ItB次元官网网址檚 not Rob MarshallB次元官网网址檚 fault that DisneyB次元官网网址檚 latest live-action retread doesnB次元官网网址檛 really sing. B次元官网网址淭he Little Mermaid,B次元官网网址� a somewhat drab undertaking with sparks of bioluminescence, suffers from the same fundamental issues that plagued B次元官网网址淭he Lion King,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎laddinB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淏eauty and the Beast.B次元官网网址� Halle Bailey might be a lovely presence and possesses a superb voice that is distinctly different from Jodi BensonB次元官网网址檚, but photorealistic fins, animals and environments do not make Disney fairy tales more enchanting on their own.
The essential problem is that the live-action films have prioritized nostalgia and familiarity over compelling visual storytelling. They try to recreate beats and shots from their animated predecessors, defiantly ignoring the possibility that certain musical sequences and choices were enchanting and vibrant because they were animated, not in spite of it.
There was, in the 1989 film, a sparkling awe to everything. The underwater castle. The mermaids. EricB次元官网网址檚 ship. Even ArielB次元官网网址檚 bright red hair. Combined with the wonderful songs and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, itB次元官网网址檚 not hard to understand why it helped fuel a Disney Animation renaissance.
Anyone who has gone through the recent DisneyB次元官网网址檚 live-action library would be right to approach B次元官网网址淭he Little MermaidB次元官网网址� with caution. Still, thereB次元官网网址檚 excitement as the camera takes us underwater to give us our first glimpse of the mermaids B次元官网网址� even after a somewhat ominous quote from Hans Christian Anderson that begins the movie (B次元官网网址淏ut a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers much moreB次元官网网址�). You canB次元官网网址檛 help but be hopeful. But the first mermaid that comes into focus doesnB次元官网网址檛 so much evoke wonder as it does a flashback of Ben StillerB次元官网网址檚 merman in B次元官网网址淶oolander.B次元官网网址� The technology is better, sure, but the result is about the same. Worse, as we spend more time with them, following ArielB次元官网网址檚 multicultural sisters as they gather around their father King Triton (Javier Bardem), itB次元官网网址檚 hard to shake a distinctly uncanny valley feeling. ItB次元官网网址檚 like gazing in on roundtable of AI supermodels with fins.
For all its pizazz, everything about this B次元官网网址淟ittle MermaidB次元官网网址� is just more muted. MirandaB次元官网网址檚 new songs are odd, too, and donB次元官网网址檛 seem to fit. Prince EricB次元官网网址檚 (Jonah Hauer-King) makes sense, maybe even ArielB次元官网网址檚 in-her-head anthem after she gives her voice to Melissa McCarthyB次元官网网址檚 Ursula, but did Scuttle really need a song, too?
Speaking of Scuttle, the cute cartoons that stood in for ArielB次元官网网址檚 seagull, crab and fish friends have been replaced with horrifyingly accurate depictions of said animals. AwkwafinaB次元官网网址檚 comedy charms can only go so far while looking like an actual seagull who might be after your chips at the beach. Close-ups of its beady blue eyes are unsettling, though it was probably a good call to go blue over gold, which looks a bit demonic even in the cartoon. Sometimes it seems as though the editor is trying to minimize the unpleasantness by quickly cutting away from Scuttle. Flounder (Jacob Tremblay, who also voiced Luca) doesnB次元官网网址檛 have this problem as much, mainly because once they go out of the water heB次元官网网址檚 essentially hidden under the surface. Daveed DiggB次元官网网址檚 Sebastian gets off easy, looking the most pleasantly cartoonish. But then thereB次元官网网址檚 that Jamaican accent that they decided to carry over (and this in a movie that adds a line about consent to B次元官网网址淜iss the GirlB次元官网网址�).
Visibility is a problem for more than just Flounder, too. Sometimes B次元官网网址淭he Little MermaidB次元官网网址檚B次元官网网址� underwater sequences just look too underwater. Things are cloudy and dull and hard to see, once again probably in the name of authenticity, but straining to see what Marshall and the scores of VFX teams have labored on for years is not a pleasant experience. This could be a projection issue B次元官网网址� I wasnB次元官网网址檛 in an especially high-tech theater with color enhancing upgrades. But that also means anyone without access to things like Dolby Vision around the world will have this issue, too. When Sebastian brings out the most colorful fish he can find for the B次元官网网址淯nder the SeaB次元官网网址� number, you even start to empathize with Ariel a little bit. It is the exact opposite of the B次元官网网址� Avatar: The Way of Water B次元官网网址� experience.
B次元官网网址淭he Little Mermaid,B次元官网网址� a Walt Disney Co. release in theaters Friday, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for B次元官网网址渁ction/peril, some scary images.B次元官网网址� Running time: 135 minutes. Two stars out of four.
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MPA Definition of PG: Parental guidance suggested.
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