This post contains spoilers from the film, proceed at your own discretion.

I saw the live-action version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid a few days before its official release. As a millennial who was 2 years old when it came out in theaters, the original was a huge part of my childhood. Saying I am a fan of The Little Mermaid as both a Disney property and as a beautifully written but sad story by Hans Christian Andersen… would be quite an understatement. Miss Ariel may have been in denial about her obsession with humans but I will admit without hesitation that my obsession with mermaids began immediately after seeing the animated version of the film.

My addiction to TLM (The Little Mermaid) was so strong that I’m honestly surprised that the VHS tape didn’t pop from being played too many times over the years. I wish I still had it but that and several other things in my childhood have been lost over time. I do however have it on Blu-Ray DVD. I have watched the animated series that was on the Disney Channel. Seen both of the spin-off movies. I had a Little Mermaid themed birthday party when I was 4, lots of TLM toys (including the slides from the movie to look at on the Red ViewMaster 3D). Even my bedsheet and comforter set were TLM.

I read the lore of the Disney story from books that were released through the years and of course the real thing as well. Hans Christian Andersen was an amazing writer and I have been a fan of him ever since my mom had me watch a movie about his life starring actor Danny Kaye.

However, I’m glad that I was older than 2 when I came across his version of the story, because toddler me was not ready. To be honest I’m not sure 8-year-old me was ready either. When I finally watched a short animation about the “real” version of the story… despite being a little sad, it resonated with my young heart. I found a story of a young girl in love, refusing to kill that person just because it would set her free. Seeing her let her love for the prince overcome her selfishness was just awe-inspiring to me.

If you have never read the original version of the story, I highly suggest it. I can understand why Disney would want to change the story to make it more digestible, and I like their original changes. I’m not sure about the most recent ones they made though. There is a reason why I’m just now posting my review a couple of weeks after seeing the film. I felt like I need to marinate on it and also give time for others to give it a watch before reading my thoughts. I’ll now get into the thing that I did and did not like, in no particular order.

I loved Ursula in the original and unlike many, I genuinely do like Melissa McCarthy… but I’m not sure this was the role for her. I didn’t hate her portrayal by any means… I just missed the original. They changed her coloring, her highlighting colors… even some of her dialogue and her accent as well. All the things I loved to hate as a child were, for the most part, gone. I did like that as Vanessa, they had a completely different actress and not a black-haired version of Halle… it is totally possible for a barely conscious man who can barely see after a near-drowning experience to still mistake her for his precious Ariel. They had similar hair lengths; similar figures and she had the same voice.

I do not like that they changed the ending so much. Triton didn’t need to die… Ariel didn’t need to be the one who killed Ursula and saved the day. Prince Eric was already saved by her at the beginning of the movie and I’m all about equal opportunity. They still could have allowed him to be the hero in the end. That change was so unnecessary. I’m a fan of girl power but it honestly felt like overkill.

I loved the Jodi Benson cameo so much that I literally gasped in the theater. She is such an amazing talent and gracefully passed the torch to Halle Bailey. I also loved the extra scenes of Ariel and Eric spending time together outside of the castle walls. The new songs were lovely, especially Scuttle-butt. I’ve listened to that one in about 4 languages now thanks to the release of many language-specific releases of the soundtrack. Halle’s voice was divine and giving her sing-over lines when she could not talk was a good addition. I had mixed feelings about Eric’s “Wild Uncharted Waters”, it was a good song but it felt like it didn’t quite fit and just added time to the movie that was not needed. Also, it sounded better when I listened to it on the Korean soundtrack if I’m being honest.

A big but subtle change they made was the signing of the contract between Ariel and Ursula. They made it a blood pact instead and I have mixed feelings about that. I’m 100% certain they did this so that there was no proof she could write and therefore was incapable of signing a contract or writing a letter to the prince to explain her situation.

Scuttle being a female seemed to ruffle some feathers but didn’t add or take much from the story, the most interesting thing about them was seeing them talk underwater.

Eric having an adoptive mother was interesting, she was sassy and outspoken. A bit of a stereotypical black mother if I am being honest. I love Grimsby’s character so much more in this, he had much more depth and I was glad to see it. I wish they could have found a way to do the same with Flounder because his role was not very memorable at all.

Under the Sea is still a great song, nothing will ever compare to the original but it did come close in sound. Visually, I missed having specific fish on the screen when they are mentioned in the song. At least the blowfish still had its shining moment.

The sisters were beautiful, but they barely had any lines. That stayed true to the animation but was one of the few things I wish they had changed more. As someone who watched the Disney channel series, seeing input and advice from her sisters was cool and may have made the story even more relatable to those with siblings.

Now, I’ll move on to my opinionated rant portion. This is where I will briefly speak on some of the more controversial things surrounding the film.

In the end, there was no rainbow put into the sky by King Triton’s trident and it disappointed me, the film felt a bit robbed of its original magic. I know animations can show things that aren’t found in real life better, but we do have CGI like come on Disney, give us our rainbow. You’re already pissing people off by showing support for queer folks anyway.

Also, there seem to be people comparing this film to successful live-action remakes like Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin. While I can agree that Aladdin was one of my favorites, I cannot say the same for Beauty and the Beast. It was my second favorite Disney animated film for the longest so I’m a bit sensitive about it. I feel like the casting of Emma Watson as Belle with her inability to sing w/o autotune and the poor reception of it by fans like myself… led to them wanting to cast someone who could really sing for this role, regardless of color. Halle had the voice AND the acting skills which is no small feat; Jodi Benson’s voice is absolutely divine and hard to stack up against.

The racism behind Halle’s casting still annoys me, but I am too mentally exhausted to even touch that topic. People pick and choose what they want to have a problem with. For those who complain because they are simply tired of the live-action remakes… I get it! If this was any other movie I would have waited until it came out on Disney+ but The Little Mermaid is my childhood and truthfully, I would have been jumping at the opportunity to see it no matter who was cast in that role.

It wasn’t a perfect movie, but I’m not sure those exist. Overall, I loved it, the classic animated film will always have a special place in my heart but there is room for the live-action one too. I may even try to see it once more in theaters before it’s gone.