After a solid run in theaters, Disney’s latest live-action remake — this one based on their beloved animated classic The Little Mermaid — is getting ready for its streaming debut on Disney+.
The update of the 1989 cartoon stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, with Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the evil sea witch. The movie also features the voices of Daveed Diggs (as Sebastian), Jacob Tremblay (as Flounder), and Awkwafina (as Scuttle).
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The Little Mermaid is currently the fifth-biggest movie of 2023 in the U.S., with grosses of $297.1 million. (Worldwide it’s the sixth-biggest film of the year; Fast X was a relative flop in the U.S. but it still made over $700 million worldwide. That is wild.) Critics were not quite as high on the film as they were about the original; 2023’s Little Mermaid currently holds a barely-fresh 67 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The new film was not without controversy, mostly due to Bailey’s casting as Ariel, which was decried by some fans before they had even seen a single frame of the film. The Little Mermaid was subsequently subjected to review bombing on IMDb, with the site publicly stating in late May that it had detected “unusual activity” among the movie’s ratings and reviews. (Amongst “verified” users on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an audience score of 94 percent.)
Here is The Little Mermaid remake’s official synopsis:
“The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden from interacting with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The Little Mermaid premieres on Disney+ on September 6.
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