Ah, The Little Mermaid. Many have been waiting for Disney's lastest live-action plus CGI remake with some trepidation, and I confess that includes us. But now the movie has finally been released, could we all be proven wrong? The reviews suggest we could.
Critics have lavished praise on Halle Bailey's performance as Ariel in early comments on Twitter, while also commending the music. But what about the character design?
First, there were those terribly badly edited posters, and then there was the shock of being presented with disturbing realistic-looking Little Mermaid character designs for the supporting cast of aquatic creatures. It was all looking quite worrying.
But while the CGI is still dividing people in early reviews on Twitter, that doesn't seem to detract from praise for the film overall, thanks to the music and individual performances. It's "Disney's best live-action adaptation, in that it succeeds not just as nostalgia but as an often stunning film in its own right," YouTuber Grace Randolph wrote on Twitter after the premiere.
“The Little Mermaid is a live-action remake that retains the heart and soul of the story we know and love, and it’s elevated even further by a note-perfect, star-making performance from Halle Bailey,” the critic Zoe Rose Bryant wrote “She was born to be on the big screen and she’s why this new take is worth watching.”
Daveed Diggs’ voice work as Sebastian the crab has also been singled out for praise. and we can see in the clip above that Sebastian the crab does seem to have a lot of character. Nevertheless, I still find him a bit creepy myself, and it seems others do too.
There's a little longer to wait to see for yourself. The Little Mermaid will be released on May 25. Then we'll be able to decide for sure whether it will join the most controversial character designs.
