A Marine Biologist Reviews (& LOVES) The Little Mermaid (2023)

Hello Dear Readers,

Hope you are doing well and keeping safe. As the weather warms up in the northern hemisphere and summertime approaches, there is no better time to go to the movies. And unless you have been living under a rock, we all have been waiting for the highly anticipated live action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. As a lifelong Little Mermaid lover, and as a professional marine biologist and cinephile, I was counting down the minutes until this movie was released. I was lucky enough to score some midnight premiere tickers, so I was able to view The Little Mermaid premiere the evening of May 25th, ahead of its global release on Friday May 26th.

Above: Little Mermaid Trailer 2023

Above: I am posing in front of a huge 3D Little Mermaid cardboard decoration at the movie theater before the midnight premiere, and the Little Mermaid poster on the right. Where can I buy this poster???

Above: my local AMC theater offered this popcorn bucket that has moving ocean parts AND it lights up! I could not bring myself to cough up an additional $25 for this beauty last night, and I quickly regretted this decision when I sat at the movie theater and saw kids and adults alike with their Little Mermaid buckets. It is highly likely I will go see the movie in theaters twice and might have to buy this bucket eventually.

So let’s get to it, what did I think of the movie? Well, first things first we must give credit to Halle Bailey’s amazing vocals. Without a doubt, her rendition of “Part of Your World” is the most stunning, emotional, heart-wrenching and relatable performance I’ve ever seen of this song (and I have watched The Little Mermaid on broadway as well as MANY fan renditions on youtube). I cried, and I am not surprised that after her audition, director Rob Marshall was unable to find someone to top Halle’s vocal talent, musicality and vulnerability. Credit must be also given to Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula and Jonah Hauer-King’s Eric. With Halle these three main actors have quite the set of chops and without a doubt are a great contribution to the success of this movie. I also really enjoyed Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, I feel he brought the same comedic relief and spunky commentary that our original beloved Sebastian did.

Above: Halle Bailey performs "Part of your World" at Disneyland.

Another favorite part of this movie was of course, all the ocean wildlife, references to fishermen, and island life. I treated myself to a 3D ticket so that I could be fully immersed in the underwater world that I am so vehemently obsessed with. The scene of “Under the Sea” does not disappoint, with a beautiful portrayal of sea turtles, manta rays, dolphins and my (recent) favorite, the jellyfish. We also get a view at some rarer and less depicted marine life, like brittle stars, flatworms, kelp and bioluminescence. I highly recommend getting the 3D ticket if you can afford to.

Above: Still shot of "Under the Sea"

For hardcore Little Mermaid fans from the original Disney 1989 version, you will be happy to know that the plot is very loyal to the original and certain scenes are depicted exactly the same as the animated version. Without a doubt these two movies had the same storyboard, something you can quickly realize if you have watched the original recently. I was happy that the story did not differ much, since I think there were quite a few other innovations and new songs. Some characters have been changed, most notably Ariel being black, and some lyrics have been updated, in a manner that is needed to stay up to date with societal conscience. I am very supportive of these updates and found them to be very much needed.

Above left: The new Scuttle the Gannet Above right: the new Sebastian, a tropical ghost crab

Scuttle, the sea gull, is no longer a seagull. Director Rob Marshall explained that he wanted Scuttle to be able to talk to and “hang out” with Ariel both above water and underwater. So instead of a seagull, Scuttle is now a Gannet. Gannets are shore birds that are able to dive relatively deep (up to 50 feet) underwater to catch fish and can hold their breath for up to a minute. I found this new version of scuttle as a Gannet quite pleasing.

Below Left: This is what a Gannet looks like in real life, my guess would be that Scuttle is supposed to be a Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus).

Above right: this is what a tropical ghost crab looks like. There are over 20 species of ghost crabs (Ocypode) around the world. There was criticism around this crab choice since ghost crabs drown and are not a type of crab to survive underwater. I think they chose him because he looks the most like the animated original.

Below: Here is a cool video of Gannets diving.

Left: the new flounder, what is he supposed to be? Sergeant major? I though the original was suppossed to an angel fish? is that hair on top of his head?

Right: what a real flounder looks like, they are "one-sided" fish that lay on the ocean (benthic) floor. Flounders are really cool but I guess not easy to animate into a cute companion.

Now, not everything can be perfect and the reason I cannot rate this movie with a perfect score are these three main criticisms: Scuttles’s rap/song “The Scuttlebutt” (you have to listen it for yourself), Flounder’s creepy characterization and weird hair (poor fish has been roasted all over the internet already), and the lack of a *MAGICAL DRESS TRANSFORMATION MOMENT*.

I think almost everyone with a love for fashion can relate to the 1989’s magical moment when Ariel walks out of the ocean like the Goddess Aphrodite in a glittery, shimmering, elegant gown that symbolizes Ariel’s achievements of her ideal self. Now, not only did they straight up not include this scene AT ALL, but when we see Halle return to Eric in her human form at the end, she is wearing the SAME “peasant” dress she has been wearing the WHOLE movie. How dare they not give Halle her magical transformation dress?!?!?! She was worthy of a scene like the one from the live-action remake of Disney’s Cinderella in 2015.

Above: Why didn't Halle get this dress moment?

Above: Cinderella got her live-action magical dress moment in 2015

Now of course, as a shark scientist I also most make a note of the shark-chase we see in both the original and its remake. I hate seeing sharks characterized as villains and mindless aggressive monsters, but unfortunately that is how the cookie crumbles. I also feel like they could have done a better CGI version of a great white shark (or whatever that was supposed to be) but lets not delve on that. We are not here for morphologically accurate animals, let's be real. I am also not going to go into the criticism of fresh water animals, marine animals and terrestrial animals being all mixed up together as if they inhabited the same water and ecosystems, because when I go to the movies I go for entertainment and escapism. If you want realistic fish and sea creatures, just go watch a documentary.

The heart of this movie is showcasing the beauty and diversity of the ocean, to inspire everyone to care and explore its depths and mysteries, and for little girls to see themselves as Ariels who are inspired to become marine heroes, advocates and scientists, the way I was with the original film.

I am here for the vocals, the colorful animation, and the joy Disney movies bring. I rate this movie a 4.9 out of 5 stars.

NOTE: Yes I did write this blog while I ate a McDonald's Happy Meal AND I GOT ARIEL!!! Look how amazing that they included Halle's face mole!

And I love how the toy showcased Halle's face mole!