When The Little Mermaid hit theaters in the late 1980s it was a huge success, but its prestige grew over the years, becoming more than a phenomenon but a cult film, which has even greater prestige. The original film is PERFECT. Simply perfect. The remake? Not so much. Broke my heart.

Since the remake was announced as live-action, The (new) Little Mermaid has been peppered with controversies, from the casting where there was racism to complaints about the choice of Halle Bailey as Ariel (absurd as she is great) and even Melissa McCarthy as Ursula (unfortunately, a disappointment). Contrary to the tide, I was excited and rooting for the film, but I didn’t go to the cinema, I waited to get to the Disney platform. Good thing, I would have been upset.

One of the biggest disappointments I had with The Little Mermaid was precisely the music! Cancel me because I don’t appreciate Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s music. I never liked it, I don’t see the melody, I don’t see anything special about it. The only song I liked was We Don’t Talk About Bruno by Encanto. Here he clashed with Alan Menken‘s easy and engaging melodies with three simply ugly songs: Wild Charted Waters, For The First Time, and The Scuttlebutt. Likewise, the direction clashes with what we saw were Howard Ashman‘s specific direction that Part of your World be whispered (Halle’s stretched notes show power, but unnecessary) and the irony of the legendary and unparalleled Pat Carroll as Ursula left a nightmare for Melissa, even though Queen Latifah wrote it off years ago.

The Little Mermaid chose not to rewrite a few things: Ariel still drops everything to marry the prince, for whom she even sacrificed her voice. It’s not exactly the message that is sent to girls, especially having to choose between a husband or family to be happy. Preserving the original essence, paradoxically, was cute, I’m not complaining, but – for those who saw the 1989 classic – the remake fell far short. Young generations should appreciate it and it was for them that Disney wanted to make the film. So, if you go to see it with your children and nephews, forget what was already perfect. You can enjoy it, you just can’t fall in love with it.

Pesquisar

Pesquisar