On the occasion of the premiere of The little Mermaid, opinions and reactions, mostly positive, have accumulated in all corners of the Internet. Considering all the hate that fell (and continues to fall) to this movie for years, it is reassuring to see that Rob Marshall’s film is receiving a lot of love.
In this sense, it is our pleasure to list what this version did differently for the better in relation to the 1989 film. In the same way, there were some little details that we would have liked to see better represented, so they will also be included in the following list. . Remember that this is an opinion, not an absolute truth, you are free to agree or disagree.
1. Ariel’s Empowerment
One of the things that had always been quite criticized in the original version is the fact that Ariel’s motivation is so moved by her crush. In this version, a great deal of attention is paid to developing the princess as someone who is extremely curious and constantly striving to be free. Love is not the only thing that moves her, but her dreams and her convictions.
2. The chemistry between Ariel and Eric
Again, the little mermaid from before falls in love at first sight and although they make it clear that she is interested in the human world, Eric is the main cause of her transformation, so it would have been nice to see a little more chemistry between them, but that does not happen
On the other hand the live action She wastes no time, and as soon as Ariel steps foot in the human world, she and Eric share similar ideas, interests, and motivations. Plus, Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King exude chemistry at every glance.
3. Úrsula was already perfect
Although there is nothing wrong with relating King Triton to Úrsula (brothers), the truth is that there was no need. We assume that this decision was made to justify her thirst for revenge, but, honestly, if there is something we love about the original sea witch, it is that she is bad because she wants to and can. The villains from before are far superior for that reason alone.
4. They solved a very important plot hole
Our little girlish head couldn’t understand why Ariel never wrote to Eric if she showed she knew when she signed the contract. Well, our disgraced soul can now rest because in this version they fixed it with a blood contract. Done, now we can die in peace.
5. We still hear Ariel from her mind
One detail that we really appreciate is that Ariel sings about her excitement at arriving with the humans, but considering that she no longer has a voice, the movie solved it with a melody that happens in her head. We appreciate it because leaving Halle Bailey mute would be a state crime, that voice had to be taken advantage of.
6. That rap was too much
There’s nothing wrong with rap, but there are movies where it just isn’t and The little Mermaid is one of them. there is a rumor It was going excellent due to the charisma of Scuttle, who gives that silly and enjoyable touch to the melody. But when Scuttle and Sebastian offer that rhyming verse, the cringe took over our being.
7. Eliminate Chef Louis
This point is good and bad at the same time, since chef Louis stood out for his charisma in the original movie, so we would have loved to meet him again. However, we understand the decision to eliminate it, since the realism of the tape is scrupulous and his song where he dismembers fish does not sound very childish.
8. Ursula’s trapdoor
This detail had a very intelligent impact on the tape, since the fact that Ariel forgot that she had to look for a kiss from Eric allows the plot to demonstrate the absolute love that the little mermaid professed for the human world. In this sense, they prevented us from having to see that the little mermaid is motivated only by getting that kiss.
9. Name Reveal
In this version, the fact that Ariel and Eric come from two different worlds is not an excuse to paint the little mermaid as a fool. On the contrary, the princess knows a lot and shows it repeatedly. Like her when she helps the prince find out her name using the stars, which was a thousand times better than before.
10. Vanessa’s Spell
As we mentioned in point two, the chemistry of the protagonists is infinitely better. In this sense, the movie took advantage of this so that Vanessa’s spell, the human version of Ursula, did not work as powerfully as in the original film.
11. The fight between Ariel and Vanessa
The fight between Vanessa and Ariel live-action pic.twitter.com/XaNkMTcKeu
— no one (@BlanVane) June 1, 2023
Honestly, that fight seems a bit lame coming from such a lovely movie, all good with Ariel defending her right of seniority, but in the original movie the animals help her so she doesn’t get her hands dirty. Point for the Ariel from the past who took advantage of the magic of Disney to control animals and save Eric.
12. The glow down by Flounder
We totally get that this is a live action movie, so Flounder befits the realistic fish. But did they have to make it so irrelevant? In the original tape, the little fish is Ariel’s right-hand man, her best friend relationship is notorious. In this version, it is just another fish and goes completely unnoticed.
13. Scuttle and Sebastian
For our good luck, the glow down It only impacted Flounder, since both Scuttle and Sebastian maintain their essence and are highly important in the film. Also, the voice work is excellent.
14. Ariel’s Presentation
At the beginning of the 1989 version, the daughters of Triton present a musical theme where Ariel is the star, but she forgets it and when she has to come out of a giant shell, it is found empty. Meanwhile, the live action He changes it for a meeting… and that’s it.
Honestly, the original opening was so much more magical and revealed, more enchantingly, that the lesser of the little mermaids was a hopeless rebel.
15. The Sparkly Dress
In the original version, when Triton uses his power to turn Ariel into a human, she comes out of the sea wearing a shiny dress that we all fell in love with. We would have loved to see Halle Bailey walking up to the prince in this outfit. On the other hand, we do not see her even with that outfits nor coming out of the sea, so the long-awaited kiss does not feel so magical.