The Little Mermaid (Live-Action)

[DisneyFan09]

Thanks for posting, D82. I wonder when we`re going to get the full numbers of the other songs from DisneyVevo.

[PatchofBlue]

I feel like while the general audience is more likely to use extreme ratings, especially when a film has just been released, this film has seen an unusual degree of deliberate hate voting.

For comparison, this is what Rise of Skywalker's IMDb score looks like. The score is over all lower than "Mermaid" right now, but it has a much smaller fraction of 1s. I'll admit I don't know what it looked like its first few weeks, but even coming on four years after the fact, that's a film that still inspires a lot of fiery feelings from the fandom for reasons that are similar to the dialogue around the Disney remakes, yet its ratings are much more balanced by comparison.

Web capture_2-6-2023_181953_www.imdb.com.jpeg (153.39 KiB) Viewed 1678 times

Some spoilers to follow ...


As far Ariel being a pawn in Ursula's plot, I think that by the time we've reached the climax, Ursula has also built up a fixation around Ariel specifically as she reveals herself a threat to her plot. In the scene immediately after "Kiss the Girl" she even calls her out specifically "The little tramp! She's better than I thought!" in a way that singles her out separately from Eric. The fact that Ursula appears so genuinely angry at her progress and is motivated to escalate things suggests that Ariel is the first of Ursula's "customers" to get close to beating her at her own game, which builds up some resentment. While the tension is thickest between Ursula and Triton, I do feel like Ariel also emerges as a rival in her own right, which is why it makes some sense that she would go after Ariel specifically in the climax, especially after she's already gotten Triton out of the way. I don't feel like that same tension arose between Ursula and Eric. Ursula targeting Eric just to get back at Ariel might make sense if she were like dangling him right in front of Ariel as she watched helplessly, but then she'd just see Ariel coming at her with a ship, and that would kind of ruin the whole setup.

Anyways, I don't HATE how the remake handled Ariel taking out Ursula, except insofar as it reminded me of the dialogue around animated Ariel being written off as a damsel in distress, I just don't think it had as much juice as the filmmakers thought it did.

As it pertains to Eric choosing Ariel, I feel like both versions of the Disney story make it clear that he is falling for Ariel as he spends time with her, but before Vanessa shows up in the animated film, Eric has that moment when he throws his flute into the ocean, symbolically casting away his fixation on the mystery girl before he's about to go to Ariel. That's when Vanessa comes in and puts him under her spell and forces him to "fall in love" with her instead. It's clear that Ariel would have gotten true love's kiss right then if not for Ursula interfering. Ariel revealing herself as the girl who saved him from the storm still feels satisfying in the animated film because the audience saw that moment where Eric had clearly chosen Ariel, even if he didn't get to act on that choice, and this revelation is just sort of clearing up the fog right before the clock runs out.

In the remake, I don't remember there being like an equivalent moment where Eric has symbolically let go of the girl who saved him from the storm before Vanessa drops in. We get the running conflict, yes, but he hasn't made any definitive action toward choosing her over the mystery girl. And when Vanessa does show up, it's not totally clear to me whether she's using magic to take over his mind or whether he's just going along with the engagement because he hasn't let himself fully commit to Ariel. And because he didn't like "break up" with Vanessa or whatever before finding out that Ariel had the voice, it did kind of read like he's choosing her because she has that external quality he was so fixated on. It's just a plot point I wish they had massaged a little more.

Anyways, I actually did have similar observations about Eric performing Wild Uncharted Waters during the film. Like he was overacting in a way that didn't feel in line with how Hauer-King performed the rest of his role or how the rest of the cast performed their songs.

[Disney's Divinity]

I feel like while the general audience is more likely to use extreme ratings, especially when a film has just been released, this film has seen an unusual degree of deliberate hate voting.

I do agree since the review bombing is real. Where I differ is I don't think the score would suddenly jump 30 percentage points higher or something if the review bombing wasn't occurring. At most, I picture the rating ending up around 15-ish% higher from where it is.

As for the Ursula-Ariel thing, oh, okay, I can see what you mean. I agree about Jonah sort of overacting that part. I think I only really came around to him in the land scenes. The interactions between him and Bailey made him come across more cute than I felt initially.

[Patricier21]

Having now seen the live action little mermaid here, If anyone who saw the test screenings can please let us know If there is anything Different from them to the final version of the movie here, it will be truly gratefully appreciated

Also regarding the “amnesia” issues here, well I think it made perfect sense why they had to add that on, so that way she wouldn’t remember that she has to kiss Eric so urgently, when there was a lot of times in the movie whenever she could’ve, i.e. after they got back after their day in town. It’s actually a very clever addition.Remember, she only forgets that she has to kiss, they made that very clear in the movie. She doesn’t have amnesia for literally anything else.

It’s also made very clear in the movie like in the animated one that Eric has fallen under Vanessa spell when he sees her as you can clearly see the yellow glowing in his eyes just like in the animated one. And even before that, him heading back up Those long steps also indicates that he’s returning back and at least starting to let go of looking for the “mystery girl”.

Also.... Scuttlebutt is the best song and moment in the entire movie! I loved it, my mom did too, and I know it’s a lot of fun. It very much fits scuttles new personality and the overall tone and style of the movie. It’s actually weirdly fitting in a way that people would be annoyed by it, as Ariel her self is shown to be annoyed by it

[Disney Duster]

Divinity, Shakespearean, really?! Ariel is different from the previous princesses and a lot of family entertainment protagonists because she is a firery, rebellious teenager.

You know, that's true Patricier21, Eric goes up the steps back to Ariel, showing he was gonna choose her, but it wasn't done right. He should have seen her getting ready for bed in the window so we know he is going to her.

[Patricier21]

Divinity, Shakespearean, really?! Ariel is different from the previous princesses and a lot of family entertainment protagonists because she is a firery, rebellious teenager.

You know, that's true Patricier21, Eric goes up the steps back to Ariel, showing he was gonna choose her, but it wasn't done right. He should have seen her getting ready for bed in the window so we know he is going to her.

But we don’t really need to see that, as it’s very subtly/sub textually obvious, even if you haven’t seen the original movie and or or not familiar with it.

Also one other thing I meant to say is that many people on here were complaining that Ariel apparently gets super powers in this, but… She actually doesn’t!

[Thumper_93]

Some magazines are saying in Spain that the movie is going to have problems to be a success because it has much competence these next weeks.
I think that is going to be profitable thanks to the merchandise.

[Disney Duster]

Patricier21, it is not obvious to everyone he s going back to Ariel, otherwise PatchofBlue wouldn't have said anything.

[Disney's Divinity]

Divinity, Shakespearean, really?! Ariel is different from the previous princesses and a lot of family entertainment protagonists because she is a firery, rebellious teenager.

I think I was fairly clear in what I said? It wasn't what you chose to reduce it down to. Oh, well.

Patricier, I feel the same on your first two points. As for "Scuttlebutt," despite everything, it does make me laugh--or Awkwafina / Scuttle & Sebastian do anyway. And, yes, you're right about the superpowers (thank God).

[Patricier21]

Patricier21, it is not obvious to everyone he s going back to Ariel, otherwise PatchofBlue wouldn't have said anything.

Well ok,But as I also pointed out, quite a few people don’t get the amnesia thing and I know that it is quite clear in the movie that it’s literally only for the kissing, and NOTHING else, As they clearly show and what Sebastian even literally states twice or maybe even more

[Patricier21]

Patricier21, it is not obvious to everyone he s going back to Ariel, otherwise PatchofBlue wouldn't have said anything.

Well ok,But as I also pointed out, quite a few people don’t get the amnesia thing and I know that it is quite clear in the movie that it’s literally only for the kissing, and NOTHING else, As they clearly show and what Sebastian even literally states twice or maybe even more

[PatchofBlue]

Did Eric have a moment in this film after Ursula's shell breaks where we actually see the spell lifting? Where we understand, "Okay this guy was not in full possession of his faculties when he became engaged to Vanessa but NOW he is" or something like that? I don't remember anything like that, and that's kind of where my issue lies with how this remake plays with that plotline.

Anyways, I thought "Scuttlebutt" was perfectly fine as its own isolated thing, I just don't know why on earth they chose to musicalize this of all storybeats in the film. They could have just easily taken the moment where Sebastian is chasing Ariel to her grotto and becomes wedged in the boulder guarding the entrance and let Sebastian sing about being "Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place," and it would have felt just as organic to me.

[Farerb]

[Patricier21]

Did Eric have a moment in this film after Ursula's shell breaks where we actually see the spell lifting? Where we understand, "Okay this guy was not in full possession of his faculties when he became engaged to Vanessa but NOW he is" or something like that? I don't remember anything like that, and that's kind of where my issue lies with how this remake plays with that plotline.

Anyways, I thought "Scuttlebutt" was perfectly fine as its own isolated thing, I just don't know why on earth they chose to musicalize this of all storybeats in the film. They could have just easily taken the moment where Sebastian is chasing Ariel to her grotto and becomes wedged in the boulder guarding the entrance and let Sebastian sing about being "Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place," and it would have felt just as organic to me.

I believe that we do get a look at Eric’s eyes and something like that that indicates the spell is been lifted

Also like I said before, it actually does make sense for this moment to be musicalized given Scuttle’s Personality, not to mention that this came the day after “kiss the girl” so she would therefore be in a very musical kind of mood it would actually make a lot more sense than your Sebastian suggestion here, though I do get where you’re coming from

[Disney Duster]

I think I was fairly clear in what I said? It wasn't what you chose to reduce it down to. Oh, well.

Dude, maybe neither of us are clear on what the other is saying. You said The Little Mermaid is Shakespearean I said it's not.

LOL!

[Disney's Divinity]

I checked the DMI website earlier today and noticed the "Under the Sea"-esque clipart-y poster is gone. Too bad. I suppose I shouldn't be wasting points on posters anyway though. I could get the Ursula pop that's on there instead.

[PatchofBlue]

'The Little Mermaid' Wants to Be Part of Your World at the Global Box Office
https://collider.com/the-little-mermaid ... -million/

The Little Mermaid has been performing impressively when compared to other recent Disney live-action adaptations, and now, the movie has another worldwide box office milestone in the books. According to Variety, the blockbuster romance has earned over $300 million all over the world, with the exact sum coming at $326 million as of today. It looks like there's no stopping Rob Marshall's version of the beloved story, telling the tale of a young girl who would do anything to explore the world she feels extremely fascinated by, even if it comes at a cost.

Even if the movie has managed to earn $186 million in the United States and Canada alone, it looks like The Little Mermaid is leaving her mark at the international box office, with Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom as the three international territories where the adaptation has reached new heights pushing the film's international total to $140 million. While the musical romance might not reach a billion at the worldwide box office due to the intense competition of the summer movie season, it's still proving that audiences from all over the planet fell in love with Bailey's vocals, Marshall's direction, and a timeless story about romance and hope.

Also worth bringing up, with the new "Spiderverse" movie going gangbusters, so far the two biggest opening weekends of the year have both been animated films, which I think is worth celebrating.

[Disney's Divinity]

^ Oh, interesting! Most articles I've seen lately have speculated that it will struggle to hit 600 million, possibly losing 20 to 100 million at the box office because of its enormous budget. Even in its strongest area (the U.S.), it's started to lag somewhat behind Aladdin's numbers as far as daily intake goes despite a stronger opening day.

Anyway, it's very nice to see Spider-verse's sequel doing so well. Very deserving.

[Thumper_93]

The movie has grossed around $370m

[DisneyFan09]

Sorry for ranting and repeating myself about this issue. But considering how the live action remake of Mermaid is playing now, it`s truly odd that there haven`t been released any Art of-book from the movie at all. It`s truly weird and I wonder why. I`ve tried to ask Disney themselves about it, but they haven`t replied me at all.