Honestly, it feels like forever ago that we first heard Halle Bailey was going to be Ariel. When Disney announced the casting for the little mermaid the movie back in 2019, the internet basically had a collective meltdown. Some people were thrilled. Others were... well, they were loud. But now that the dust has settled and the film has lived on Disney+ for a while, we can finally look at what actually happened with this massive $250 million gamble. It wasn’t just a movie. It was a litmus test for how we handle nostalgia in an era where everything is being remade.
The 2023 version of The Little Mermaid isn't a carbon copy of the 1989 animated classic. It couldn't be.
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Director Rob Marshall, the guy behind Chicago, had a weirdly difficult task. He had to capture the "under the sea" magic without making it look like a terrifying fever dream of CGI fish. Did he succeed? Mostly. But the conversation around this film always comes back to the lead performance. Halle Bailey didn't just play Ariel; she fundamentally changed how the character feels. She’s more soulful. More curious. Less "I’m doing this for a guy" and more "I’m doing this because I’m an explorer who happens to find a guy."
Why the Casting of The Little Mermaid the Movie Actually Mattered
Look, we have to talk about the race-swapping thing because it dominated the headlines for years. It’s easy to dismiss the backlash as just "internet trolls," and while a lot of it was, there was also a genuine debate about how Disney handles its "Vault."
But here’s the thing: once you actually watch the movie, the "controversy" feels pretty thin. Bailey’s rendition of "Part of Your World" is, quite frankly, a vocal masterclass. She hits notes that even the original voice actress, Jodi Benson, has praised publicly. Benson actually made a cameo in the film as a market vendor, which felt like a "passing of the torch" moment that many fans missed during their first watch.
What’s interesting is that Disney didn't just change Ariel's look. They changed the world building. We got a Caribbean-inspired setting that actually made sense for the music. Lin-Manuel Miranda stepped in to work with the legendary Alan Menken, and that’s where things got... experimental.
The Scuttlebutt and New Music
Not everyone liked the new songs. "The Scuttlebutt," performed by Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs, is a "love it or hate it" rap track. It’s jarring. It’s fast. It’s very Lin-Manuel. On the flip side, Prince Eric finally got a power ballad called "Wild Uncharted Waters." For decades, Eric was basically a cardboard cutout with a nice jawline. Giving him a song—and a backstory involving a shipwreck and a protective mother (Queen Selina, played by Noma Dumezweni)—gave the romance more weight. They weren't just two hot people staring at each other; they were both outsiders in their own kingdoms.
The CGI Problem: Can Fish Really Be Realistic?
One of the biggest hurdles for the little mermaid the movie was the visual effects. In the 1989 version, Flounder is a cute, round, yellow-and-blue puffball. In the 2023 version? He’s a photo-realistic sergeant major fish.
It was a bit unsettling for people.
Critics like Wesley Morris have pointed out that when you try to make a singing crab (Sebastian) look like an actual ghost crab, you lose the "squash and stretch" emotion that animation provides. It's the "Lion King Remake Problem." If a character looks too real, their face can't express joy or terror effectively. Daveed Diggs did incredible voice work as Sebastian, but watching a realistic crab scuttle around while singing "Under the Sea" was a visual disconnect for many.
The underwater environments were created using a technique called "dry-for-wet." The actors were on rigs and harnesses in a studio, and the water effects were added later. This is why the hair looks so floaty. It’s also why some scenes look a bit dark. To make it look like deep ocean, the color grading was sucked out of some sequences, which led to complaints that the movie looked "gray" compared to the neon-bright original.
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Melissa McCarthy and the Ursula Legacy
You can't talk about this movie without Ursula. Pat Carroll’s original performance is legendary. It’s drag-queen-inspired (specifically based on Divine). Melissa McCarthy had massive shoes to fill.
Surprisingly, she leaned into the camp.
McCarthy has stated in interviews that she started her career in drag, so she understood the assignment. Her "Poor Unfortunate Souls" stayed mostly true to the original, though some of the lyrics were tweaked. Specifically, the lines about "men up there don't like a lot of blabber" were cut to fit a more modern sensibility regarding consent and female agency. It’s a small change, but it reflects how Disney is trying to retroactively fix some of the "dated" elements of their princess stories.
The Ending Change You Might Have Missed
In the original, King Triton saves the day. In the 2023 the little mermaid the movie, Ariel is the one who delivers the final blow to Ursula. This was a deliberate choice. The filmmakers wanted Ariel to be the hero of her own story rather than a damsel waiting for a prince or a father to bail her out. It shifts the dynamic of the finale significantly.
The Box Office Reality vs. The Internet Narrative
If you spent all your time on X (formerly Twitter) or YouTube in 2023, you’d think this movie was a total disaster. The reality is more nuanced.
- The Global Total: It earned over $569 million worldwide.
- Domestic vs. International: It crushed it in the U.S. but struggled in some international markets, particularly China and South Korea.
- Budget Issues: Because it cost $250 million to make (plus a massive marketing budget), it didn't turn the massive profit Disney was likely hoping for, but it wasn't a "flop" in the traditional sense.
It actually performed better than several other recent Disney remakes like Dumbo or Mulan. It just happened to come out in a year where moviegoing habits were shifting, and people were getting "remake fatigue."
How to Re-evaluate the Movie Today
If you’re planning on watching or re-watching it, stop comparing it to the 1989 version for five minutes. Just five.
Look at the chemistry between Jonah Hauer-King (Eric) and Halle Bailey. It’s actually quite sweet. They spend time looking at maps and talking about artifacts. It feels like a real connection. Javier Bardem as King Triton brings a level of "disappointed dad" energy that feels incredibly grounded. When he finally lets her go at the end, his performance conveys the pain of a parent realizing their child is grown, which is something the cartoon touched on but the live-action expands.
Real-World Takeaways and Observations
- Halle Bailey is a Star: Regardless of how you feel about the movie, she is a generational talent. Her career post-Ariel is the thing to watch.
- Soundtrack Diversity: The inclusion of "The Scuttlebutt" shows Disney is willing to take risks with their "sacred" songs, even if they don't always land.
- Visual Limitations: We’ve probably reached the limit of "hyper-realism" in fantasy. Future remakes might benefit from a more stylized look rather than trying to mimic National Geographic.
If you’re a fan of the original, the 2023 version is a fascinating companion piece. It’s not a replacement. It’s a different interpretation of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, filtered through a 21st-century lens.
To get the most out of your experience with this film and the franchise, consider these steps:
- Watch the "Making Of" featurettes: The "dry-for-wet" technology is actually mind-blowing when you see the actors spinning on giant robot arms to simulate swimming.
- Compare the lyrics: Listen to the 1989 soundtrack and the 2023 one side-by-side. The lyrical changes in "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "Kiss the Girl" offer a great look at how social norms have shifted in 30 years.
- Check out the original story: Read the Hans Christian Andersen version. Warning: it’s way darker than both movies combined. There’s no happy wedding; there’s mostly sea foam and heartbreak. It gives you a lot of respect for how Disney managed to turn it into a family classic in the first place.
The legacy of this film won't be the box office numbers or the CGI fish. It’ll be the image of thousands of young girls seeing an Ariel that looked like them for the first time. That’s a cultural impact that a Rotten Tomatoes score just can't measure.