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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 67043
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The Little Mermaid (2023)
Quote: The Little Mermaid is a 2023 American musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay written by David Magee. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, DeLuca Marshall, and Marc Platt Productions, it is a live-action adaptation of Walt Disney Animation Studios' 1989 film of the same name, itself loosely based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same title by Hans Christian Andersen. The film stars Halle Bailey in the titular role, alongside Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy. The Little Mermaid follows a mermaid princess Ariel who makes a deal with a treacherous sea witch Ursula to trade her voice to human legs in order to impress Prince Eric, who is saved from a shipwreck, before the time runs out.
The Little Mermaid premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023, followed by the London premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on May 15, 2023, and was released theatrically in the United States on May 26, 2023, in RealD 3D, IMAX, Dolby Cinema and 4DX formats, as well as in conventional theaters.
_________________STOP UIGHUR GENOCIDE IN XINJIANG FIGHT FOR TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE FREE TIBET LIBERATE HONG KONG BOYCOTT MADE IN CHINA
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Wed May 24, 2023 1:49 pm |
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publicenemy#1
Extraordinary
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:25 am Posts: 18877 Location: San Diego
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Pretty standard adaption of the animated film elevated by Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, thought both were great. The minor changes from the original worked for the most part and Eric is much more likable. In terms of the live action remakes I think this is one of the better ones with Cinderella and Aladdin.
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Wed May 24, 2023 11:46 pm |
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Rev
Romosexual!
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 3:06 am Posts: 32104 Location: the last free city
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
A It’s was wonderful
_________________ Is it 2024 yet?
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Thu May 25, 2023 6:38 pm |
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zwackerm
Hold the door!
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm Posts: 20346 Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Great special effects and performances, and no terrible or stupid changes, which elevates it above the lower tier stuff like Mulan and Lion King. I even thought it was better than Aladdin. But it doesn’t do enough different to be super memorable
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Thu May 25, 2023 11:36 pm |
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thompsoncory
Rachel McAdams Fan
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am Posts: 14544 Location: LA / NYC
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Halle Bailey is a star, she's an absolutely magnetic screen presence and the "Part Of Your World" sequence is easily the film's standout. Otherwise I found this very dull and pedestrian despite some fun beats here and there. The original songs are atrocious and the less said about them the better, maybe the worst of any of these live action remakes. I also thought "Kiss The Girl" which was such a memorable scene in the original was kind of butchered. But Bailey elevates the whole thing for sure.
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Fri May 26, 2023 12:19 am |
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Excel
Superfreak
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am Posts: 21890 Location: Places
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Halle Bailey is stunning, like...not many female leads in the history film that are looking better than she does here. Just a beautiful face.
_________________Ari Emmanuel wrote: I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.
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Fri May 26, 2023 12:43 am |
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zwackerm
Hold the door!
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm Posts: 20346 Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Im seeing it in imax on Sunday. Definitely worth seeing on the biggest screen with the best sound you can find!
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Fri May 26, 2023 5:21 pm |
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thompsoncory
Rachel McAdams Fan
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am Posts: 14544 Location: LA / NYC
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
I can't get over how bad those new songs were, particularly Eric's big solo. Compared to the original songs they are truly laughable.
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Fri May 26, 2023 7:29 pm |
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zwackerm
Hold the door!
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm Posts: 20346 Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
They were ok other than Scuttlebutt. Listenable but not memorable
I actually liked all 3 new songs for Beauty and the Beast. Speechless was a decent song but doesn’t fit with the Aladdin soundtrack at all.
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Fri May 26, 2023 7:55 pm |
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publicenemy#1
Extraordinary
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:25 am Posts: 18877 Location: San Diego
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Besides Part of Your World all the songs from the animated film did not work as well. Kiss the Girl is probably one of the best Disney sequences ever so sucks this one wasn't even half as good.
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Sat May 27, 2023 12:39 pm |
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Mr. Reynolds
Confessing on a Dance Floor
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:46 am Posts: 5567 Location: Celebratin' in Chitown
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Second best Rob Marshall movie. at his best. A+
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Sat May 27, 2023 2:02 pm |
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zwackerm
Hold the door!
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm Posts: 20346 Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
publicenemy#1 wrote: Besides Part of Your World all the songs from the animated film did not work as well. Kiss the Girl is probably one of the best Disney sequences ever so sucks this one wasn't even half as good. I thought Under the sea built to a number pretty impressively, much better than similar number Be Our Guest. It doesn’t compare to the animated version, but it was impressive how they made realistic looking fish dance
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Sat May 27, 2023 2:09 pm |
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Corpse
Don't Dream It, Be It
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm Posts: 37152 Location: The Graveyard
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
It's good. The extra 45 minutes or so fixes some of the problems involving Ariel and Eric falling in love by sharing similar feelings of being trapped in a castle, and it naturally gives all the characters a little more depth and time to express themselves that a 75 minute animate film can't do very well. The whole cast was good to great.
Visually, some underwater parts caught my eyes as clearly CGI, but I really can't complain much here. Having to make real people portraying fictional merpeople work underwater was no small feat. So, if someone's hair looked off, or if a CGI face was noticeable here or there, it's kind of a "it is what it is" thing for me. Also, I saw a lot of comments prior to opening that the film was "dark", but outside of just a couple scenes (shark scene, some of the grotto), the underwater scenes are rather colorful and bright. I feel this was definitely something those wanting to find a reason to complain about latched onto without merit.
Everything above water looked excellent, and the CGI used here blended in well.
The music was great. It was similar to the original to give it that familiar/nostalgic feeling, while also doing little bits to make it fresh. Ariel's new song (For The First Time?) was nice, serving as both a way of us to hear what Ariel was thinking of the human world and to see her reactions at the same time. Eric's song was pretty forgettable, but it was his "Part of Your World" moment here, so kinda needed. And Scuttlebutt... It was a bit catchy, and annoying, which fit Scuttle well. The kids in the theater really liked Scuttle, and they laughed a lot during this song too, so feels like a win here.
Only sort of "letdown" on the soundtrack to me was "Under the Sea". I was expecting energy closer to the original or Broadway, so it's probably the most "disappointing" musically for me. Ariel being on this one gives it its own identity though, and while some of the underwater visuals looked unsatisfactory (just modern Hollywood, every film I've seen in the past 3 years has had CGI issues of some kind), they did a good job adapting this one in a "live-action" setting. I don't think there's a more difficult scene in any of Disney's older animated films to have adapted.
And anyone who watches this and somehow thinks Halle wasn't right for the role have fooled themselves. I don't want to over-praise her and set expectations too high, but she was great and the best lead so far in Disney's live-action remakes.
B+/A-
_________________Japan Box Office “Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.” “We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.” "Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."
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Sun May 28, 2023 10:18 pm |
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publicenemy#1
Extraordinary
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:25 am Posts: 18877 Location: San Diego
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Ok after seeing it again I have to say the Eric and Ariel relationship was expanded very well. Their scenes together are very cute and help the film be more enjoyable.
I think Javier Bardem was not a good choice for Triton. Playing him cold the entire movie just didn't work.
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Mon May 29, 2023 7:12 pm |
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thompsoncory
Rachel McAdams Fan
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am Posts: 14544 Location: LA / NYC
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Bardem was woefully miscast here.
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Tue May 30, 2023 2:49 pm |
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Shack
Devil's Advocate
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:30 am Posts: 38000
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
I think casting a likeable Eric in Jonah Hauer-King helped this one, the scenes when they're on the land work pretty well and I liked his new song. The non-singing scenes are probably better than some of the other Disney remakes but the song adaptations felt average to me. Watching the old clips small things affect it like how In Under the Sea he's talking about the fishes playing the instruments but it doesn't really pop visually the same way, or it's not as clear what Ursula's punishment is when people don't pay back the debt as in the animated, and you lose stuff like Flounder and Sebastian trembling at the sight of Ursula. Kiss the Girl is also more confusing whether he is supposed to be hearing them and maybe that aspect just makes more sense in an animated movie. The climax is overall pretty good and I liked that they keep simplicity of Ursula's death just having the boat poked through her. It was a pretty solid watch like the other Disney remakes.
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Fri Aug 04, 2023 4:06 pm |
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Flava'd vs The World
The Kramer
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am Posts: 23779 Location: Classified
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Mermeh. Why did this need to be an hour longer than the original?
4/10ish
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Thu Sep 07, 2023 2:33 pm |
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Darth Indiana Bond
007
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:43 pm Posts: 11009 Location: Wouldn't you like to know
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Re: The Little Mermaid (2023)
Meh, I watched a bit while my wife and son were watching this, did not grab my interest
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Thu Sep 21, 2023 3:38 pm |
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