Dog’s Movie House: “The Little Mermaid” Live Action Remake Is Halle Bailey’s Coming Out Party!

The story is familiar to anyone whose seen the original flick. Ariel (Hailey Bailey) is fascinated with the surface world, but father King Triton (Javier Bardem) forbids her to go to the surface even after she rescues the young human Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) from a shipwreck. Chafing at her father’s restrictions, Ariel makes a deal with the devious Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) a sea witch who covets Triton’s power. Ariel becomes human, but loses her voice, and she has three days to give Eric love’s true kiss before becoming Ursula’s prisoner forever! This being a Disney musical, much music and dancing in involved as well!

This version of “The Little Mermaid” manages to update and fill out the story without it seeming padded. Both Eric and Ariel are given motivations beyond fairytale love for their actions and their personailities mesh because of shared interests as well as standard attraction. Director Rob Marshall and his crew do a fantastic job of recreating the classic ocean set pieces and environments in order to fully immerse the audience in the story. There is real emotion here, at least for me, and it surprised me how easily it got under my skin.

Everyone in the cast does good work, with Daveed DIggs a standout as Sebastion, the Calypso-singing crab who acts as Ariel’s chaparone. Also good are Bardem as Ariel’s father, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and in an hilarious turn, Awkwafina as Scuttle, the scatterbrained sea bird who is one of Ariel’s closest friends. Hauer-King is quite good as Eric, bringing believable chemistry and some pretty good singing chops to the role of the prince. McCarthy is a wonder as Ursula, managing to honor the late great Pat Carroll while at the same time making the role of the sea witch her very own. Her rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is a showstopper.

But the real revelation here is Bailey. Too much has been made of her casting because she’s, gasp, black. Let me tell you something: the minute she opens her mouth to sing you forget all about that. She has an amazing voice and her opening number drew massive applause at the screening I attended. She’s also a very good actress, imbuing Ariel with life and energy without ever seeming to overdo it. She is fantastic and this is going to be remembered as a star-making role for her!

The musical numbers themselves are fantastic, with “Part Of Your World” and of course, “Under The Sea” being standouts. Among the new tunes, a rap duet between Sebastian and Scuttle called “Scuttlebutt” is a wonderful little ditty that had the crowd cheering and clapping.

Overall, “The Little Mermaid” is a fantastic remake that makes you remember what made the original film so great while at the same time leaping into the conversation of great cinematic musicals. A true treat for film fans everywhere. 5 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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