No film is ever safe from the ruthless clutches of overly fussy critics, especially one as high-profile as The Little Mermaid, but considering the relatively caustic wringer it’s been put through since before it even dropped in theaters, the smaller grievances just seem that much more like overkill.
Of course, in no world does that mean The Little Mermaid is above honest critique, and as spectacular as that “Under the Sea” reimagining was, there’s one aspect about the film’s powerhouse musical number that simply can’t be forgiven.
As pointed out by one Peter Sciretta on Twitter, the song’s original lyrics remained unchanged in the jump to live-action; so, according to Sebastian, the newt still plays the flute, the carp still plays the harp, and the plaice, of course, still plays the bass.
But for all the effort they put into the number’s visual presentation, The Little Mermaid‘s team nevertheless neglected to have any of the undersea creatures actually play any instruments as they did in the original.
Is it a bit of a silly critique? Yes, but it’s also representative of a larger problem with The Little Mermaid, and with Disney’s approach to live-action remakes as a whole. Rather than using the gift of hindsight to craft a much, much better story than the animated originals, the approach to these do-overs seems to just be something along the lines of “take this older animated movie, make it bigger and louder, and maybe make the story a touch more acceptable if it isn’t already sufficiently so.”
So yes, “Under the Sea” may have been much more sensually dazzling than in the original movie, but it’s also worth considering that a bit of coherence was not only de-prioritized, but sacrificed in the process. We love you, Little Mermaid, but don’t think your shortcomings won’t spark a conversation or two.
The Little Mermaid is now playing in theaters.
