The Little Mermaid

Little mermaid Ariel doesn't listen to her dad and is more interested in life on land than she should be, and when she sees a handsome prince, she falls in love with him. Being with him is going to cost he, maybe more than she wants to pay. Rob Marshall delivers an inoffensive remake of a Disney animated film that's barely two and a quarter hours long, surprises absolutely no one, looks solid most of the time, and gets a fine actress to play the lead. On the other hand, the effort to offer anything beyond a big family film is non-existent. Go through it with your kids, it won't hurt. But why anyone should see it without them, I really don't know. (05/26/2023)

The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid had a hard time with the hype it caused before its release. The casting of Halle Bailey in the role of Ariel left me cold, and I was rather amazed that her father was played by the Spaniard Javier Bardem, and this amazement was reinforced by the fact that his other daughters in the film were also really different – if you wanted to poke fun, you could say that Triton was pretty promiscuous (the daughter, the sea, the "lover" – but he probably wasn't). Anyway, the film is hamstrung by its unnecessary running time – a quarter of an hour shorter would have done no harm. It also looks too colourful and artificial in places – looking at the colouring of some of the mermaids' scales almost hurt my eyes. Similarly to the cartoon version, the character that I enjoyed the most was the mischievous Ursula. The biggest portion of fun was repeatedly provided by Sebastian, who was humorously seconded by the goofy Scuttle. The underwater world was fine, but after last year's Avatar: the Way of Water, we are a bit spoiled. The best part of the film for me was the last third, which didn't skimp on the brisk action or adventure. All in all, it's an enjoyable (if drawn out) two hours in the cinema and I'm quite sorry for the rubbish rating here. (05/29/2023)

This live-action remake of the classic animated film from 1989 is very literal, the iconic scenes have been preserved, and the whole thing elevated into a distinctly tender girlish romantic fairy tale, which you don't see much these days. No icy update, no emancipation, no Princess who would overcome the dragon herself and arrive by car. This time, Disney bet on an old-fashioned endeavor. (09/26/2023)

Terribly dark and hideously modern. Bringing politics and statistics into royal conversations, however well-intentioned, destroys the fairy-tale atmosphere. An unlikeable queen mother, a weird prince, too long. A creepy Sebastian whose eyes will haunt my dreams is the only blemish on an otherwise good visual rendition. Halle Bailey is quite nice and Javier Bardem is great, but I'd much rather watch the animated version. (08/01/2023)