that there were of each character are the hope of the CGI. Each of these made the audience wonder more than once if it was all real. However, the rest of the effects were questionable, especially the movements of the sirens. The mix between human torsos and computer generated bodies did not go well at all.
Halle BaileyAs Triton taught Ariel at the end, “she didn’t have to lose her voice to be heard.”
