As a child of the early 2000’s, “The Little Mermaid,” along with many other animated Disney classics, has a special place in my adult heart. Watching that redheaded teenage fish person trade her fins for love and legs was one of the most exciting experiences of my young life (I didn’t have a very exciting young life). That said, I did my best to quell my excitement for this live action adaptation before seeing it, as Disney has proved themselves to be disappointing in this particular medium in the past.

Whether it was Aladdin, Dumbo, Pinocchio, or one of the many other swings and misses by the massive company, the studio’s big budget attempts at revitalizing the success of original content fell flat again and again. Most of the live action remakes received lukewarm reception at best and outright vitriol from original audiences at the worst. Naturally, I was eager to see where the 2023 version of “The Little Mermaid” would end up on the list. Currently nearing a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, the outcome looked fairly promising.

The star of the film, Halle Bailey, is an undeniable bright spot. She delivers a stunning vocal performance that leaves crowds in a state of Disnified rapture as well as a dramatic performance that I have deemed passable while not overwhelmingly convincing. Her voice, being the center of the story, needed to be exceptional from the film to function, and I’m happy to say that it most definitely was. When it came to acting, Bailey got the job done, but I just would’ve preferred more emotionality and range from the lead of a multimillion-dollar film.

Her counterpart of Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, was also vocally impressive, though his acting chops seemed somewhat more developed. Despite the supporting cast positively bursting with talent, there were no side characters who stood out in a positive way for anything other than their horrible animation. For some reason, Disney animators made the call to go for total realism with their under the sea creatures, which resulted in an eerie lack of expression that made watching Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle sing something of a chore.

Despite suffering from being about an hour too long, the film delivers on nearly all of its advertised promises. Most of the songs from the original are present, as well as lazily animated versions of the beloved side characters. The plot follows much the same progression as one would expect, but, in the area of storytelling, this version falls flat where the original soared.

Throughout the film, Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula gives several villainous monologues that manage to both over-explain the plot and undercut the rhythm of the story. It was essentially as if the director thought the audience needed constant reminders as to what the stakes of the movie actually were. I’m aware that this could just be because the movie is intended for children, but a project’s intended audience is not an excuse for poor quality.

The dialogue between characters was often no more than basic exposition for the situation at hand, again, treating the audience as though they are stupid, when, in fact, child audiences can often handle more than what filmmakers are anticipating. There were several changes to the story that felt forced and ultimately made the plot more convoluted and confusing than it would’ve been otherwise.

Ultimately, the film does a reasonably good job keeping the magic alive. The kids are sure to have a good time with this one, but if you are an adult who loved the original, be prepared for a fair amount of differences.

Gabi Merchen is a fourth-year Communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.