One thing that does pop is Bailey’s performance. Shutting up the toxic trolls once and for all who complained about her skin color when she was hired for the role (because those idiots lead such feeble, empty lives that they have to find something to complain about), Bailey is sincere, heartfelt, and possessed of an innocent sweetness that does its damnedest to light up an otherwise murky film. She is a warm presence onscreen and has the voice of an angel, giving her all to “Part of Your World.”
The other performance that stands out, or rather, all but leaps out of the screen, is Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. Watching her swan around in the deep with her octopus body and tentacles is a delight, as are McCarthy’s vampy, robust, full-throated antics. She delivers “Poor, Unfortunate Souls” like she’s in a Broadway theater playing to the top of the house, and her presence also livens up an often moribund movie.
As for the rest, Ariel’s sea friends—Sebastian the crab (voiced by Daveed Diggs), Flounder the fish (Jacob Tremblay), and Scuttle the bird (Awkwafina)—are a fun trio, even if a new song written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for Sebastian and Scuttle, a semi-rap called “The Scuttlebutt,” is something of an anachronistic misfire. Bardem is rather sleepy (that laughable final scene notwithstanding) while as Eric, British actor Hauer-King joins the long line of Disney’s romantic yet vacant young male leads who fade from memory the minute they’re off the screen.
Bailey, McCarthy, and the voice actors do a lot of good work to keep the interest level up, but they can’t disguise the fact that this Little Mermaid feels like it is swimming against a current too powerful to withstand. With the exception of the musical numbers mentioned before, and a nicely choreographed “Under the Sea,” the film just oozes from scene to scene like a puddle of water creeping slowly across a floor. It doesn’t help matter that so much of it, especially the underwater material, is shot so drably, and that the heavy CG in the film is inconsistent.
One effect that is impressive is the final battle with Ursula, in which she becomes the size of a mountain and rises out of the waves like Godzilla himself. Even though the scene is confusingly handled by Marshall and DP Dion Beebe, Ursula’s emergence brings to mind Triton rising from the sea in 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts, with The Little Mermaid finally stirring up a little bit of awe and wonder. Otherwise, the movie benefits from the fine work by its lead actresses, the nostalgia of hearing those great old songs, and the familiarity of the brand itself. The rest feels like it came off a conveyer belt, and that’s not any world we should want to be a part of.
The Little Mermaid opens in theaters on May 26.
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