The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[UmbrellaFish]

Perhaps this has been shared, but the remake is getting Happy Meal toys: https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2023/05/ ... -toys-now/

[blackcauldron85]

Flounder looks better as a Happy Meal toy I think...

Jäger-Rose and D82, I will check out what you guys posted when I have more time!!

[UmbrellaFish]

Flounder looks better as a Happy Meal toy I think...

Hahaha, I thought the same thing! His Happy Meal toy is actually very cute.

[Sotiris]

Box office projections.

Weekend Box Office Forecast: Disney’s The Little Mermaid Could Net a Splashy $135-140M+ Memorial Day Bow
https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-bo ... l-day-bow/

Box Office: ‘The Little Mermaid’ Swimming to $120 Million-Plus Over Memorial Day Weekend
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/litt ... 235623771/

‘The Little Mermaid’ To Be Part Of That World With $180M Global Start This Weekend
https://deadline.com/2023/05/the-little ... 235378134/

‘The Little Mermaid’ Aims to Become the Latest Disney Remake to Gross Over $1 Billion
https://www.thewrap.com/disney-little-m ... e-preview/

For Disney’s Summer Blockbusters, Success Is Far from Guaranteed
https://www.indiewire.com/news/box-offi ... 234866836/

[Disney's Divinity]

The Vulture review was the best I've read so far (and accurately pegs just about everything about and around this film). I'm honestly surprised there haven't been more comments online in reviews and reactions around Disney not hiring a Caribbean actor to play Sebastian, tbh.

Anyway, Alan Menken like Jodi Benson are good employees, they're following the script. And they're also nice people, they probably feel pressed to 'defend' Halle Bailey by higher-ups against strawman horrible people online somewhere who are calling her "ugly" or who knows, yadda yadda. It sort of erases all nuance when you're not allowed to do anything but praise a film otherwise you're grouped in with the people attacking an actor over X--and that's exactly the kind of deflection Disney has sought from the beginning here, because an accurate read on the quality or lack thereof of this remake and its actors (who range from poor to middling for their roles) is where they know they would lose most people. It's all very calculated, we saw the same thing play out with other films like Encanto, Turning Red, Strange World, Raya, etc. to a lesser degree. It just so happens those films--more Raya, Encanto and Turning Red, but even Strange World mayhaps, we'll see (I know a lot here hated it, I thought it was just okay)--turned out to be much better films at the end of the day when you set all that circus aside than this looks. And that's even grading TLM on the remake curve--at least for me, can't speak for others, I'm comparing it to the best of "those" movies (TJB, Aladdin, B&tB, TLK, etc.), not "all" movies. It would be much farther down if you viewed it in the same terms as a normal film.

Sometimes it feels like tricks are all Disney has lately or maybe it's simply their backup plan in case any film fails since they're in a sort of weakened position right now. Who knows, Disney may end up skating by from what they deserve here, we'll see, I thought Cruella also got away easy. Unlike TLM, it was more in the twist vein like Maleficent than a straight remake, but I do think the main character at least should've been like the character it's based on (as far as looks, vibe, etc.) the way Jolie was even if the story was a twist. I'll always be grateful Mulan didn't escape the raking it deserved for changing everything though, the implosion around that movie couldn't have been any sweeter.

[Farerb]

I just saw the movie and overall I thought it was meh but not as awful as previous remakes, I just don't care for these. I thought it followed the animated film pretty closely with some changes here and there, but the execution is just not as good as the original (for instance the title reveal was really underwhelming and there's an overall lack of energy and everything is slower, I had a similar feeling with the Aladdin remake). They didn't really add things, but they rather extended things that were already there in the original.

The main changes were that there was no concert at the beginning, it was just a meeting of Triton and his daughters (Ariel of course isn't there), and that Ariel and Eric change places in the climax

The better parts for me were with Ariel and Eric on land, everything under the sea just feels bleak and uninspired and boring so it was a nice change to have light and an actual location (rather than ugly CGI everywhere).
There's actually a nice scene where Ariel enters a room where there are many objects and she starts examining them, and then Eric enters and tells her about the places these objects are from, and some of them are from the ocean so she shows him what to do with them. I did like the bonding between them, and I liked that he was kind to her and overall I'd say that their characterization is similar to the original characters' (unlike the characters from Beauty and the Beast).

The weakest parts for me were Triton and Ursula. In the original film Ursula had much more nuance to her mannerism and humor. In the remake McCrathy just shouts loudly all the time, and Triton doesn't feel menacing when he should be.

There is an amnesia spell, and the spell works all the time. When Ariel is reminded by Sebastian that she and Eric need to kiss, she forgets about it again. Truthfully, I have no idea why they did that because it didn't feel like it added anything or was necessary.

Awkwafina is not as annoying as I thought she would be, and both scuttle and Sebastian got a lot of laughs from the audience.

I also got the feeling that people really loved it and they even applauded when Ariel sang the reprise of PoYW, when Ariel and Eric reunited at the end, and when the movie ended.

Will I watch it again? I might watch it one more time but that's it for me. In the end I think it's just like the other remakes - uninspired and unnecessary.

[Mooky]

Thank you for the review, Farerb! When compared to the other Disney remakes you've seen, how would you rank it? I liked Aladdin and disliked BatB, which of the two is it closer to in your opinion, quality-wise?

[Marce82]

Thanks for your impressions on the film, Fareb! I really trust your judgment on films.

So I gather the film has already opened in Israel??? English or dubbed???

[Farerb]

Thank you for the review, farerb! When compared to the other Disney remakes you've seen, how would you rank it? I liked Aladdin and disliked BatB, which of the two is it closer to in your opinion, quality-wise?

I really disliked Beauty and the Beast when I first saw it, but it was the first time Disney made this kind of remake and before I got used to these. However the thing I really disliked about Beauty and the Beast was the way they handled the characters, especially the Beast - belittling Belle (a daughter of a thief, dissing her for liking Romeo and Juliet) and showing her the Library to brag about how he's well read instead of giving it to her because he wanted to do something kind. I didn't think they had any chemistry, but I didn't think that was an issue with this movie. To me Ariel and Eric's relationship was the strongest part, so in that regard I thought it was much closer to Aladdin than Beauty and the Beast. But I thought Beauty and the Beast had the best production values out of the three.

Thanks for your impressions on the film, Fareb! I really trust your judgment on films.

So I gather the film has already opened in Israel??? English or dubbed???

Yes, it opened a day early because tomorrow is a holiday (Shavuot). There are both English screenings (with subtitles) and dubbed screenings - I went to see it in English because I don't watch dubbed movies anymore (and I don't think I ever watched a dubbed live action movie).

[Farerb]

Just to clarify that I only mentioned the major changes that I remembered but there were other changes that I thought were rather small like Eric and Vanessa don't get married. It's an engagement party and that's just... whatever, the scene plays out the same way more or less. There were other similar examples.

[cuau_cg]

I don't watch live action films dubbed anymore neither. Unfortunately for TLM there are a lot of dubbed screenings and only 2 screenings in all my city per day. I'm watching it tomorrow subbed, maybe on the weekend I'll go and watched it dubbed just because.

[Marce82]

So Fareb,

Do we think they changed Vanessa and Eric's wedding to an engagement part to avoid showing the priest's erection, like the original??

HAHAHAHA

[DisneyFan09]

Well, after having listened to the soundtrack, I must say that I liked it. I love the new renditions of Fanthoms Below and Under the Sea. Of the new songs, For the First Time is my favorite, despite how the melody sounds somewhat derivative and familiar (as a mashup of Part of Your World and even Belle). Wild Uncharted Waters is fine enough, despite how it`s not particularly memorable. The Scuttlebutt is not a bad song, but is still the least successful of the new songs, as it`s uneven, cluttered and messy. But overall, a good rendition of an iconic soundtrack.

[UmbrellaFish]

Thank you for your review, Farerb! It sounds like what I expected, although I hope I enjoy McCarthy’s Ursula more than you do. I’m seeing this for my birthday on Saturday, so I’ll be going in a good mood and expect to have a good time.

I love the new renditions of Fanthoms Below and Under the Sea.

I’m glad you mentioned “Fathoms Below,” I was surprised how much I liked this new version.

[Mooky]

Thank you, Farerb. I'll be seeing the movie on Tuesday, so still quite a long time unitl then, but from what you wrote it all sounds promising to me. I don't expect to love it, but it certainly sounds like the cast is charismatic and embodies their characters well (the main reason I enjoyed Aladdin and disliked BatB) so I'm sure I'll have fun watching it.

[Disney's Divinity]

@DisneyFan09: I also liked "Fathoms Below." I was actually surprised that one wasn't deleted since it isn't sung by one of the main characters in the original like the other songs that were. It and POYW (Reprise II) are the only unabashedly good songs for me. Although I like the main POYW and POYW (Reprise) about as much as a Disneymania track, I guess, with certain parts here and there being beautiful.

I see Vulture has some other article now, but the "Where are the frothy pleasures of TLM?" was the one I was referring to in my post. I recorded the HSN special yesterday, but honestly they didn't have much of anything notable aside from the soundtrack other than a blanket at the end (although it was using that picture I'm not crazy about from one of those coloring books posted way back when).

[Disney Duster]

Nice review, Farerb. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Is there a remake you think is the best?

[UmbrellaFish]

Disney sure knows their audience for TLM!

Drag Queens have walked the red carpet at the US and international premieres for TLM: https://twitter.com/dragracewiki/status ... 83681?s=20

https://insidethemagic.net/2023/05/drag ... miere-eg1/

I love to see Disney embracing the queer fanbase of TLM!

[Farerb]

Nice review, Farerb. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Is there a remake you think is the best?

There isn't really, I don't think any of them are good, some are more decent than others I guess, but I rarely rewatch them, if ever.

For those interested, here is a leak of the moment when Ariel gets her voice back:
https://youtu.be/XY5HJUPpHh4

[Disney Duster]

Ah, I see Farerb. So, to you, none are really good. As you know I think Cinderella is good, but like, barely lol. Oh, and this was a reinterpretation, not a remake, but I thought Cruella was good.

I saw that leaked clip, and I like it because of Ariel's actualization in it. There is also a leaked clip of what happens when the sun sets as well, at least, there was that I also watched a bit ago.