I saw The Little Mermaid in a 141-person Dolby Cinema at AMC Theater on Wednesday, May 31st, at 7:10 CT. I was not dying to see the movie, but I knew my wife had an affinity for Disney films and figured we should see it before Spider-verse took over the Dolby Cinema screens. We arrived a little late, at 7:21.
Trailers Seen
- Trolls 3: Band Back Together (November 17)
- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (June 30)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Old Trailer. New Trailer Here) (August 2)
- Marvel Studio’s The Marvels (November 10)
- Disney’s Wish (November 22)
- Haunted Mansion (July 28)
Timing
- Start Time: 7:10
- Last Trailer End: 7:32
- Start of Movie (after Dolby Cinema & Kidman): 7:36
- End of Movie: 9:42
Movie Start Delay (Dolby Cinema): 26m
Runtime: 2h6m
Non-Credit Runtime: 2h15m
Brief Review
Much like every live-action Disney remake, the Little Mermaid does not need to exist.
There are a few new songs, some better than others, but you could leave after watching a Part of Your World and seeing the best the movie offers. Halle Bailey has a beautiful voice and does well with Jonah Andre Hauer-King. I look forward to what the young leads do next. On the other hand, Javier Bardem feels muted, and I wished he played a more boisterous king.
But the CGI scenes with Ariel are poor. Her movement seems strange and stands out terribly in multiple sets. Especially after seeing Way of Water, you wonder how a $250 Million movie could look AI-generated. Sebastian and Scuttle look outstanding in most scenes, but the scales on the merfolk are sporadic and distracting.
I do applaud Disney for the diversity in the casting. I feel this could also be a representative movie for the trans community. To see a character on screen fighting to be who they feel they belong to be.
Rewatch the original.
Scores
Tom: 5/10
Mandy: 6.5/10
11-year-old: 6/10
14-year-old: 4/10
Average: 5.4/10
