One Movie, One Take: ‘The Little Mermaid’

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“Under the sea, under the sea, darling, it’s better down where it’s wetter, take it from me. Up on the shore they work all day out in the sun, they slave away while we devoting full time to floating under the sea …”

Excuse me while I take a moment to reflect on the lyrics of one of the songs that had me losing my little eight-year-old mind, waving my coiled 4c hair pretending to have long, silky, wavy locks after watching 1989’s The Little Mermaid. 

Even then, in the innocence of my youth, I subconsciously knew that black women never made it into mainstream media. 

Although I didn’t fully comprehend that the colour of my skin, my hair and entire life was, and would continue to be, political, I certainly understood that black girls weren’t made into cartoon characters and that was normal. 

So when Disney announced that there’d be a reimagined version of The Little Mermaid in 2016, I wondered if it would be worth watching. I was just starting my first year in university and I understood that the media played a large role in why I’d relax my hair four times a year to have silky, straight hair like the cartoons and models I saw on television and magazine covers.

However, when the news spread that American singer-songwriter Halle Bailey had been cast to play Ariel, I was engulfed with delight knowing little black girls would finally get to see themselves not only on magazine covers, but in cartoons, ones that I grew up enjoying but could never truly relate to. 

I recently got a chance to watch the movie and boy, oh boy, did I have mixed feelings.  

Let me start by saying Bailey did a phenomenal job as Ariel. Her vocal prowess is undisputed — each song and lyric pierced my soul, but what I also found gripping was her acting, which is nothing short of captivating in this film. 

As someone who has watched her blossom from singing on YouTube with her sister Chloe Bailey to playing the lead character in a Disney film, I can tell that the 23-year-old has set herself up for an exceptional career not only in music but in film. 

She gave Ariel an innocence that’s very difficult to master, especially when hoping to capture the attention of a younger audience. 

But what had me jumping off my seat in excitement was seeing that solo where Bailey belts the famous Part of Your World. What a breathtaking moment — I was gasping in awe of the actress’s voice and that heartfelt scene.  

This is why it pains me to say the storyline just wasn’t as enthralling as it could have been. In addition, 

I was a bit disappointed in director Rob Marshall’s take on the characters this time around, mainly with my favourite — Sebastian the crab played by Daveed Diggs. 

It wasn’t Diggs’s fault. The Sebastian that I came to love as a child growing up was quirky, silly, loyal and enchanting. But in this film he’s portrayed as King Triton (Javier Bardem), Ariel’s father’s trusted right-hand man, who’s been tasked with safeguarding the young mermaid. 

I found he was constantly competing with Scuttle the seagull (Nora Lum), Ariel’s friend, who encourages  her to explore the ocean, to her father’s dismay. 

The chemistry between Ariel and Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) was cute but not entirely believable. Bailey tried her best to bring out the emotional and romantic bond between them but I wasn’t sold — not enough to be convinced that she’d leave her exciting life underwater, forsake her identity and adapt to a new one. 

Although I understand that the film wasn’t entirely about love — it was also about adventure and following your heart — it does subtly encourage the problematic notion that women are always expected to adjust their lives to accompany a man on his journey. 

Although I acknowledge that, in this case, Ariel is the one who is curious about life above the water,  it has the potential to teach young girls not to be satisfied with their own lives and that adventure means abandoning your family and life to take on that of a man. 

It was a solid attempt at reimagining this Disney classic and I give them props for the cast — I mean, Ariel has dreadlocks — but the rest of the film was average and not worth the hype.