we need to talk about the little mermaid 😶🐙🐠🧜🏾‍♀️ (the little mermaid review)

[@CTheng]

I think the only reason why Ariel's sisters are feature so much in marketing is so that they can sell toys/dolls. Cause otherwise they are almost a non-entity in this movie.

[@mzmel1]

Facts. And it’s really a shame because they really could have added some depth to the story.

[@MaryLoveJane]

I won’t be surprised if they make a spin-off focusing on the sisters after Ariel is gone. Or if they do something similar to the animated sequel and make it about their daughter, maybe Melody will interact with them more. Either way, if they do a sequel, I hope they don’t include Ursula’s “sister” Morgana(I think that’s her name lol). There’s so many other story directions they could take.

[@astridmustikasyamsuri6207]

they legit make ALL sketch like explaination of mermaid lore in their website and did NOTHING!!

[@toastee5421]

they're not really featured that much tbh... The least they could do was helping Ariel defeat Ursula to avenge the death of their Father, the King of the Seven Seas, and they couldn't even do that.

[@Nowthats]

Gotta make those multicultural toys

[@oximoron613]

I think Eric driving the ship into Ursula is more important than people give it credit for. By risking his own life to save Ariel (and all merpeople) he proves that Triton was wrong about humans. Triton finally giving his blessing isn't just about Ariel being miserable, he's seeing Eric half dead on the shore after saving their lives and admitting he misjudged humans.

[@BrcRosa]

Yes. Thank you.

[@LilyShimizu]

It’s also worth noting that in the animated movie I’m pretty sure by that point Ariel had saved Eric TWICE. So it feels more like returning the favor, or acting as a team since Ariel wasn’t a helpless damsel she was an active participant in the fight.

[@raissacaba9826]

@@LilyShimizu Yes, she saved him from the shipwreck and then caused Ursula to misfire. Eric saving her just makes them equal.

[@raissacaba9826]

Also, navigating a ship in the storm is really difficult, it takes loads of experience. Earlier in the movie(live-action), Eric failed and he had sailed before. Ariel had no sailing experience, other than the boat. She was never on a ship. There's just no way she should've been able to do it. Also, Eric killing Ursula would've proved his sailing skills to his mother.

[@HaydrogenBomb]

I hear you, but I don't have a problem with Ariel delivering the killing blow. Ursula getting the trident was Ariel's fault, so it feels right that she was the one to resolve the situation. Plus, Ursula had JUST killed Ariel's dad, so I'd imagined she's want some revenge.

[@amandah8258]

I was mad Ursula doesnt turn people into sentient gummy worms like the cartoon. Thats way cooler than just being dust.

[@myrrh1581]

Agreed, and added the creepiness factor

[@vim2339]

She did tho

[@surraciddac170]

That is a good point but a part of me would worry how it would look like in the CGI, the animals are still a bit creepy to me even though I enjoy the movie.

[@christinawalker6356]

the part where she held up the skulls on her tentacles was so scary tho

[@fm.9783]

@@christinawalker6356 omg do u remember where, i didn’t catch that

[@seamusinboston]

"Someone tell Lin Manuel Miranda that not every movie needs a rap song" - thank you for putting this into the universe.

[@rednblak06]

THIS. I almost want Daveed Diggs to say “no i will not rap” just ONCE 😅

[@y2klove581]

When I heard that rap lin manuel Miranda made an enemy and that enemy being me 😭

[@tatertay]

I feel like his writing style in general just doesn’t fit the movie, it would’ve been better to hire a Caribbean musician to fit the style instead of a random big name, it felt like a hamilton cameo in the middle of the little mermaid

[@susansaphire5983]

I am to the point where if I know Lin Manuel has a hand in something I can't support it. He sticks raps into everything and especially in this movie it always ruined the tone. I was bamboozled into watching this, I didn't realize he re-wrote some of it.

[@gabym.t6635]

@@tatertay Lin Manuel is Caribbean…

[@seyspectra]

Sorry for being nitpicky, but in the original Ariel does NOT kill the prince. She is assigned to do so, but doesn’t do it in the end, because she loves him. Edit: yeah, in the original she’s not called Ariel either. She doesn’t really have a name. I just mindlessly used the name Ariel so everyone would know who I was talking about.

[@JulyIzHere]

Sounds like an even better ending

[@dianamlv]

​@@JulyIzHere sadly she becomes foam because of it

[@mirey2130]

@@dianamlv but then she essentially becomes an angel by ascending to the sky to be part of the air spirits if I remember correctly

[@dana_____]

@@JulyIzHere sure, but its the sort of things to leave kids sobbing at the end, so more Pixar than Disney. I mean the 1976 Czech adaptation (Malá Morská Víla) left me sobbing as a preteen...

[@MaryLoveJane]

@@mirey2130 no, she turns to sea foam because mermaids don’t have souls, so she’s never able to find peace in the afterlife. So there’s unfortunately nothing positive in the original little mermaids ending,she has to watch the prince marry someone else and then dies. I mean, she’s happy with her decision, but she doesn’t get a good ending. The story was partly based on the author, who was a gay man in love with a straight man that married a woman, and he couldn’t do anything about his broken heart because being gay was still widely unaccepted in his time. Edit to add: actually I thought about it more, I haven’t read the original in so long, but I think she does become a spirit of some sort, but she has to spend like 500yrs assisting mortals before she can move on to the afterlife. So not as bad, but still not really a happy ending. I completely forgot about this until I was re-reading my own comment lol, so I might be a little off. Leaving my OG comment though.

[@mrsgollum]

I didn’t feel that Eric not being completely taken in by the spell made him look like a playboy; it just reinforced how he was actually in love with Ariel. Not even a spell could truly sway him.

[@yveje9720]

Yea I agree also it made sense for his character both he and Ariel are tenacious rebels they don’t just fall for anything. I even liked Ariel telling Ursula no at first because it also showed her fierceness

[@fatimah230]

Yessss as soon as he saw Ariel come up the stairs it’s like he totally forgot about Vanessa. Like her presence alone was strong enough to break his trance 🥰💖

[@erinbsvids]

this!!

[@adrielisaacs9228]

Nah. I think it made that part of the story disjointed. Ursula is a powerful witch - in the original, She literally enchanted and hypnotized Eric just to get in the way of Ariel's plans. Here, she just sings, with Ariel's voice, and Eric thinks it's her because of that. There was no magic involved. Imo, it made Ursula appear dumb and weak. Eric never even acted hypnotized/unchanged, and all the people standing around as his soon to be fiancee was attacked by Ariel and Scuttle was just strange. In the original, with all the wild animals on the ship, that explains why the humans acted more frantic, and tried to escape the situation. Because of that, the scene had little to no anxiety. Plus it was an engagement, lol. That could easily be called off. A wedding made the stakes a lot higher.

[@donnguyen1107]

Well I didn’t even think Vanessa enchanted him entirely, just exposed herself as his “rescuer” with his voice and then his mother arranges the engagement and Vanessa just goes “of course we’ll get married, right Eric” and Eric is kinda just stuck between his heart and obeying protocols Also back when making the animated version their old idea was for Vanessa to goad Eric on with her voice and he still has plenty of free will but then sees her Ursula reflection in water puddles but it got scrapped

[@ananyasrivastava8771]

I enjoyed the movie a fair amount, and LOVED her "peasant" dress, but I am so dissapointed that we didnt get a ''The dress'' moment for her or a wedding sequence. Cinderella has set the bar and no one is touching it , it seems.

[@curepinkie1637]

if i was a disney princess actress and didn't get to wear a fantasy princess gown id be so mad 😭 what is disney doinggg

[@feelingReckless13]

tbh I know Ariel doesn't have the most famous of the Disney princesses' dresses but it's still disappointing that they didn't really try, there has to be some kind of comfortable medium between Ella's absolutely breathtaking ballgown and Belle's deeply disappointing one that can give us all at least a little bit of the thrill of the animated movies.

[@ambivalentidea]

the way they did this movie it just doesn't make sense to make her have a wedding lol

[@dejajade6726]

I remember someone had argued that's why recent princesses such as Moana and Raya aren't as popular, because they didn't have that iconic "THEE dress" moment, the Disney Princess magic moment (with Cinderella's and Elsa's being the most well known). I feel like they need to keep that magic no matter what, especially in the live action versions to make them feel truly special

[@kiwiana444]

@@ambivalentidea why not? at the end she's going off for a honeymoon they could've done a wedding

[@cc4670]

The dialogue was a bit sloppy. Maybe they didn't want the lines to be too similar. It also seemed forced. Ariel was a daddy's girl. They didn't really show it well. She was the favorite daughter and the relationship did not transfer well.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

@@TJ-uc8bb And if you're going to go that route, then fine. But they can't have it both ways. This movie never sticks to a lane.

[@amismiles2]

I saw it like a typical iron fist father and headstrong daughter relationship. She was never a daddy’s girl in this film.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

@@TJ-uc8bb Well they did try to have it both ways. This Triton is barely a character. If you want to have the grieving father who hates humans because of his wife, fine. But you have to commit to it. If you want an opposite relationship of the original where they have no relationship as opposed to the original where it's clear Ariel is a Daddy's girl despite their differences, then fine. Commit to it. But they don't. They try to have it both ways and don't pick a lane leading to Triton to have none of the regalness, internal conflict of being a ruler and a father, or the eventual powerful arc of realizing he was wrong. None of it is done with the same powerfulness as the original.

[@jemelmancho3416]

It didn't show well? Did we watch the same film? It's literally the moment where the dad sacrifices himself for Ariel. The moment where he approves her leaving in the end. The moment where he doesn't start the meeting when Ariel is gone. The moment where he has Sebastián moniter Ariel.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

@@TJ-uc8bb But I'm not saying Halle's was a Daddy's girl. I'm saying that it just didn't work to flesh out their relationship or lack their of enough. In the original, Triton is a better and more interesting character. You can tell he was really struggling with his own prejudice, control as king, and struggling to connect with his headstrong daughter. And the original movie did tackle him learning his prejudice was wrong and learning that he needs to let his daughter go after all of his attempts to prove he was right rather than listen to what his daughter needs. Here we just have Triton is miserable all the time and Javier Bardem looks embarrassed to be there and has no arc or real development other than because the script told him to.

[@hampconner7742]

The actress who gave Ariel the food and fork in the market is Jodi Benson, and she is actually the original voice actress and giving Ariel the “Dinglehopper” is like passing the torch on.

[@KevintheRhea]

No way that's so cool

[@hikawagetsbitches]

honestly so sweet

[@farah_lynn]

I got so excited to see Jodi!

[@simandabuilds9156]

I was surprised she didnt mention it! Its such an awesome moment.

[@purpleclaws202]

A shame Halle did a bad job

[@GiulianaBruna]

Imagine getting to play a Disney princess and not getting a beautiful show stopping dress

[@vapx0075]

They literally stopped the show FOR her dress. Twice.

[@theaterhobo]

To be fair, none of them really have so far. Emma Watson's was so bad they had to use cgi to make it look better

[@BratzRockAngels]

​@@theaterhobo Cinderella did. Her dress was gorgeous. Don't know why they couldn't do the same for Ariel.

[@iatemycat5320]

​@@theaterhoboyet Cinderella's was absolutely gorgeous and Jazmine had very pretty dresses too

[@Rubiecat]

I'm going to be honest, I've never cared about the dresses

[@gracekang2161]

I was most disappointed by Ariel's costuming more than anything else. Her blue dress wasn't very flattering and almost looked too small. Why didn't we get that sparkly gown for when she turns into a human permanently? Where was her wedding dress? It almost feels like Disney didn't give the costuming department a decent budget to work with.

[@bananahat3350]

Yes! I also thought the color scheme was weird. I wish they had a few more colors in the blue dress because I thought the headband stood out a little too much since there was no pink (or any color other than blue) in her color scheme otherwise.

[@casir.7407]

i think the long straight sparkly dress would have looked extremely out of place (as it did in the 1989 version) against more historical costuming. but i do think that a lot of the costuming was rather halfway there, as if indeed there hadnt been much of a budget, and seemed like it could have been much better. the queens dresses and jewelry looked quite wonderful tho

[@naturallyspiritual7256]

@@casir.7407 I think it could have worked if the dress was crafted in away that made it look like something merfolk would wear. Their tails and scales are pretty sparkly and that could have reflected in the dress.

[@casir.7407]

@@naturallyspiritual7256 oooh that actually would have been really cool! especially with the best part of the costuming, the clear care of textures and organic feel of some pleated fabrics and such. making a sort of sea-inspired actual dress for ariel to wear on the surface could have been an amazing way to visually unite the two worlds! man, what a shame

[@Unpoeticirony]

I didn’t like how muted the colors were, I think her skin tone would have been more flattered by something bolder. And I hated the mermaid scale bikinis that looked like their fins grew too tall and got on their chests some how. I would have love to seen designs with shells, coral, sea plants, and sea glass.

[@ann2knee986]

My only qualm with this movie is how they completely changed the ending of the movie, that sparkle dress scene was such a vital point for me in the movie cause it seems like a total culmination of Triton’s acceptance that Ariel had grown so much and that transition of the shore kiss to the wedding kiss was sooo iconic, and lastly the rainbow scene and when the choir started singing “Now we can walk, now we can run, now we can stay all day in the sun” was so good !!!!

[@bellav6593]

it was pure perfection tbh

[@emiiiiiiiiiii11]

I love that Ursula is evil just because. I’m tired of the current misunderstood villan archetype that has being popular this last years.

[@tinymxnticore]

I had issues with the makeup and effects on Ursula, but the performance and interpretation were actually pretty good. I really think that if they had given her a better look, no one would be complaining.

[@Tttttttttttttttt484]

@@tinymxnticorenaw. Most ppl don’t mind her look.. even though her make up is suppose to be bad looking because she a “less attractive villain”.. but they said her performance sucks

[@flowermagnolia4551]

@@Tttttttttttttttt484 not only her performance but a very bland script

[@Skyv111]

you mean the mostly but not exclusive Disney trend of twisting good and evil (and promoting evil in that sense as well).

[@dancingspeed]

just like Green Goblin. They're so entertaining

[@glockiess6175]

I was so disappointed when the sparkle dress scene wasn’t imported. ITS ICONIC 😭

[@fsdx416]

Right? We need an explanation from the creators for their nerve in omitting that scene!

[@mimilili6568]

Also Vanessa didn't wear wedding gown!🤦🏻‍♀️ It's also such an important scene! They kinda made engagement scene if so, there's no rush Ariel run to the prince if it's only engagement! so dumb!

[@fsdx416]

@Mimilili Come to think of it, it didn't really matter if it's a wedding or engagement. All Ursula wanted was to stall for time until the sun went down on the 3rd day. Vanessa didn't need to kiss the Prince for her plan to work.

[@fsdx416]

@@mimilili6568 but yeah, I wanted to see Vanessa in her white dress, stepping on her dressing table and actually singing. That was so seductive

[@mimilili6568]

@@fsdx416 yeah but still even though the contract was 3 days, if they made a wedding scene it would have been more impactful! More reasons to rush and it would have made that movie intense! They literally remade every scenes from the original animation except the IMPORTANT SCENES which is so ridiculous! They should know why people want to see the live actions! People want to see the casting choice, creativity such as those princesses' costume designs , new songs and more untold story! None of them was in this Ariels live action! If I write my complaints abt this movie it would be 100pages but I will stop here!

[@maratamara265]

I always saw Ariel as more of a "daddy's girl" in the animated movies and so compared to this live action, Ariel's relationship to king Triton felt more formal. I was hoping to see maybe a hug after he was resurrected but the live action failed to include the fondness he had for his "little mermaid".

[@genesisstuddard2544]

It felt so off to me how she would say “father” in the live action instead of “daddy” like in the OG

[@iwoo255]

​​@@NeggieKnightit's a movie. A movie about a teenage mermaid. If people can't distinguish characters from actors, then it's their problem, honestly. Word "daddy" isn't ruined for little kids, they still use it.

[@SavouryGalette]

It's not that you saw her as a daddy's girl, she just _is_ one. And the remake takes that away, because as we all know, fathers *clearly* don't give a damn about their daughters. At least, that's what the writer thinks.

[@divine_simplicity]

@@SavouryGaletteshes not a daddys girl its just a pretty partriachal society in the mermaid world .. her dad comes off as super Controlling and not loving and being fond of her just expecting her to behave. Shes used to being obedient with „yes daddy“ and Not bc shes a Daddy Girl but bc its expected of her and moms don’t have a lot to say there

[@SavouryGalette]

@@divine_simplicity Alright, this is how I know you've never seen the original.

[@abbeyBominable123]

My main complain are the lack of dresses and lack of a wedding sequence (like every other live-action Disney princess movies). It's unfair that Ariel didn't get those. I liked the rest of the movie a lot, tho.

[@zurzakne-etra7069]

oh god, we're going all out kanthony angry again with this...

[@gracekang2161]

Yea! Half the fun of the Disney princesses are their cute dresses too.

[@mi-no3wk]

Why is everyone saying there was not wedding? She very clearly gets married and sales off on a honeymoon of sorts to explore with Eric

[@abbeyBominable123]

@@mi-no3wk That was not a wedding. That was a celebration/farewell dress for her honeymoon.

[@abbeyBominable123]

@@mi-no3wk If you meant they're getting married, yes they did, but it was off screen. I wanted a whole wedding scene as Halle deserved, but she didn't get one...

[@urbanspiralsent.6432]

As a Jamaican, Sebastien's accent demeanor and humour was very much appreciated. It was not over the top stereotypical, or touristy

[@urbanspiralsent.6432]

Sebastien is was very likeable for me because if you understand our culture, we are all about tough love

[@coralmaynard4876]

Assuming you're talking about the live action and not the animated, this is actually really good to know - I haven't seen the film (yet), and Tessa makes Sebastian sound like a stick-in-the-mud that only cares about himself. At least now I'll be watching it thinking 'damn Jamaican people are harsh!' (in a funny way, not a serious way) rather than 'WTF is wrong with this crab?'

[@djmensil7303]

⁠@@coralmaynard4876 I think it was more in the fact that the new Sebastian just didn’t click with Tessa as much as the original and it didn’t help that she found him annoying but I do think that is more of her opinion

[@kimberleywilliams7802]

I think his accent is still very much Trinidadian leaning though.

[@truthseeker9249]

@@kimberleywilliams7802 Really? It sounded pretty French to me. He's played by Daveed Diggs who played the extremely French Lafayette in Hamilton. And he pretty made Sebastian sound just like that. The second Sebastian opened his mouth i knew exactly who it was. All I heard the whole movie was Lafayette.

[@daylenkelly5029]

We needed WAY MORE DRESSES. They didn’t do her justice with her wedding dress 🥺🥺🥺

[@Prin_Cess_007]

This!!! No pretty costumes. The castle was barely shown looked nothing like he other expansive castles. And they never showed the big party and Ariel was never missing from the party when they sing “most of all Arie ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh lllll ?”

[@ThatgirlDswizzie]

I wished there were more costumes for Ariel. I love her blue dress, but she wore it almost the entire movie, for days on end. And then when she did finally change it was into a white and pink similar dress that wasn't even as cute!

[@swish3432]

yeah, and isnt disney trying to make her dress teal now? seems like a missed opportunity

[@ThatgirlDswizzie]

@@swish3432 I'm glad they stayed true to the pink tbh but I hate that it's kinda ugly! Like it's her final dress it should be elegant and memorable!

[@JayeKisses]

I actually never liked her blue dress so the fact that she wore it throughout most of the movie really got on my nerves. I swear I wanted the blue dress to burn. I was so sick of that dress I would have loved to see a fashion montage of Ariel figuring out how to get dressed & her finding her own style that would’ve been cute

[@Aidynoh]

@@JayeKissesI agree! The blue dress in the animated movie was so cute and that shade of blue would definitely suit Halle more I think!!

[@JayeKisses]

@@Aidynoh it was way cuter in the animated version

[@sanasideup7497]

I personally loved that it turned into a rom com during the middle of the movie. I was giggling and kicking my feet, Ariel and Eric were SO CUTE as a couple.

[@bananahat3350]

Yes, they had so much chemistry!

[@shermk7955]

I was giggling and blushing in the theatre. They were so freaking cute

[@annahks]

Sameeee I was blushing the entire time

[@cesarinfashion1]

I was blushing of embarrassment that I actually payed full price to see this crap!

[@maruwu7614]

I wished it continued to the end, like they didn’t even look at each other at the end LMAO

[@Sabrinajaine]

Having Ursula say 'pathetic' in front of Ariel is such an odd choice

[@owendy274]

If they wanted to flesh out the sisters just a lil bit, they should have brought over "Shes In Love" from the musical, also cause that song is a bop

[@dest_n]

That song would have made the movie imo

[@tomsreacts3016]

Maybe instead of Eric song, it was sooo bad

[@bananahat3350]

@@tomsreacts3016 I thought Eric was pretty cute at first, but then I saw him sing and got the biggest ick ever 💀💀

[@casir.7407]

so often the extra development these disney remakes want can be so easily found by bringing stage musical songs or narrative beats... why cant they just do that?

[@owendy274]

@@casir.7407 Litterally they have the rights, the reason why tho is so they can get a nomination for best original song smh

[@janice2075]

I just really liked how they gave more depth to Eric and made him talk about how he collects things on his voyages just like how Ariel collects things. Edit: ik it’s not like a life changing/ important thing in their relationship I just thought it was nice :)

[@genericperson1002]

Yes him and Halle were great together

[@Ourelleetsy]

It makes them be able to relate to each other more, and gave them an actual reason to spend more time together, because of their curious nature

[@msk-qp6fn]

It is a nice touch

[@Rozziefeatherschneider]

Depth? LMAO 😂

[@imaqt209421]

And he got his own song 😊

[@macayla3183]

No, it was SO important that Eric be the one to kill Ursula because he’s proving his love for Ariel and disproving Triton’s fear that all humans are evil. Having Ariel deliver the blow completely undercuts this.

[@Stormy_Cloud]

I didnt mind Ariel's dreadlocks. But damn, would it have killed the costume designer to give Ariel a side part? And also wear a flower in her hair? And to decorate the dreadlocks with colorful beads? They could have made the dreadlocks look better with accessories!

[@anikarice7609]

Wanted it to be more RED. Looked blonde in a few instances.

[@TheKonnoisseur11]

Yea I’ve seen pics of her with pearls in her locs. Very pretty and magical. Her cgi underwater heir was really bad tho

[@alejandrasanchez3022]

They didnt even care to find a ginger actress you think they would care about a dress?

[@cinderellaskeleton6720]

​@@alejandrasanchez3022yeah cause costume design, especially in disney princess is super important, having an authentic ginger isn't. I'm ginger and even i don't give a shit.

[@KTBEverlasting]

For real, some pearls or something. So many missed opportunities. The fan art on Tumblr did better.

[@mfuentes4961]

As a person from the Caribbean, I really appreciated that they added more Caribbean elements, like the instrumentals and accents, into the film since the original music had Calypso influences. I also really like how they fleshed out Ariel and Eric’s relationship. It helps create a more solid relationship between the characters and helped the audience become more emotionally invested in the characters throughout the film.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

I am so sick of people saying that Eric was a blank piece of wood in the original and that the romance was based on physical attraction. TLM is in fact a pretty emotionally complex movie. And I dare even say that Ariel and Eric are the healthiest Disney couple ever. They're even the only ones that had a child together (a child that I wish had a better movie, but still) Prince Eric is first introduced by the movie narrative as adventurous young man who despite his royal heritage is not above the “dirty work”: the audience is initially exposed to him helping other sailors on the ship as well as showing consideration and concern towards Grimsby in addition to being a good listener and quite an experienced storyteller informed about the subject he takes it upon himself to talk about hence the sailors discussing Triton and the sea with Eric while Grimsby sceptically brushes their theories off. Thoroughness, open mind and a down to earth attitude are established among Eric’s primary characteristics from the get go and not for the sake of forcibly and obnoxiously presenting him as a multi-dimensional morally/intellectually superior protagonist - in fact, he can hardly even be deemed as one seeing as the movie essentially revolves around Ariel and her struggles with inability to obtain independence and fulfill herself outside of a place she feels like she belongs whereas every other character, no matter how significant, plays a part of a supporting cast - but in order to showcase his interests thus, in so much as the first few minutes of the movie we already learn up on not only the hobbies Eric is intensely invested in but the extent of his love for the sea, conflicted relationship with his guardian figure (Grimsby) and are provided with a raw sketch of his mindset and the lens through which he observes the world. All of it could have easily been left out seeing as Eric’s individual emotional investments are not particularly related to Ariel’s story, but those aspects are outlined regardless because Eric isn’t merely a love interest of a fiery red head: he has a personality, a character of his own. Next time Eric comes off as “the guy with a flute”, it being the immediate impression he gives off once Ariel first sees him, confronted with not so much his mesmerizing attractiveness as the way his eyes lit up when he produced music for his own pleasure (poignantly, the same exact way Ariel preferred to go about her musical skills: away from the crowds or pretentious grand celebrations, using a melody for self expression. It’s hardly a coincidence that Melody ended up being a name of her and Eric’s daughter) or when he played with his dog or when he was clearly not impressed with the the statue of himself. Speaking of which, that is a good character moment because it shows that Eric is burdened by expectations and is seen as a powerful future king when in reality, he is a shy introvert. This allows Ariel to relate to him. Eric, however, was thankful for the attention and love coming from Grimsby regardless of how inexplicably insufficient and misinterpreted the latter’s perception of Eric generally was, which is rather unfortunate given that Grimsby played some sort of a father figure role to him while being entirely unable to get the grasp of how the young man’s mind functioned. Which brings us to another point: according to all the evidence Eric’s parents are most likely dead, considering they didn’t show up on either of his weddings - the fake one with Vanessa and the real one with Ariel - nor did they attend Melody's christening. Admittedly, being left in charge of no one other than Grimsby who hardly understood what Eric essentially was about, and having to prepare himself to be a future effective ruler of Tirulia. Eric is the epitome of a person who built one self up independently, firmly standing his ground confronting the standards imposed on him that he was unwilling to conform to - such as being forced into getting married before determining whether there was a right woman (“the one” as Eric referred to a person he hadn’t yet been lucky enough to meet and want to spend the rest of his life with, not settling for any less) among his suitors for the sake of fitting into a certain ideal of a proper prince. His attitude of a dreamer was a part of his established characterization but he was also exceptionally analytical about his concepts of romance. Having survived a horrific incident Eric sincerely believed he had found true love and his ideology of a dreamer took a strong grab at his outlooks on relationship seeing as he was set out to find a girl with the gorgeous voice at any cost due to said voice being quite literally the only connection to his rescuer. As some people mistakenly imply, Eric did not fall in love with a voice, in fact, at that point his feelings were all over the place and not exactly what stands for actual love, a mature fully formed feeling. Being drawn to the idea of a girl who saved him Eric - genuinely and irreversibly - projects his certitude regarding her being “the one” onto the only representation of her he had been left with so far - her voice. And subsequently his idealistic but slightly immature romantic notions backfire with a cunning irony once he meets a girl who has everything a man can dream of but lacks what he seeks out the most. A beautiful stranger doesn’t talk therefore cannot be “the one” nor would she ever - as he firmly believes - pass for “the one” hence why Ariel’s beauty is essentially irrelevant to Eric. His one and only goal concerning relationship at that point revolves around finding that person he believes to be one in the whole world who is right for him. Not only doesn’t he fall for Ariel’s looks but is entirely indifferent to said looks due to thinking that woman is not the one he needs (frankly, the assumption about Eric being easily smitten with visual appeal is extensively incorrect considering the fact that, due to his royal status, chances quite a few attractive female suitors were eager to have his hand only to be rejected because Eric at one point explicitly stated he wasn’t interested in superficial relationship and was waiting for the right person). Which doesn’t mean Eric is immune to primordial instincts and cannot appreciate physical attractiveness - he does, in fact, acknowledge Ariel’s captivating outer exterior once she dresses up for a dinner but it isn’t until she makes him laugh for the first time in few days by being her overly excited, imaginative and adorably dorky self that he starts taking a more insightful look into her and is willing to take her on a Kingdom tour - while still not being ready to open up to her or let the endearing mysterious girl into his life due to being committed to his unrealistic ideal. Next day Eric spends actual time with Ariel who proceeds to behave excessive and enthusiastic, never failing to amaze him. She is more invested in exploring various layers of the city life rather than paying a consistent attention to him (but… but Ariel totally “left her family behind to be with a man” and had no other agenda, right? Right?!), however, Eric is perfectly content with dedicating time and effort into making her feel happy and content, not being put off by her overflowing craziness in the slightest, but getting more and more intrigued by the unusual, eccentric nature of his accomplice - to the point of becoming largely conflicted hence the boat scene where Eric wants to get to know Ariel while still being unsure of his own feelings and pulling away when she tries to initiate a kiss - because yes, he still takes relationship incredibly seriously and is unwilling to allow himself so much as an innocent romantic interaction without being fully confident that this person is truly the one for him. He challenges himself and his initially established concepts of idealistic romance, gradually deviating from a strong commitment to an image of a girl with a sing song-ish voice he had created in his mind in favor of opening the door into the possibility of forming a bond with a real person regardless of this blooming relationship being enormously confusing, awkward and opposing to everything he had led himself to believe in before. He was GROWING out of exaggerations and teenage angst and exposing himself to a new perspective of building a mature relationship. The segment with him throwing a flute into the ocean is the ultimate representation of his character development. Eric’s love for Ariel was powerful in both dimensions: back when he was an avid dreamer with a controversial concept of romance who invested considerable amounts of emotional energy into the idea of “the one” and when he was no longer a happy go lucky kid indulging in his dreams but a man willing to fight for a person he loves both in a figurative (choosing the real Ariel over the romanticized ideal) and literal sense (once slipping out of the hypnosis Ursula had inflicted him with all of his thoughts and actions were inevitably and directly related to Ariel, to making her feel loved, to instantly accepting the immensely shocking fact of her being a mermaid and to throwing himself into the waves where he couldn’t even breathe at risk of getting killed in order to make sure she doesn’t remain subjected to her captor) - and in neither of those cases was Eric drawn to Ariel’s looks. Prince Eric is the kind of character to represent self awareness, intelligence, ability to respond to emotional challenges rather than cowardly running away from them and giving all of himself to his nearest and dearest and his story contains more than enough of an evidence to back it up. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[@l4uryn.850]

Sebastian’s accent wasn’t actually as bad as I thought either.

[@howsie123]

Are you appreciating it just for the cultural representation? Because the little mermaid is not based in the Carribbean. It's based in the 1300s Mediterranean.

[@BORED3404]

​@@howsie123the crab is caribbean

[@joyfulgirl91]

@@howsie123 the original is about how mermaids don’t go to heaven, part of the deal is her steps feel like knives, and at the end she has to kill the prince to live for five hundred years or die right away and go to heaven. At this point it’s weird to say the mermaid should not be from the Caribbean in this completely new version

[@JB-ml4oe]

9:31 She was healing him with her voice but accidentally set off a love spell as well. It's a minor detail but you see her rub the scar on his forehead while singing and later when he takes off the bandaids, it's completely healed. They barely address it in the movie but mermaids can use a variety of magic spells with their voice but the irony is Ariel doesn't know how powerful she is. This was implied in the original as well.

[@StevenTalksAboutIt]

I don't think she actually makes him fall in love for her with her siren song, as for what Sebastian said at the moment, I do think it was implied she used her siren song to save him.

[@JB-ml4oe]

@@StevenTalksAboutIt I partially agree with you but what I'm saying is she set off both. She set off a healing spell at first but when she started she the Part of Your World reprise, then it turned into a love spell. This is also supported by the fact that Eric was acting erratic about finding Ariel and throughout the movie, it is foreshadowed multiple times that whenever someone is under a spell, they may seem fine and in control of themselves but they're still acting very strange. Eric even said he'd die just to find her.

[@StevenTalksAboutIt]

@@JB-ml4oe I think that it had more to do with the fact she saved him, that with the fact he was under a spell, I think Sebastian would have said something about that part and additionally if he was under a spell there would be no need to convince him to kiss her, because he would be super down to do so, and it would take away from their experience, I think they connected when they met and spent time together and not because of a spell.

[@R.444-]

@@StevenTalksAboutIt yeah plus, if you run with the love spell concept it gets really uncomfortable :/

[@psychotophatcat]

@@JB-ml4oe Where was this even implied in the original? I've seen it countless times and not even once have I thought that she used some sort of magic on him. She just has a beautiful voice and selflessly saved him, it's natural that he would be smitten.

[@strawberrylime33]

I didn't enjoy the paint by numbers dialog, but i loved prince eric and Ariel. I liked how a black girl was shown on screen being adorable and innocent instead of sassy and crass and mean.

[@shadowboxplayers420]

Hard agree with the second point. Shouldn’t be such a rarity though!

[@y2klove581]

I haven’t watched the movie yet but I seen a clip on tik tok where Ariel and Vanessa start fighting and Ariel pushes her and has a victory smile it’s so cute 😭

[@lxlxxl6217]

@@cristalblackstar8177 you’re so weird, all your comments are very racially motivated (saying things like this movie was mad to get black people’s money, talking about Halle’s skin tone, and now calling Halle and Chloe ho*s). Get a life you creep.

[@tonybehere7792]

@@cristalblackstar8177 of course you have the old Ariel as your pfp 🥱just hating for no legitimate reason

[@alejandrasanchez3022]

Yeah but sadly they didnt have chemistry or something else. And the actress isnt really good at acting, she should sing more and act less tho...

[@Jacobcoleyray]

I don’t mind Ariel enjoying Sebastian singing under the sea, I don’t think she’s taking his advice at all she’s just having fun singing along

[@EmperorPiplup]

Yea like she clearly enjoyed singing when we first meet her she's singing while exploring

[@ligeiasiren4290]

But it doesn't make any sense for her to sing those lines, she was sick and tired of the sea by that point 💀. Like, the whole point of the film is that she wants to GTFO 😶

[@piyodsbl1900]

@@ligeiasiren4290but but it’s so fun 😅…!! My baby sister loved her voice in that song so much

[@inanimate_cube]

@@ligeiasiren4290 maybe she was trying to act like she was with him so she can easily run away at the end?

[@OReily08080]

​@@inanimate_cube Those were my thoughts. I preferred just Sebastian singing, but it made me think she was singing just to sing or just playing along

[@dianabeloved]

Seeing the Hans Christian Anderson quote at the beginning and the inclusion of Ariel's sisters made me hope that they would use the plot point in the original fairytale where the sisters make a deal with the sea witch to give Ariel more time on land. Could have been a nice addition to the movie!

[@sindy1014]

Also could have helped strengthened their relationship with Ariel. And given the girls something to do rather than awkwardly swim around

[@cacaumassipanoficial6203]

Halle has a good voice and there's nothing wrong with the way she looks, but if the movie has problems she can't solve it just with her acting, no actor would save a movie with problems and an audience that is full of emotions, no matter their voices or acting.

[@Nomoredrama2000]

Exactly. One good performance by a talented actor can never save a movie. The film collectively has be good on all fronts.

[@icyvalleygurl2702]

The lack of colors in the film is my issue, Halle's hair should've been a little bit more pigmented but the movie in general lacks color, it's supposed to be a fairy tale

[@ggwhy110]

Her acting is just meh tho

[@Ourelleetsy]

@@ggwhy110 why

[@msk-qp6fn]

​@@Ourelleetsybaed on what i have seen on youtube halle has problems letting her expressions or emotions reach her eyes. like when she sings part of your world at the rock her eyes kinda looks blank a lot of the times, instead of yearning as i would assume she is trying to be.

[@sailormermaidix24]

For the ending, my gripe is that they should've kept it that Eric be the one to kill Ursula. What i loved about Ariel and Eric in the original they were both heroes and damsels to each other. Ariel saved him 3 times and he saved her twice. Eric killing Ursula shows not only how selfless and heroic he is, but its to prove to Triton that not all humans are evil. Eric is shown as living proof of this by saving/loving his daughter as well as saving not only his world but the Mer world too. So to make this change removed the crucial part of Triton having a change of heart to his daughter's wants and humans overall. Also because Halle is in this, it will be a refresher seeing a black woman being the damsel and have the man saving her because its something that isn’t really shown in the media in comparison to white female protagonists. Teaching them that its ok to depend on others from time to time instead and they can too have the classic fairytale life too as well being worth protecting.

[@deniseking-kn5hh]

Very well said ❤

[@carmengomez3748]

Also, it makes sense for Eric to kill Ursula with the boat, as he his an acomplished sailor, whereas Ariel doesn't know how to pilot a boat.

[@quinn.j4381]

For me it’s Ariel’s villain. Ursula was the one who stole her voice, took her crown, her and her man. She gets to be the one to deal with her villain not her hubby

[@carmengomez3748]

@@quinn.j4381 Good point!

[@sailormermaidix24]

@@quinn.j4381 yes but it still remove the crucial part that a mere human who both Ursula and Triton wouldn't think twice about taking her down and who would risk his life to save the mer world. That's one of the crucial purpose of Eric's character otherwise what is the purpose for Triton to respect humans. It's more imapctful that he see it for himself. Also Ursula isn't Ariel's villain. She's also Eric's both of them were used as pawns for her path to conquest. We all know for Ariel is to purposefully set her up to fail but for him is was hypnotized and bowed to her bidding against his free will and tried to kill him.

[@jasonthomas2369]

I think that the addition of Ariel forgetting her obligations for Ursula's spell was to emphasize that Ariel and Eric's relationship was built naturally. She wasn't feeling any pressure to fall for him or to kiss him, it all occurred naturally. It added a lot to their chemistry for me, actually.

[@laudonneroos6821]

yes this!!!!

[@Aros4]

Yeah! Also since this Ariel is a lot more level headed than og Ariel I think she would’ve definitely felt the pressure and fear of turning into Ursula’s prisoner and it wouldve made it impossible for her to enjoy her time with Eric

[@jmszoom]

See, I never got ANY of that from the original. Lol she fell for him the first moment she saw him. I’m so confused about what people are talking about. Ariel wanted to be human to be with Eric. Am I an idiot? Lol she was obsessed with humans before she saw him, it only pushed her obsession further. She wanted to stay human because she loved Eric. It’s why she was urgently trying to kiss him. Also, he was searching for Ariel, so to say the new version made them seem more naturally attracted, the whole point in the OG was Eric was searching for Ariel all along, but just doesn’t know it’s her bc she has no voice. He is falling for her but is conflicted because he still is longing to find the women who saved him.

[@Maria_Xiao]

​@jmszoom Neither did I. It's like I've watched a different "original". And no, you're not an idiot. 🤝🏻

[@dianabeloved]

And it also shows how evil Ursula is! To discretely trick Ariel by removing that part of her memory to ensure that she will win the wager?? Diabolical.

[@darkraven2116]

I really hate that Sebastian was no longer the royal conductor. With that background, it makes sense why him and Ariel would have the dynamic they do (he would've had to deal with coaching her for the concert). It also explains why he is amazing at conducting the sea creatures for Under the Sea and why he was able to come up with Kiss the Girl so easily. The biggest problem is that The Little Mermaid is a very well written story and everything that happens has reason behind it. Once changes are made, even little changes, the story starts to fall apart.

[@BrcRosa]

Yes 😢

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

THANK YOU. It bothers me to no end that Sebastian is no longer a conductor. He literally says in the original "I should be writing symphonies!" And his conducting and composing are why he was such a valuable asset to help Ariel with Eric. Now he's just...there because he was in the original. All of his personality is just gone with this movie.

[@clairelin0216]

Yes! I also heard that when they were coming up with the story for the 1989 animation, the writers really had fun discussing and combining ideas that made sense in the story's universe, narrative and look good on screen.

[@jayla3282]

The little mermaid 1989 is a very clean and polished story, sure its very simple but I think thats why it works so well, its very straight to the point and I love that

[@Crawlingdreams418]

the director explained that change going "why does it matter for such a powerful king whether his daughters are singers or not" even though them singing was a reference to their deceased mom who loved to sing.

[@Tenshikichi1]

Some corrections: - Ariel's siren song was to heal Eric not to entrance him - Ariel's last outfit wasn't her wedding dress. It was implied that they were married but it wasn't at the same time as their voyage send off.

[@NickNack_2609]

The impression I got from Ariel during under the sea wasn’t that she was “enjoying it” - to me it felt like she was playing along to lower Sebastian’s guard so she could make that escape at the end. He grabbed her by the tail the first time she tried so she had to be sneakier the next.

[@alejandrasanchez3022]

Yeah but is better the original one where she just shows how doesnt want to be there

[@susanalopez5052]

This!!! Plus people forget that in the original she is giggling and dancing along too

[@smcd6101]

I think the problem with this version is that we don’t get any micro-expressions from Ariel that suggests she is just playing along. At face value, she is enjoying the song too much for her sudden departure to make any sense. We could read between the lines if we want, but the fact that it was left to our interpretation is a flaw imho.

[@jayla3282]

​​@@susanalopez5052 yes, she plays with the sea horses and the fish in her hair but we see the flounder aproaching her and in that moment she does look bored until he whispers in her ear she was like "okey, this was was cute an all but it overstayed its welcome" so her leaving does seem out of nowhere

[@lmel88]

@@smcd6101 it feels like she’s just playing along with sebastian/enjoying it at first but then simply realizing this is not what she wants hence why she leaves at the end. like no it’s not enough for me.

[@bridgetspector6703]

I think it would’ve been a cool idea to replace the animal roles with Ariels sisters. It would avoid the use of creepy uncanny valley creatures, and could give the sisters more depth. Like it would be really cool to have the sisters be the ones to sing under the sea to Ariel to try to get her to stay, and be more in line with the original fairy tale

[@scottiedevilliere502]

This is such a fun idea !

[@eronblue3098]

Agreed!!!

[@victoriaa7128]

I agree, not giving the sisters more screen time in the live action is such a missed opportunity! They could've still had the animals to pay homage, but have them be silent like in Cinderella (2015) while other characters are given more depth (like Prince Kip and his father)

[@Mj-lr3nc]

This is genius!!

[@swish3432]

Good idea!

[@msfthe1st117]

I was surprised by how good this one was, though it does still suffer from the Disney live action remake urge to unnecessarily overcomplicate simple and effective story points and perceived plot holes bc of bullshit internet hot takes and bad media literacy.

[@amandastjohn4735]

Or because of ignorance of what the source material is and is not.

[@danielorlovaquinn]

Idk I like the new changes and it was a cool parallel for them both to be explorers although they really could have expanded on what "being left behind" really meant

[@msfthe1st117]

@@danielorlovaquinn that change was good but most of the rest were incredibly unnecessary.

[@danielorlovaquinn]

@msf the1st yes like Ursula being related to triton it's a cool reference and something that has been people's headcannons for years but it felt very random to the film. I do agree that her being a power hungry sea witch was enough.

[@fusetunes]

and that's exactly why i'm so disappointed that these keep being churned out, because even at their best they're just unnecessary. the expanded plot points have already been done better in the broadway shows anyway.

[@-l-2865]

Ariel and Eric’s chemistry got me giggling at the theaters 😭

[@strxwberrypuff]

PLZZZZ IM TEN AND I RELATE SO MUCH I LITERALLY WAS GIGGLING WHILE GETTING BACKKKK

[@surraciddac170]

Same, the constellation scene got me weeping. 😭 Most of the time with the couples in the remake, I usually don’t feel their chemistry but this one I truly did. It was really cute.

[@neb.9489]

They were so cute that they had the middle aged ladies at my theater giggling in the back

[@yveje9720]

Omg me too I was legit giddy

[@togaold]

IM SO GLAD I WASNT THE ONLY ONE FEELING IT!!!! i felt it with them way more than like jasmine and aladdin in the live action for example. i dont know what they did differently but they did it well.

[@GUAGA0612]

Jessica killed every mini second that she’s in as Vanessa

[@casir.7407]

the way she screamed in laughter after ariel turned into a mermaid again was priceless. talk about milking your three minutes of fame

[@AlexJosephDesigns]

@@casir.7407 Yes! That part ATE DOWN

[@lucasb3489]

Its Vanessa

[@IrieTheGreat]

@@lucasb3489 Vanilla?

[@lucasb3489]

@@IrieTheGreat its Vanessa !

[@oliviaoborne576]

I hate how they changed the ending to ariel killing ursula because it ruins tritons realization of not all humans are bad. Hearing how a human went out of their way to save a mermaid at the cost of their own life made him realize humans arent all bad. But now since ariel saved herself what good reason does he have to say humans arent all bad. I mean afterwards he wanted her to come home with him so what does that go to show

[@tanyabc]

Have you seen the movie yet? Ariel tells Triton that she didn't save him alone, Eric was right beside her. That's the reason he begins to view humans as not all bad. Afterwards, he wants her to stay because he doesn't want to miss her.

[@sailormermaidix24]

​@@tanyabcyes but it's more imapctful to show Eric risking his neck to prove to Triton that humans aren't all bad and made him realize that he was wrong. Not only that but also finally realizing his daughter's wants and desires to be human and to be in their world. Hence why he turned her human and let her live her life. This version feels hallow in comparison

[@tanyabc]

@@sailormermaidix24 I never saw the original so that probably makes the difference. I thought it was pretty badass that he dived after Ariel and fought a giant monster with her in those turbulent waters. It felt like he'd done more than enough to prove his love for her and his goodness. Ariel was also only able to give the final blow because of what she learned from Eric. I think this aspect of the story stands well on its own. But if you're comparing it to something else then you might find it lacking. As a new viewer it never really occurred to me to care about who delivered the final blow since they were working together. I wasn't keeping score.

[@pineapplehead2730]

Ugh disney is just trying to recreate EVERYTHING in life action.. why can't they give us something original instead of these boring flat lifeless movies.. and the sad part is. It works for them. So many people watch these movies bc of nostalgia.. please people dont go to these movies

[@madox4061]

he still came for her, helped her and ariel pointed this out to triton, who was dead when it all happened

[@777lordel777]

I have been waiting my WHOLE life to see a live action version of her beautiful sparkly dress she wears as she’s walking out of the water to prince Eric but I guess I’ll have to wait a little while longer :(

[@tswiftdynasty]

same i was soo disappointed when she didn’t have that dress😭

[@lygophilia4127]

I think it would be a simple dress covered in silver sequins. Honestly, I think in real life, it would be a letdown.

[@jenniepotterswift6880]

Omg yes , I've been looking for this comment 😂❤😢

[@bookworm598]

That dress and the whole scene where Eric picks Ariel up and twirls her around was the DREAM as a kid. Sooo pretty and romantic

[@00Meowmeow]

I feel like so many modern remakes of shows and movies miss one main thing. The heart in relationships. You see such cold relationships between siblings, parents, and friends and theres just little to no love there whatsoever. Its like modern movie makers and script writers dont know what healthy relationships between people and their loved ones look like anymore.

[@denys2787]

Possibly more reflective of the times.

[@00Meowmeow]

@@denys2787 probably so which is sad. What an isolating place the modern world has become :/

[@JClover2]

So true. They just don't have that cozy, heartwarming feeling anymore.

[@madisnzz]

@@denys2787 nah they just suck at writing. it’s not that deep

[@Fen_Fox]

@@madisnzz fr I've read fanfiction with better relationship writing, both healthy and not, than a lot of movies and shows out there rn

[@BBardotMMonroe]

Jodi Benson giving Ariel the dinglehopper in the market brought me to tears 🥹

[@mike4539]

No it did not.

[@mvrco_polo]

@@mike4539 LMFAO who are you? what do you mean they didn’t 💀💀

[@mike4539]

@@mvrco_polo A 2 second cameo from a voice actor did NOT “bring them to tears.” Get a grip please.

[@mike4539]

@@user-tn4fk2nq5g I’m great. I’m not lying about bursting into tears because a barely recognisable voice actor appeared on screen for 2 seconds and didn’t even say anything.. How are you doing?

[@chaiboix]

@@mike4539 Why are you so bitter? Some people are more emotional than others, go get a hobby.

[@heresalook]

17:27 Honestly Vanessa was one of my stand outs! Jessica did a GREAT job portraying her

[@vapx0075]

She was on the screen for five seconds. The blandest part of the movie was her.

[@witchplease9695]

@@vapx0075We all know why they’re overhyping her lol. Same reason people over-praise Charlotte in Princess and the Frog.

[@jaamaapii]

I was so surprised when Tessa talked about Arielle and Eric being married! I understood it more as a "lets travel the world before we actually tie the knot" situation. That's why there is no special dress! But I do miss her "return to shore" dress. The whole reunion scene was very underwhelming.

[@Dorkatron500]

I felt silly being a 30 year old woman being so sad that she didn’t come out of the ocean for the reunion in an amazing, sparkling dress like the animated movie. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

[@hannahboldewijn]

I don’t believe they were married either, or at least that wasn’t her wedding dress

[@saramartinez8747]

I know!!! Just a glance up and there she is, In the very same dress. Also I was like Triton plz warn Ariel before you cast a spell on her. As much as she wants it, you shouldn't shapeshift people from the back!!!

[@blueneptune146]

I went with friends and they all said the same thing. We all wanted to see the totally out of period glam dress. Historical period accuracy be damned! #BringBackTheDress!

[@Wizard608]

They really did Ariel's wardrobe dirty. Where's the pink gown? Where's the sparkly dress? Even Vanessa had a better gown than Ariel.

[@carlaa4140]

The fashion department was missing..that is for sure ..

[@mimik222]

I was waiting to see that sparkly dress bro 😭 it was my favorite part in the original movie

[@jmszoom]

Yeah, the wardrobe totally gave high school musical budgeting. Lol

[@vapx0075]

@@mimik222 I think what you want is a clothing catologue.

[@R.444-]

@@vapx0075 I think they absolutely could have done the concept of a dress made from the sea in a way that would have worked for the film, hell I don’t think I would have been mad at them using CGI on it either

[@wittleMermaid13]

Another miss was Ariel trying to stop the wedding in time in the animation had more weight than just trying to stop an engagement party. Meh. It didn't feel as urgent.

[@Gargopallet16]

The most disappointing thing for me is that they did not do/use a rendition of the orchestral score when Ariel finds out Eric is engaged to Vanessa, and she walks away crying!!! That piece of music is so fucking brilliant

[@starcherry6814]

Halle and Melissa were the best actors of this film I had a hard time believing Triton was angry, sad or even her father

[@JClover2]

Triton guy can't act.

[@ElleWhyBee]

@@JClover2 In his defense, he has an Oscar, and has been nominated several times. Idk what he was doing in this movie, but at least he looked nice. 🤷🏿‍♀️

[@JClover2]

@@ElleWhyBee you're right! I don't know what happened. He definitely looked the part!

[@vapx0075]

Do you have a king for a father?

[@vapx0075]

@@JClover2 I felt like they took a couple wrong takes on him.

[@princeali1932]

For the whole Triton and Ursula being siblings thing, what I would have done was do a short back story at the beginning of the movie. The back story could be that Ursula was originally a mermaid like everyone else, but she had a very curious nature. Like Ariel with the human world, Ursula would be curious with magic. It could be like their father favored Triton, and she wanted to be his equal, so she started to dabble on magic despite repeated warnings against using it like Ariel was repeatedly told not to go to the surface. Like Ariel, Ursula didn't listen and ended up doing black magic she didn't understand that it turned her fins into tentacles, causing Triton to banish her for using black magic. Just an idea of what I would have done to give more back story.

[@FifthAveAtFive]

Oh this would’ve been so cool as like a prelude told in small vignettes before the main story starting. It is now my new head canon.

[@bilbopuggins]

Not necessary

[@motorolasamurai1635]

The Caribbean inspired setting makes so much sense, given the copious amounts of Mermaids/Mermaid-adjacent beings that appear in our folklore.

[@JaneDoe-ob3tq]

Which begs the question why didn't they just do a movie about a caribbean mermaid instead of a hand me down? Just saying.

[@fantasticplanet2002]

@@JaneDoe-ob3tq lets be real. most people would not watch a original story, or at least it wouldn't get as much attention as this. its already been explained as to why they changed the setting, halle was cast because she was the best choice and to avoid people saying its not historically accurate for ariel to be black in Denmark they changed the setting. i don't see what else needs to be questioned?

[@JaneDoe-ob3tq]

@@fantasticplanet2002 agree to disagree. I think it would've had the same affect as Black Panther if not a bigger one. Especially with the right marketing. This was lazy. I don't accept sloppy seconds. And it's actually not making as much money as expected. Maybe that'll change later but I doubt it.

[@mistymarshall5438]

@@JaneDoe-ob3tq I've been asking the same thing since the casting of Halle Bailey. Why not do a story about the Jengu of Cameroon or the njuzu of Zimbabwe? Since those kinds of mermaids are known as healers, there could've been a medical element to the story.

[@motorolasamurai1635]

@@JaneDoe-ob3tq Easy. Creative bankruptcy, it would actually take time, research and talent to create a unique story pulling the Caribbean's dense history and lore. Or They can milk money from die-hard fans and by making her black, they could also milk the reactionary hate-watchers. If these movies weren't as controversial, less people would be talking, look at Lady and the Tramp remake.

[@charlotte-op4vz]

as someone whose favorite movie ever is the original little mermaid, i loved this. i thought it was so poignant and the relationship between ariel and eric was absolutely gorgeous. my main beef was flounder’s existence (they literally could’ve cut him from the movie) and the fact that ariel didn’t appear in that gorgeous sparkling dress when she sees eric again at the end. but overall i was so pleasantly surprised by it and it’s definitely my favorite live action after cinderella

[@lub8657]

everyone b forgetting about jungle book

[@charlotte-op4vz]

@@lub8657 i still haven’t seen that movie as i’m not really a fan of the original but i’ve heard it’s very good

[@briannam916]

Agreed! Loved it but yeah, Flounder was very forgettable.

[@celebrei]

I think the reason the writers reinserted the Ursula = Triton’s sister and Ariel’s aunt plot is to make Ursula relatable to Ariel in that both of them were victims of Triton’s draconic rule esp. to his family members thus adding to the persuasive factor in Ariel agreeing to Ursula’s deal

[@janeodee1677]

I teared up when the animated voice actor Jodi benson hands Ariel the Dinglehopper like a pass the torch moment. It was great she got a little cameo.

[@neb.9489]

This! I wish she mentioned it! I love how it wasn’t a “blink and you miss it” type of cameo. It was so sweet!

[@TonySolis99]

I feel like one more scene with Vanessa would’ve been great and I wish Ariel had more wardrobe options than just a blue dress even the fantasy seafoam dress her dad was supposed to make her the second I saw her and that tattered blue dress I was so mad because I was expecting this beautiful ethereal dress

[@jcnyc9353]

They rushed the ending.. not cool

[@rileygrace4426]

Also, unpopular opinion, I adored Ariel’s new blue dress. I do love the original, but the new one is also bright and cute.

[@Tttttttttttttttt484]

Me too!

[@ravenclawesome9093]

I actually assumed that what Sebastian meant by Ariel's "siren song" was that (while it can be used for hypnotism) she used it similar to Rapunzel's healing powers after saving him from drowning, could just be me though.

[@casir.7407]

i assumed that at first, but there are certain implications to the word "siren" compared to "mermaid", and the fact that the power isnt really developed or talked about much and the only other use of the voice was as a hypnotizing force... the more i think of it the more it does seem like ariel unwittingly hypnotized eric

[@lub8657]

honestly if they threw away that line they could’ve at least explained it

[@noufnoufmantz2948]

The book "the little mermaid: guide to merfolk'' , that was recently published, is surrounding the mermaids and their world from Disney's live action movie (supposed to be a book from Prince Eric’s royal library) . There is a chapter about sirens and indeed a healing song is mentioned. So, Ariel could certainly have used this to save Eric.

[@annahks]

I thought so too

[@icky7604]

i thought the same thing because she touches the cut on his forehead as she sings and when hes having that argument with his mom the cut is gone. also he woke up immediately after her song

[@trinaq]

Some things can be better captured in animation, as opposed to live action. But Halle Bailey was a fantastic choice as Ariel, and really captured her naive dreamy personality well. While it's not a perfect film, it's the best live action adaptation I've seen since The Jungle Book.

[@lmel88]

cinderella though!!

[@msk-qp6fn]

​@@lmel88cinderella is the best disney live action in my opinion, in that it's faithful in spirit of the original and slightly adding more depth to the side characters without altering them too much

[@Tenshikichi1]

​@@lmel88 they said "since Jungle Book" not ever.

[@Frogface91]

​@@lmel88 I think I'm the only person who finds Cinderella live action boring, don't hate me! I would have liked it more if it were a musical like the original.

[@kamsismith]

I agree. Not everything works with live-action because the effects will look terrifying and the world-building will look plastic.

[@michelleblacklock]

His dog was actually one of my favorite characters in the original , you see how loyal he is to Eric .. Eric also risks his life to save his beloved Max ... the little moment where Ariel was like ugh I am that girl and even Max is like omg it's her but neither of them can actually say it was so cute ... when Ursula turns the others into those weird wormy things was a very powerful visual ... those are just a few things I felt ...

[@anacastrodavila2689]

I want a better movie for Halle Bailey. She is wonderful in the movie but the movie was meh at best. I am excited for her career as an actress she is incredible.

[@raissacaba9826]

Halle was truly amazing, you can tell she put a lot of heart into this.

[@alejandrasanchez3022]

She is amazing at singing but she cant act that good, not in this movie at least.

[@mvrco_polo]

while i do really like her role as ariel and she absolutely nailed it in her own way, i do believe she could use some more acting classes. that’s not to say she is terrible, but certain facial expressions and nuances just didn’t hit me the same as the original

[@madisnzz]

@@countessofmontecristo3849 This. A lot of people don’t realize how hard it is to translate animation to live action.

[@ayessa11]

​@@mvrco_polo I agree. Also, I didn't feel the chemistry between ariel and the prince.

[@GUAGA0612]

When Jodie benson appeared as a merchant, I got chills

[@amphithere]

Am I the only one who adored the dresses Ariel wore? I loved the pastel colors and the fluffy skirts... They were so soft and sweet. And I'm very aggravated seeing people hate the headband they put on her. As a black girl who grew up wearing heavy braids and my natural afro, I kept my hair out of my face with a headband just like Ariel's. Everyone saying it looked ugly, childish, or even that it made her look like a slave is just disgusting and honestly says a lot about how you perceive natural hairstyles. Headbands and ties like that are beautiful and it warmed my heart to see a styling like that on a Disney princess. And to those saying her outfits made her look like a slave is just racist. Slaves wouldn't be wearing such nice garments AND y'all wouldn't even be saying that if it was a white girl wearing that exact same dress. That just reveals your own personal perception of natural black hairstyles and black people in general.

[@Tttttttttttttttt484]

You’re not only one

[@imthebossmermaid3648]

I didn't think she looked like a slave either and I loved the garments! I hated that the scarf wasn't tucked behind her ears tho it looked sooooooo unnatural. 😭

[@maureencali]

I watched it last night and Halle captured the innocence! I’m glad they made Ariel and Eric’s transition on falling in love feel very natural- nothing felt super rushed even though the story says they only had 3 days. And ofc, the fact that they gave Prince Eric more story and more time spent with Ariel.

[@lmel88]

the romance was def the only thing i liked better in the live action!! which is good because there isn’t a single live action made after 2016 that contains anything that i prefer over the original.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

I am so sick of people saying that Eric was a blank piece of wood in the original and that the romance was based on physical attraction. TLM is in fact a pretty emotionally complex movie. And I dare even say that Ariel and Eric are the healthiest Disney couple ever. They're even the only ones that had a child together (a child that I wish had a better movie, but still) Prince Eric is first introduced by the movie narrative as adventurous young man who despite his royal heritage is not above the “dirty work”: the audience is initially exposed to him helping other sailors on the ship as well as showing consideration and concern towards Grimsby in addition to being a good listener and quite an experienced storyteller informed about the subject he takes it upon himself to talk about hence the sailors discussing Triton and the sea with Eric while Grimsby sceptically brushes their theories off. Thoroughness, open mind and a down to earth attitude are established among Eric’s primary characteristics from the get go and not for the sake of forcibly and obnoxiously presenting him as a multi-dimensional morally/intellectually superior protagonist - in fact, he can hardly even be deemed as one seeing as the movie essentially revolves around Ariel and her struggles with inability to obtain independence and fulfill herself outside of a place she feels like she belongs whereas every other character, no matter how significant, plays a part of a supporting cast - but in order to showcase his interests thus, in so much as the first few minutes of the movie we already learn up on not only the hobbies Eric is intensely invested in but the extent of his love for the sea, conflicted relationship with his guardian figure (Grimsby) and are provided with a raw sketch of his mindset and the lens through which he observes the world. All of it could have easily been left out seeing as Eric’s individual emotional investments are not particularly related to Ariel’s story, but those aspects are outlined regardless because Eric isn’t merely a love interest of a fiery red head: he has a personality, a character of his own. Next time Eric comes off as “the guy with a flute”, it being the immediate impression he gives off once Ariel first sees him, confronted with not so much his mesmerizing attractiveness as the way his eyes lit up when he produced music for his own pleasure (poignantly, the same exact way Ariel preferred to go about her musical skills: away from the crowds or pretentious grand celebrations, using a melody for self expression. It’s hardly a coincidence that Melody ended up being a name of her and Eric’s daughter) or when he played with his dog or when he was clearly not impressed with the the statue of himself. Speaking of which, that is a good character moment because it shows that Eric is burdened by expectations and is seen as a powerful future king when in reality, he is a shy introvert. This allows Ariel to relate to him. Eric, however, was thankful for the attention and love coming from Grimsby regardless of how inexplicably insufficient and misinterpreted the latter’s perception of Eric generally was, which is rather unfortunate given that Grimsby played some sort of a father figure role to him while being entirely unable to get the grasp of how the young man’s mind functioned. Which brings us to another point: according to all the evidence Eric’s parents are most likely dead, considering they didn’t show up on either of his weddings - the fake one with Vanessa and the real one with Ariel - nor did they attend Melody's christening. Admittedly, being left in charge of no one other than Grimsby who hardly understood what Eric essentially was about, and having to prepare himself to be a future effective ruler of Tirulia. Eric is the epitome of a person who built one self up independently, firmly standing his ground confronting the standards imposed on him that he was unwilling to conform to - such as being forced into getting married before determining whether there was a right woman (“the one” as Eric referred to a person he hadn’t yet been lucky enough to meet and want to spend the rest of his life with, not settling for any less) among his suitors for the sake of fitting into a certain ideal of a proper prince. His attitude of a dreamer was a part of his established characterization but he was also exceptionally analytical about his concepts of romance. Having survived a horrific incident Eric sincerely believed he had found true love and his ideology of a dreamer took a strong grab at his outlooks on relationship seeing as he was set out to find a girl with the gorgeous voice at any cost due to said voice being quite literally the only connection to his rescuer. As some people mistakenly imply, Eric did not fall in love with a voice, in fact, at that point his feelings were all over the place and not exactly what stands for actual love, a mature fully formed feeling. Being drawn to the idea of a girl who saved him Eric - genuinely and irreversibly - projects his certitude regarding her being “the one” onto the only representation of her he had been left with so far - her voice. And subsequently his idealistic but slightly immature romantic notions backfire with a cunning irony once he meets a girl who has everything a man can dream of but lacks what he seeks out the most. A beautiful stranger doesn’t talk therefore cannot be “the one” nor would she ever - as he firmly believes - pass for “the one” hence why Ariel’s beauty is essentially irrelevant to Eric. His one and only goal concerning relationship at that point revolves around finding that person he believes to be one in the whole world who is right for him. Not only doesn’t he fall for Ariel’s looks but is entirely indifferent to said looks due to thinking that woman is not the one he needs (frankly, the assumption about Eric being easily smitten with visual appeal is extensively incorrect considering the fact that, due to his royal status, chances quite a few attractive female suitors were eager to have his hand only to be rejected because Eric at one point explicitly stated he wasn’t interested in superficial relationship and was waiting for the right person). Which doesn’t mean Eric is immune to primordial instincts and cannot appreciate physical attractiveness - he does, in fact, acknowledge Ariel’s captivating outer exterior once she dresses up for a dinner but it isn’t until she makes him laugh for the first time in few days by being her overly excited, imaginative and adorably dorky self that he starts taking a more insightful look into her and is willing to take her on a Kingdom tour - while still not being ready to open up to her or let the endearing mysterious girl into his life due to being committed to his unrealistic ideal. Next day Eric spends actual time with Ariel who proceeds to behave excessive and enthusiastic, never failing to amaze him. She is more invested in exploring various layers of the city life rather than paying a consistent attention to him (but… but Ariel totally “left her family behind to be with a man” and had no other agenda, right? Right?!), however, Eric is perfectly content with dedicating time and effort into making her feel happy and content, not being put off by her overflowing craziness in the slightest, but getting more and more intrigued by the unusual, eccentric nature of his accomplice - to the point of becoming largely conflicted hence the boat scene where Eric wants to get to know Ariel while still being unsure of his own feelings and pulling away when she tries to initiate a kiss - because yes, he still takes relationship incredibly seriously and is unwilling to allow himself so much as an innocent romantic interaction without being fully confident that this person is truly the one for him. He challenges himself and his initially established concepts of idealistic romance, gradually deviating from a strong commitment to an image of a girl with a sing song-ish voice he had created in his mind in favor of opening the door into the possibility of forming a bond with a real person regardless of this blooming relationship being enormously confusing, awkward and opposing to everything he had led himself to believe in before. He was GROWING out of exaggerations and teenage angst and exposing himself to a new perspective of building a mature relationship. The segment with him throwing a flute into the ocean is the ultimate representation of his character development. Eric’s love for Ariel was powerful in both dimensions: back when he was an avid dreamer with a controversial concept of romance who invested considerable amounts of emotional energy into the idea of “the one” and when he was no longer a happy go lucky kid indulging in his dreams but a man willing to fight for a person he loves both in a figurative (choosing the real Ariel over the romanticized ideal) and literal sense (once slipping out of the hypnosis Ursula had inflicted him with all of his thoughts and actions were inevitably and directly related to Ariel, to making her feel loved, to instantly accepting the immensely shocking fact of her being a mermaid and to throwing himself into the waves where he couldn’t even breathe at risk of getting killed in order to make sure she doesn’t remain subjected to her captor) - and in neither of those cases was Eric drawn to Ariel’s looks. Prince Eric is the kind of character to represent self awareness, intelligence, ability to respond to emotional challenges rather than cowardly running away from them and giving all of himself to his nearest and dearest and his story contains more than enough of an evidence to back it up. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[@maureencali]

@@vetarlittorf1807 the original animated TLM I really liked as a child (and while I was growing up) because it had everything-- magic, romance, drama, and dare I say-- HORROR (Ursula was a terrifying villain and the raging sea scene was super scary). Eric did his part in the original and steered that sunken ship to stab Ursula, he rowed a boat alone to the sea to come to Ariel’s rescue goodness as best he could. He’s my fave Disney prince ofc! Prince Charming is 2nd bc they gave him a fun personality in Cinderella 3. I also liked him in this LA, it captured him being the very nice boy that he is to Ariel.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

@@maureencali I didn't like him in the remake at all. He doesn't seem at all interested in his royal duties, whereas the original accepted his responsibilities but was uncomfortable with what was expected of him because he was shy and insecure. That's why Ariel was so important to him; because she's so spontaneous, doesn't care what others think of her and appreciates the little things in life. Eric found that to be charming and that's how you know Ariel will be a good wife to him. She's the kind of emotional support he needs. This dynamic in the original was interesting because Eric does not meet the typical alpha male masculinity because of his initial insecurities and shyness. It's also what makes him and Ariel kindred spirits. In the remake, Eric is basically given Melody's arc from the sequel (obsessed with the ocean and smothered by an overbearing mother) but none of the traits that made her engaging. And the movie robs him of the chance to overcome his insecurities AND the chance to repay his debt to Ariel by saving her life from Ursula. Btw, that moment of human nobility and courage was in the original what caused Triton's change of heart and is the reason why he believes Ariel is in good hands. None of that is in the remake. In the remake, we are never shown why Triton gives Ariel her dream other than Sebastian telling him that Ariel is unhappy. And that's another thing. Ariel and Triton's father-daughter dynamic is missing from the remake.

[@maureencali]

@@vetarlittorf1807 the LA's Eric does care for the kingdom, in an entirely different way from tradition-- which may be misunderstood as simply not being interested. He himself wishes to always embark on dangerous voyages in order to personally make new connections with other countries/cultures/kingdoms so that his own kingdom wouldn't get left behind with the rest of the world progressing as explained in the film. He never believed in their isolated kingdom being cursed, and takes the risk to let them be known despite knowing the dangers.

[@franseslira7670]

Favorite part is when Ariel gets to realize her dreams in the 'Part of your World song'. The fire, the dancing, knowledge of human world (when Eric talks about the maps and stuff).

[@JetPackDino]

That sparkly dress for Ariel's walking-out-of-the -sea moment is very memorable in the animated version. I've seen polls that rank it as the #1 Disney princess dress. I'm surprised it was completely absent for this version. Thank you for your thoughtful review, I look forward to seeing this

[@yundorphin]

Pretty sure the siren song was actually healing him, not hypnotizing him. That wouldn't make sense given how they went out of their way to make Kiss the Girl more consensual. Totally agreed on Under the Sea not needing Ariel's involvement. I think they also made Ariel forget her "mission" because then they could further establish their love is developing naturally, not because she's actively seducing him. Also it makes more sense why she wanders off the carriage to explore the market - with no sense of mission, it makes sense she's her natural, curious self wandering off.

[@Aros4]

Honestly I thought it was pretty clear that her song helped heal him and it seems like the obsession was an unfortunate side effect. Like a medication. I think Sebastian references it too but I could be wrong. however if I was pulled to shore by Halle Bailey and she started singing to me, I too would immediately fall in love with her 😂.

[@afeast4crows]

It’s a fun movie theatre experience. Halle’s rendition of “Part of your world” was so good I wanted to stand up and clap 🤣

[@muziel2652]

Me too

[@shawnbay2211]

i do have criticism for it because it was so performance perfect that i dont think it captured the song's original intent. if you wanna clap , the song did it wrong because you should be crying. at least , it gave me the feeling of witnessing a singing competition. the style and compostion of the original is still so emotionally perfect to me that i'm too spoilt to appreciate anything unless it can do the same 😆

[@Aniexo_]

Same! I wanted to clap so bad 😩

[@ThaiDaher]

@@shawnbay2211 🙄

[@lonesomebeetroot3376]

I guess I’m the only one who found her rendition sort of annoying and weird. I did think Poor Unfortunate Souls was done quite well though

[@susanalopez5052]

to me, him thinking on Ariel even under Vanessa’s spell didn’t come across as him being a playboy or as the spell being weak, it meant he had already fallen so hard for Ariel his care for her peeked through the surface regardless of the spell. Kinda made it more romantic imo

[@FifthAveAtFive]

Exactly this! Especially with the conversation he had with Grimsby beforehand of choosing between his ideal and reality. He had already chosen Ariel and let go of finding this fantasy girl that saved him when Ursula interferes. I liked seeing him snap in and out of the spell and how there were multiple uses of the siren song, for good things like healing when Ariel uses it and for bad when Ursula uses it to hypnotize Eric. It made it seem like he was questioning why he was disassociating so much, which as someone that does disassociate because of my disabilities is very relatable.

[@trinaq]

I'm glad that I saw this movie, Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy were the stand out performances, in my book. I agree that a rap song doesn't need to be forced into EVERY project out there, but seems like it's only there to appeal to younger demographics.🧜‍♀️

[@vandabiss]

aside from bailey and mccarthy, i think jessica alexander as vanessa milked that 3 min screentime. her performance left a mark on me

[@justpeachykeen13]

Lol I think that rap song was just Lin Manuel Mirandas style popping out

[@kamsismith]

What was your favorite song from the remake?

[@Chimmie23]

@@kamsismith I watched it yesterday and part of your world, Poor unfortunate souls, under the sea and Kiss the girl were my fav 😭 idk which to pick as no.1 but if we incorporate the scenes with the songs, kiss the girl was very fun I just laughed half through it

[@trinaq]

@@kamsismith Probably "Part of your World", I love Halle's voice. How about yourself?

[@shinigamis_like_apples4797]

I honestly really liked it. I loved how she explained her name to him instead of Sebastian suddenly gaining an ability to talk to humans 😂 and how the siren song was explained to show why Eric was so obsessed with finding her yet also fell in love with her without her singing or her looks alone

[@nanananana1.0]

i’d love to add that i was sooo disappointed they didn’t feature something close to the glitter dress she wears when her dad transforms her.

[@TheIndigoLion]

Its not that weird for her to join in on under the sea to me. This ariel loves her home, but she wants more. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@tonybehere7792]

THERE YOU GO!!

[@optimisticprime5711]

And I feel like her having fun makes the scene more enjoyable to the audience as well!

[@mvrco_polo]

it felt like ariel was more playing along to then just be like “sike” at the end of it. if you notice, you can see her try to slink away but gets held back when sebastian grabs her tail

[@animula6908]

That’s more depth than I need from this cartoon made live cgi

[@mvrco_polo]

@@animula6908 that was unnecessary as hell to say but okay??

[@Ourelleetsy]

I like their chemistry, they managed to pull off the original tension even better when she has no voice, got me rooting for them that I got genuinely upset when ursula gets in the way

[@snailgail4012]

I felt like Flounder did not get half the screen time he should’ve had either. Scuttle had much more appearances compared to him, which was strange to me, considering Scuttle was really only relevant in the cartoon to help foil the wedding/figure out who Vanessa really was, and confuse a fork for a hairbrush. That might just be me being nit picky, or influenced by the fact that I hated the “Scuttlebutt.” I also heavily agree on “Kiss the Girl.” The scene felt lackluster, only really becoming somewhat eye-drawing when they added the visual effects which didn’t say much considering they too, fell a bit short. Like with the first part of “Under the Sea”, it felt empty and uninteresting. Considering both songs didn’t feature nearly as many characters/creatures as the cartoon did (only the first half of Under the Sea, but still), it just fell flat and tired.

[@thaisgregorio2734]

Although it wasn't perfect, I really liked this adaptation. It was visually beautiful and very well acted

[@lanatobasco1224]

Sebastian says she used her siren song to save eric, so does triton. I think a siren song in the context they used it was meant to be more like phoenix tears from harry potter. Something with a healing property, not necessarily a hypnosis tool. I think thats why they have eric clearly endeared to voiceless ariel, but he reluctantly agrees to marry urusla’s human form with ariel’s stolen voice to show it wasnt simply her song that attracted him to her. I think they had ursula add a forgetting to her spell on ariel to hammer in that the deal was never made in good faith. Ursula put that in there to ensure that ariel would never fulfill the terms of their agreement to keep her legs

[@lorenacuenca6250]

I understood the same of the siren song and I completely agree with the decision to have Ariel forget about the arrangement

[@YongandMike]

Halle Bailey owned that movie. She brings an incredible portrayal of Ariel, especially considering she is known as a singer rather than an actor. Also, Jessica Alexander, who played Vanessa, delivers a captivating performance that steals the scenes.

[@denissa449]

nah 🤢

[@aprr5366]

I just saw the movie for the second time and liked it even more. The only thing that really bothered me was how they did the ending transformation scene. I think Ariel walking from the sea in a sparkly dress it’s an iconic scene and it would have looked so pretty. Imagine Eric sitting on the shore staring at the waves 🌊 thinking they could never be together, starts to leave, then she comes out of the ocean 😩 Edit: I actually loved Eric’s song soooo much and the dress Ariel wears at the end it’s an engagement party dress not a wedding dress

[@martacastillo6272]

For real, Halle would've looked STUNNING

[@Ourelleetsy]

Man i wish triton gave her that dress with his magic, i mean you gave her feet why not give her soemthing to wear that goes along with it

[@martacastillo6272]

@@Ourelleetsy tbh maybe it would've been out of character for him in the live action, there was something gentle about him in the animated that made him cherish his daughters that wasn't reflected in the live action. Btw I think that since the actor doesn't have a teenage daughter (he has a 9 year old daughter though) and maybe the directing, they didn't quite know how to translate that kind of family dynamic. After rewatching the animated film after a long time (I'm 21) I noticed that my dad is very much like Triton😅 stubborn deeply protective of me and my sisters (frowns a lot hehe), and we would argue a lot with him in our teens, but super sappy when he shows us affection, he called us princesses when we were kids, brought us girly souvenirs when he traveled, and when we dress up he says I HAVE SUCH BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS🥲 Live action Triton didn't have those vibes at all

[@absolutelynotellen]

THIS. They could have done the sparkly dress Ariel scene and i'm upset why is no one telling me this 🙃

[@oasis_06]

yeah. i also wished we saw them talk more after their reunion

[@AishInTheHouse]

Sucks to see the volumes of criticism directed at Halle Bailey BEFORE the film came out, only to find out later that she carried the entire film. Edit: No I was not referring to her hair or looks, pls calm down 😅

[@Princessm1320]

@Lilman Yellow it’s not a mushy brown orange thing. They’re locs and the director wanted to work with natural hair instead of having her dye it or wear wig. As a black woman im touched that he left her hair alone sorta.

[@Business-Antics]

@@Princessm1320 still brown-mute orange.

[@CoconutGirl333]

@@lilmanyellow8652 are you serious?? That “mush” is called locs, a black hairstyle. Don’t be ignorant.

[@aaron199x]

@@CoconutGirl333Locs is not a black hairstyle. India and Native Americans were using Locs too. Saying it’s black is GATEKEEPING. Stop that! It’s not exclusively black.

[@tiasaywhat]

@@aaron199x be so serious. Like foreal.

[@AllMericanGrl]

I honestly had to hold in giggles at Eric basically being waterboarded while Ariel is rescuing him. That man is dead, either from drowning before he gets to land or secondary drowning from all that water he inhaled 😂

[@m00nrac00n]

Ironicaly the most "hated on" part of the movie before its release, was the best part: Halle Bailey. This "criticism" was literally just racism. She was fantastic.

[@msk-qp6fn]

She might have been but the poc marketing was definitely on the nose aaaand possibly even ginger erasure

[@hkc8544]

@@msk-qp6fn Ginger erasure? Really?

[@andysee6996]

I'm more concerned about Bailey's blackness being used as a shield against all criticism no matter how constructive it is.

[@beysmentssecuritycamera6013]

@@msk-qp6fn babes be for real Ariel was straight up artificial red no “ginger”… and the original little mermaid wasn’t even red hair either

[@Rozziefeatherschneider]

​@@beysmentssecuritycamera6013Lies. You're just saying that to make an excuse for that garbage remake not staying close to the source material. If you're not gonna do something right don't do it at all.

[@annavanrijn4639]

I kind of hate that Lin Manuel Miranda is now so involved with disney. He has a very limited range which is fine when he has full creative control but when he doesn’t it always comes out disjointed. Also I’m not sure if he gets the difference between scoring a musical and scoring a musical film, because they are not the same thing. He just doesn’t have the skill to make a cohesive musical arc. It sucks that other talented lyricists/composers get passed over just because disney want a piece of the hamilton pie.

[@msk-qp6fn]

Money money money must be funny in a rich man's world

[@fusetunes]

FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT. imo hamilton is massively overrated to begin with, but it baffles me even more that somehow disney specifically seems to think lin is the god of songwriting. i guess since hamilton is so popular + he rarely turns stuff down, they just use his name to bank on everything despite the fact he's pretty much capable of only writing 2 different types of songs over and over again (and 99% of the time it just sounds like he wrote them for himself to perform instead of actually considering how it fits into the narrative). also ngl he's not a good actor either so it's annoying that he also keeps making his way into the movies themselves. it's especially frustrating when in stuff like moana he randomly starts singing in the middle of the actual polynesian performer's song... idk i'm just over it

[@clairegerbasi9401]

I agree!!

[@sillygoosetaur]

I personally love a lot of his work (hamilton, moana, tick tick boom), but yeah i get it

[@awevisual]

Right! I think that song would've been great in The Goofy Movie. It was OK but out of place for TLM. I cringed so hard. Agree that all his songs start sounding the same.

[@amberhiller]

The idea of a regal couple, trying to pass down their kingdom to an adopted child, found in a ship wreckage, is so funny to me. Back in those days, being a civilian and leaving your property to an adopted foundling would have been hard, leaving a kingdom to one? What?

[@MM-qj8ys]

it’s a fairy tale lmao how do you feel about a whole civilization of fish people and sea witches that brew potions? 😅

[@amberhiller]

​@@MM-qj8ys I know, I get it. It's just that all of the dynastic power struggles I've ever known about came flashing in front of my eyes and, for a moment, it seemed hilarious. Imagine if Henry VIII wouldn't have had to produce a male heir, but could've just adopted an orphan. The Anglican church would've needed to exist. No reform, no heretics burned to the stake, could've been so simple

[@hollyfae_art]

I was very unhappy with the costumes for Ariel, honestly, and I made several videos making my own versions 🤣 I’m a huge fan of Colleen Atwood but I feel like Disney execs limited her this time.

[@kyrawoodall4415]

I just subscribed to your channel. You’re so talented!

[@rosies69]

Stop advertising your channel on someone elses video 🙄

[@ziggykatze]

1:55 Not sure if this is mentioned below but Ariel doesn't go through with killing the prince in the book. She couldn't do it and instead commits suicide. I love that the book is an allegory for Hans being in love with his male friend who is marrying a woman. He really just wants to be part of his world.

[@anjealousanaconda9692]

The only thing I was really disappointed in was that Ariel’s sisters essentially served no purpose. The promotional material made it seem like they’d have a bigger role in the film , I thought they’d do something from the book where they give Ursula their hair in exchange for a dagger that would spare Ariel

[@WastelandsNomad2277]

Unfortunate that despite the extra time a live action film gives, they cut so much for no real reason.

[@OReily08080]

My thoughts. I was happy about their chemistry buildup being part of that 50 extra minutes, but I was so bitter of what else could've been in there. I wanted the chef scene, I wanted certain songs to be left out. I wanted extra time for the sisters. Many of these is just nitpicking

[@kluski3423]

The things I didn't like were the outfits, giant Ursula, Eric's song, King Tryton and how short the fight with Vanessa was

[@shippendales8543]

I loved Giant Ursula primarily how much she looks like a Kaiju giant monster Just about scary enough that kids won't be scared too much but still scary

[@vim2339]

The outfit was beautiful and giant Ursula was in the cartoon and the fight was short in the cartoon with Vanessa!

[@kluski3423]

@@shippendales8543 the scariest thing about her was how bad the CGI looked and how thin her hair has become

[@a1kosa1ko]

i loved eric’s song. it was very broadway

[@wonderpotter2674]

Oh yeah king triton was kinda a miss in this movie

[@Al1701]

I described Triton's performance to my friends as constant brooding, and their response was "So, like Batman." And now I wish Triton had pulled a cowl over his head and declared "I am vengeance, I am the depths, I AM MERBAT!"

[@justthetruth3950]

I don't care what anyone says, I ADORED THE MOVIE, it so much better than what I expected. Halle and Melissa made the whole movie for me, they were simply amazing

[@truefalse934]

I can’t wait to watch it!!!

[@shortieoreo6243]

@@truefalse934 me too! i'm going to watch it tomorrow!

[@vim2339]

I watch it yesterday and I agree it’s better then I expected !!

[@LexiNc8284]

Cant wait to go see It ❤

[@lxlxxl6217]

Finally someone not overly critical or negative! This was a really sweet movie and all the kids at my theatre loved it and danced to (the ultimate Disney song, in my opinion) Under the Sea in their seats! It was fun and silly and sweet and god Halle Bailey is a beautiful princess. I wish everyone could settle down.

[@mxclfld9161]

In my opinion a mermaid voice can be used to heal people and make them love you, that’s why Ursula take hers. She even says that a mermaid without a voice is completely useless, and could explain why Eric wants so bad to find that girl, but in this version he really loves her for the person she is, and that’s why he later is confused when falls in love with Ursula/Vanessa (After use the voice) because he loves Ariel even when she didn’t need her voice to make him feeling that way, being this a real and pure love.

[@MnMnBahr.]

All old Disney’s movies are way better than the new ones no matter how much they try to .. HOW?????? Were way simpler, enjoyable and meaningful

[@someanon1984]

I actually liked what they did with the siren song. The way I interpreted it was that maybe she used it initially to heal him (I remember Sebastian ranting about how he can't believe she used her gift to save a human) and that while she might have known there would be side effects, at least he would be alive. Those "side effects" are what caused his initial fascination with the mystery girl who saved him (and I think that this was Disney's explanation for why he wanted to find her so badly) but we can see that even then, he's not feeling the full effects because compared to when he met Vanessa, he's considerably more lucid and able to make his own decisions. But then later, he meets Ariel and forms a genuine connection with her and finally decides that searching for the mystery girl isn't worth it anymore (proof of him being able to make decisions that aren't influenced by Ariel's siren song). Then he met Vanessa/Ursula and we were able to see the full effects of a siren song when it's actually intended to hypnotize someone into falling in love. Eric became disoriented and confused whenever the topic of his relationship with Vanessa came up. You might have noticed that this never happened around Ariel which is why I think that her use of her song was never to take away his free will. I feel like in this video, it's implied that the siren song was part of Eric's fascination with Ariel but I don't think that that was the case.

[@coralmaynard4876]

I haven't seen the film yet, and when I do, I want to be able to genuinely enjoy EVERY PART of it, so while you're on the topic of Vanessa's hypnosis, if Eric had enough free will and sanity to make a conscious choice... what stopped him? There's also the fact that hypnosis is VERY poorly portrayed in media - especially having been under hypnosis myself, how you think and act reflects your TRUE self.

[@samonelly4813]

Imagine being as beautiful and talented as Halle. I am just so impressed with her. They couldn’t have picked a better Ariel

[@minilea144]

i think keke palmer could have

[@sheznotrushin]

@@minilea144absolutely not, and I like keke

[@LexiNc8284]

YESSS EXACTLY!! And it’s creepy to me how some people are trying to uplift Vanessa’s actress to put down Halle in shady passive aggressive ways🙄. Whether it’s dragging her acting or her looks, they need to stop being delusional, Halle was perfect.

[@tonybehere7792]

@@minilea144 she doesn’t have an hypnotic voice like Halle. She could do a good Cinderella or belle tho

[@xowarrior]

she is great, her hair is so not Ariel. all we wanted is red hair and we got his brick orange awful one. sad

[@stephaniecade7029]

I just saw it last night and I LOVED it! I think people need to understand this is a “reimagining” of the story, it’s not a remake. Like how they did Mulan. If you’re expecting to see a remake, you’ll be disappointed. If you go into with an open mind, I think you will enjoy it. I felt like they kept all the good stuff and the changes made sense for this story. The story and message is very different than the animated but it worked. Halle is the perfect Ariel! She was stunning! Ursula fell short for me performance wise but she looked amazing! All in all this was one of my favorite live action reimagined films.

[@geckohunter123]

But like not much was reimagined, it follows most of the same story beats as the original which is why it’s hard not to compare it.

[@Tttttttttttttttt484]

Thank you: someone says it

[@jayla3282]

I do wish halle had made the character more bubbly cause sometimes I felt she was too blank faced outside of the musical numbers but I did enjoy the lagoon scene, specially the scene where she teaches him to say her name. Also I disliked the costume design and I felt the ending was too contrived, you have the queen saying their world could never be together after the battle with ursula but then 5 mins later she accepts ariel with open arms.

[@melenatorr]

In the original Andersen story, the Little Mermaid did NOT kill the Prince. It was a way out for her, created by her sisters: they gave the Sea Witch their hair, and she gave them knife. If the Little Mermaid killed the Prince with the knife, she would become a mermaid again. She does not do it, throws herself off the ship instead. She does begin to turn into sea foam, but a further event changes things, which people should read to get the impact.

[@tinymxnticore]

This would probably be too convoluted for a single movie, but I thought it would be so cool to bring the dagger back into this version of the story. Ariel could be offered a way out of the deal with Ursula by killing Eric, only for it to be revealed that the Sea Witch’s plan was to restart the war between land and sea by causing both the human Prince and the Daughter of Triton to die.

[@dianabeloved]

@@tinymxnticore Wait this is brilliant. Maybe too dark for a movie meant for children, but it would have been epic. Plus it would have given the sisters a bigger role.

[@2023Mermaid]

I loved the movie and like what some are saying, Ariel needed a "The dress" moment. The sparkling dress at the end of the original movie comes to mind. That would have been PERFECT. I wanted more dialog from the sisters as well. Overall I loved the movie!🧜🏿‍♀️🧜🏾‍♀️

[@vetarlittorf1807]

I am so sick of people saying that Eric was a blank piece of wood in the original and that the romance was based on physical attraction. TLM is in fact a pretty emotionally complex movie. And I dare even say that Ariel and Eric are the healthiest Disney couple ever. They're even the only ones that had a child together (a child that I wish had a better movie, but still) Prince Eric is first introduced by the movie narrative as adventurous young man who despite his royal heritage is not above the “dirty work”: the audience is initially exposed to him helping other sailors on the ship as well as showing consideration and concern towards Grimsby in addition to being a good listener and quite an experienced storyteller informed about the subject he takes it upon himself to talk about hence the sailors discussing Triton and the sea with Eric while Grimsby sceptically brushes their theories off. Thoroughness, open mind and a down to earth attitude are established among Eric’s primary characteristics from the get go and not for the sake of forcibly and obnoxiously presenting him as a multi-dimensional morally/intellectually superior protagonist - in fact, he can hardly even be deemed as one seeing as the movie essentially revolves around Ariel and her struggles with inability to obtain independence and fulfill herself outside of a place she feels like she belongs whereas every other character, no matter how significant, plays a part of a supporting cast - but in order to showcase his interests thus, in so much as the first few minutes of the movie we already learn up on not only the hobbies Eric is intensely invested in but the extent of his love for the sea, conflicted relationship with his guardian figure (Grimsby) and are provided with a raw sketch of his mindset and the lens through which he observes the world. All of it could have easily been left out seeing as Eric’s individual emotional investments are not particularly related to Ariel’s story, but those aspects are outlined regardless because Eric isn’t merely a love interest of a fiery red head: he has a personality, a character of his own. Next time Eric comes off as “the guy with a flute”, it being the immediate impression he gives off once Ariel first sees him, confronted with not so much his mesmerizing attractiveness as the way his eyes lit up when he produced music for his own pleasure (poignantly, the same exact way Ariel preferred to go about her musical skills: away from the crowds or pretentious grand celebrations, using a melody for self expression. It’s hardly a coincidence that Melody ended up being a name of her and Eric’s daughter) or when he played with his dog or when he was clearly not impressed with the the statue of himself. Speaking of which, that is a good character moment because it shows that Eric is burdened by expectations and is seen as a powerful future king when in reality, he is a shy introvert. This allows Ariel to relate to him. Eric, however, was thankful for the attention and love coming from Grimsby regardless of how inexplicably insufficient and misinterpreted the latter’s perception of Eric generally was, which is rather unfortunate given that Grimsby played some sort of a father figure role to him while being entirely unable to get the grasp of how the young man’s mind functioned. Which brings us to another point: according to all the evidence Eric’s parents are most likely dead, considering they didn’t show up on either of his weddings - the fake one with Vanessa and the real one with Ariel - nor did they attend Melody's christening. Admittedly, being left in charge of no one other than Grimsby who hardly understood what Eric essentially was about, and having to prepare himself to be a future effective ruler of Tirulia. Eric is the epitome of a person who built one self up independently, firmly standing his ground confronting the standards imposed on him that he was unwilling to conform to - such as being forced into getting married before determining whether there was a right woman (“the one” as Eric referred to a person he hadn’t yet been lucky enough to meet and want to spend the rest of his life with, not settling for any less) among his suitors for the sake of fitting into a certain ideal of a proper prince. His attitude of a dreamer was a part of his established characterization but he was also exceptionally analytical about his concepts of romance. Having survived a horrific incident Eric sincerely believed he had found true love and his ideology of a dreamer took a strong grab at his outlooks on relationship seeing as he was set out to find a girl with the gorgeous voice at any cost due to said voice being quite literally the only connection to his rescuer. As some people mistakenly imply, Eric did not fall in love with a voice, in fact, at that point his feelings were all over the place and not exactly what stands for actual love, a mature fully formed feeling. Being drawn to the idea of a girl who saved him Eric - genuinely and irreversibly - projects his certitude regarding her being “the one” onto the only representation of her he had been left with so far - her voice. And subsequently his idealistic but slightly immature romantic notions backfire with a cunning irony once he meets a girl who has everything a man can dream of but lacks what he seeks out the most. A beautiful stranger doesn’t talk therefore cannot be “the one” nor would she ever - as he firmly believes - pass for “the one” hence why Ariel’s beauty is essentially irrelevant to Eric. His one and only goal concerning relationship at that point revolves around finding that person he believes to be one in the whole world who is right for him. Not only doesn’t he fall for Ariel’s looks but is entirely indifferent to said looks due to thinking that woman is not the one he needs (frankly, the assumption about Eric being easily smitten with visual appeal is extensively incorrect considering the fact that, due to his royal status, chances quite a few attractive female suitors were eager to have his hand only to be rejected because Eric at one point explicitly stated he wasn’t interested in superficial relationship and was waiting for the right person). Which doesn’t mean Eric is immune to primordial instincts and cannot appreciate physical attractiveness - he does, in fact, acknowledge Ariel’s captivating outer exterior once she dresses up for a dinner but it isn’t until she makes him laugh for the first time in few days by being her overly excited, imaginative and adorably dorky self that he starts taking a more insightful look into her and is willing to take her on a Kingdom tour - while still not being ready to open up to her or let the endearing mysterious girl into his life due to being committed to his unrealistic ideal. Next day Eric spends actual time with Ariel who proceeds to behave excessive and enthusiastic, never failing to amaze him. She is more invested in exploring various layers of the city life rather than paying a consistent attention to him (but… but Ariel totally “left her family behind to be with a man” and had no other agenda, right? Right?!), however, Eric is perfectly content with dedicating time and effort into making her feel happy and content, not being put off by her overflowing craziness in the slightest, but getting more and more intrigued by the unusual, eccentric nature of his accomplice - to the point of becoming largely conflicted hence the boat scene where Eric wants to get to know Ariel while still being unsure of his own feelings and pulling away when she tries to initiate a kiss - because yes, he still takes relationship incredibly seriously and is unwilling to allow himself so much as an innocent romantic interaction without being fully confident that this person is truly the one for him. He challenges himself and his initially established concepts of idealistic romance, gradually deviating from a strong commitment to an image of a girl with a sing song-ish voice he had created in his mind in favor of opening the door into the possibility of forming a bond with a real person regardless of this blooming relationship being enormously confusing, awkward and opposing to everything he had led himself to believe in before. He was GROWING out of exaggerations and teenage angst and exposing himself to a new perspective of building a mature relationship. The segment with him throwing a flute into the ocean is the ultimate representation of his character development. Eric’s love for Ariel was powerful in both dimensions: back when he was an avid dreamer with a controversial concept of romance who invested considerable amounts of emotional energy into the idea of “the one” and when he was no longer a happy go lucky kid indulging in his dreams but a man willing to fight for a person he loves both in a figurative (choosing the real Ariel over the romanticized ideal) and literal sense (once slipping out of the hypnosis Ursula had inflicted him with all of his thoughts and actions were inevitably and directly related to Ariel, to making her feel loved, to instantly accepting the immensely shocking fact of her being a mermaid and to throwing himself into the waves where he couldn’t even breathe at risk of getting killed in order to make sure she doesn’t remain subjected to her captor) - and in neither of those cases was Eric drawn to Ariel’s looks. Prince Eric is the kind of character to represent self awareness, intelligence, ability to respond to emotional challenges rather than cowardly running away from them and giving all of himself to his nearest and dearest and his story contains more than enough of an evidence to back it up. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[@VMeral]

Thank you for this!

[@brettemiller8046]

You get it.

[@themask6301]

Preach! Thank you! You have great analytical skills. I'm also commenting cuz I hope your post gets more bumped up to the top comments, cuz you make such great points. I feel like the problem with today's audience's is that they expect all movie characters to be very quirky and extroverted, because to them that speaks "good and strong characterization," but that does not have to be always the case. Now, with the over-saturation of these quirky and extroverted characters is that they tend to be overly obnoxious and annoying, because "thEy HaVe MoRe PerSoNaliTY."

[@miamafalda1118]

I love you for saying this. Absolutely sick of people saying this too!

[@Foreveramermaid-hi7wv]

This comment is everything thank you for the time spent to write it❤