Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Disney live-action musical fantasy adventure reimagining directed by Rob Marshall. The Little Mermaid (2023) centers on Ariel (Halle Bailey), a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s (Javier Bardem) 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 (Jonah Hauer-King). While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life, and her father’s crown, in jeopardy.
Best Quotes
Hawkins: Tonight’s the Coral Moon. They say this is when the Sea King calls his mermaid daughters together to lure men to their deaths.
Eric: Is that what they say?
Hawkins: Aye. Not even the strongest can resist their spell.
Eric: It’s just an old lore.
Eric: You ought to stop worrying so much about me, Grimsby.
Sir Grimsby: Call me selfish, but I do not want to tell the Queen that her son fell overboard on my watch. And on his birthday, of all days.
King Triton: Where is Ariel? Sebastian? You were supposed to see to it that Ariel was here.
Sebastian: I tried, Your Majesty. But that child, she is impossible. I reminded her about the gathering just this morning. What more can one crustacean do?
King Triton: You can go find her.
Sebastian: Yes, Your Majesty. Yes. Right away.
Sebastian: How hard can it be to find a mermaid, after all? If I’m lucky, I’ll only have to search one ocean.
Ariel: Getting cold fins?
Flounder: Who, me? No way.
Ariel: Good. Then you can stay out here and watch for sharks.
Flounder: Alright. Good. What?
Ariel: [referring to the fork] What is it?
Scuttle: It’s a dinglehopper.
Ariel: A dinglehopper.
Scuttle: Yeah. Yeah. Humans use these babies to style their hair. You just give it a little twirl, a little yank, you might get some pieces with it, and you’re left with an artistically pleasing conflagration of hair that humans go nuts for.
Scuttle: Your father still won’t let you go to the surface, huh?
Ariel: No, it’s forbidden. He thinks all humans are barbarians.
Scuttle: Oh, they’re not so bad. Unless you’re a coconut. They hate coconuts. I swear, they get a hold of one, they smash it to pieces, just like that. It’s weird.
Sebastian: Ariel, what are you doing up there? Wasting your time with this know-nothing bird that can’t tell swimming from flying?
Ursula: I should be the one throwing the parties, not waiting on an invitation. Oh, the feasts we had when I lived in the palace! And now look at me, the family pariah. Wasting away to practically nothing. Banished and exiled, driven halfway to madness in this dim little crevice for fifteen long years. While Daddy and his spoiled little mer-brats celebrate the Coral Moon.
'Listen to me. The human world is a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got going on up there.' - Sebastian (The Little Mermaid) Share on X
King Triton: This obsession with humans has to stop.
Ariel: I just want to know more about them.
King Triton: You know all you need to know.
Ariel: I barely know anything.
Sebastian: Children, you give them an inch, they swim all over you.
King Triton: Was I too hard on her?
Sebastian: Definitely not. It’s like I always say, “Children got to live by their parent’s rules.”
Sebastian: How do I get myself into these situations? I’m an educated crustacean. I got options. I don’t need this. I should be advising the King, not chasing after some headstrong teenager.
Ariel: I don’t see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be so bad.
Ariel: [singing] I want to be where the people are. I want to see, want to see them dancing. Walking around on those… What do you call them? Oh! Feet. Flipping your fins, you don’t get too far. Legs are required for jumping, dancing. Strolling along down a… What’s that word again? Street. Up where they walk. Up where they run. Up where they stay all day in the sun. Wandering free. Wish I could be part of that world.
'Most people around here use too many words and have nothing to say.' - Eric (The Little Mermaid) Share on X
Sir Grimsby: And now that you have come of age, your responsibilities are at home. Your father would have expected that.
Eric: Yes, trapped inside that castle in isolation and fear. I can’t do it.
Sir Grimsby: I believe a little fear may be advisable, sire.
Eric: I want to be a different kind of leader. That’s the whole reason we’re on this voyage, don’t you see? We have to stay open to what’s out here. That’s the only way our island can grow.
Sir Grimsby: Eric, think what you risk.
Eric: I can’t explain it, Grims. It’s in my blood. Even now, I feel there’s something out here calling to me.
Sebastian: [referring to Ariel rescuing Eric] Hey. You listen to me, bird. The King can never hear of this. We are going to forget this ever happened.
Scuttle: Ow!
Sebastian: Are you listening to me?
Scuttle: Yes.
Sebastian: You won’t tell him. I won’t tell him. And I will stay in one piece. You got it?
Scuttle: Got it! Sorry, what did you say again?
Sebastian: I’m a dead crab.
Ariel: [singing] I don’t know when. I don’t know how. But I know something’s starting right now. Watch and you’ll see, someday I’ll be part of your world.
'Don't be held back by what you think should be. Think only of what is.' - Sir Grimsby (The Little Mermaid) Share on X
Ursula: [referring to Ariel] No, it’s too easy. She’s already in love with the human world, and now she found her soulmate. Oh, wait until Daddy finds out. He’s going to hit the surface. That little girl’s going to run straight into my tentacles.
Ariel: [referring to the statue] Look at the longing in his eyes.
Sebastian: What you know about longing?
Sebastian: You have to let go of this obsession with humans.
Ariel: I’m not obsessed.
Sebastian: I may be crusty, but I’m not blind.
Ariel: We don’t have to be afraid of them, I know that now.
Sebastian: [singing] The seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake. You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake. Just look at the world around you right here on the ocean floor. Such wonderful things surround you. What more is you looking for? 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.
'You shouldn't have had to give up your voice to be heard.' - King Triton (The Little Mermaid) Share on X
Sebastian: Somebody got to nail that girl’s fins to the floor.
The Queen: Do not think you’re using this girl as an excuse to run off again, risking your life on some trade ship for the sheer adventure.
Eric: “Sheer adventure”? I’m trying to reach out to other cultures, so we don’t get left behind.
Ariel: I just mean, we’re not all the same, so why should humans be?
King Triton: [referring to humans] They are the most dangerous species of all. Spoiling our waters, destroying the reefs, having no respect for the balance of the oceans.
Sebastian: Breathe, Sebastian. Remember, guilty is as guilty acts. Don’t overreact. Remain calm.
King Triton: Is my little one in love?
Sebastian: Oh, I tried to stop her, sir! I tried to stop her from going to the surface! I told her to stay away from humans! When I saw her with that statue, I…
King Triton: Humans?
Sebastian: Humans? Who said anything about humans?
King Triton: You broke the rules? You went to the above world.
Ariel: There was a shipwreck. A man was drowning. I had to save him.
King Triton: You should have let him drown. They’re savages.
Ariel: You don’t know that.
Ariel: [referring to Eric] If you would have just heard him, Father. He’s compassionate, and kind, and…
King Triton: He’s a human! You’re a mermaid!
Ariel: Yes. But that doesn’t make us enemies.
King Triton: Promise me you will never look for him again.
Ariel: I can’t.
King Triton: Promise me, Ariel!
Ariel: I can’t lie to you. I won’t.
Ariel: Who are you?
Ursula: Oh. You must not remember me. I’m your Auntie Ursula.
Ariel: The Sea Witch?
Ursula: The what?
Sebastian: Where is she going with those slippery good-for-nothing’s?
Ariel: You don’t seem at all like Father described you.
Ursula: Is that right? We never did get along. Squidling rivalry.
Ursula: [to Ariel] I’ve been watching you for a long time now, dearie. What you really want is to be up there in the above world. It’s always had your curiosity, and now it’s got your heart.
Ursula: The problem is simple. You can’t live in that world, unless you become a human yourself.
Ariel: Become human? Is that even possible?
Ursula: Oh, my dear. It’s what I do. It’s what I live for.
Ursula: [singing] I admit that in the past I’ve been a nasty. They weren’t kidding when they called me, well, a witch. But you’ll find that nowadays I’ve mended all my ways. Repented, seen the light, and made a switch. True? Yes. And I fortunately know a little magic. It’s a talent that I always have possessed. And here lately, please don’t laugh. I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely, and depressed. Pathetic. Poor unfortunate souls. In pain. In need. This one longing to be thinner. That one wants to get the girl. And do I help them? Yes, indeed.
Ursula: [singing] Yes, I’ve had the odd complaint. But on the whole I’ve been a saint to those poor unfortunate souls.
Ursula: [to Ariel] So here’s the deal. I’ll whip up a little potion to make you human for three days. You got that? Three days. Before the sun sets on the third day, you and Princy must share a kiss. And not just any kiss. The kiss of true love. If you do, you will remain human permanently. But if you don’t, you’ll turn back into a mermaid, and you belong to me.
Ursula: And you’ll no longer have that siren song of yours, because that wouldn’t be fair, now would it? Don’t worry. I’ll keep it safe and soundless here with me. We got a deal?
Ariel: I don’t know.
Ursula: Well, I mean, I just gave you the premium package, kid. Well, life’s full of tough choices, isn’t it?
Ursula: Don’t worry, boys. She doesn’t stand a chance without this. A mermaid without her voice? And just in case, I slipped a little something extra into that spell of mine. No matter how hard that girl tries, she won’t remember she needs to get that kiss. Now it’s just a matter of time. And then she’s mine.
Flounder: That rotten Sea Witch, she stole Ariel’s voice.
Scuttle: Something about you seems different. Don’t tell me. It’s your hairdo, right? Because you’ve been using the dinglehopper? No? I can’t quite figure it out, but I know that if I stand here for long enough…
Sebastian: She got legs, you idiot!
Scuttle: You know, we’ve discussed this. I don’t like it when you call me an idiot. Why don’t you tell me something nice? “Hey, Scuttle. “Your feathers look good.”
Ariel: [singing] Realize the price that you paid with your voice as he turns from you. Those sacrifices you made were a choice that you can’t undo. Lost for the first tim. Scared for the first time. Gravity feels like an undertow pulling me down.
Sebastian: This has got to be, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day of my life! I could have been fricasseed, and then, having to climb all the way up here. They couldn’t give you a room on the ground floor?
Sebastian: [to Ariel] What were you thinking, choosing to give up your mermaid gifts? Now, if we could just get that witch to give them back, then you could go home and just be, well, and just be miserable for the rest of your life. Oh, my. What a soft shell I am turning out to be.
Sebastian: [to Ariel] You are hopeless, child. You know that? Completely hopeless.
Scuttle: Flounder told me the whole story. Has Ariel killed the Prince yet?
Sebastian: No, not “killed”. “Kissed”, you bird brain.
Sebastian: The witch has placed a spell on her. Soon as I tell her she’s got to kiss him, the thought jumps clear right out of her head. So, now it’s up to us.
Scuttle: To kiss the Prince?
Sebastian: Forget it.
Eric: Wouldn’t it be amazing to discover someplace no one’s ever seen before?
Sebastian: I only got two days left. I’m a crab on a mission.
Scuttle: Say, any kissing yet?
Sebastian: No. When it comes to romance, these two are slow as snails.
Sebastian: Move your big fat feathers, bird. I can’t see a thing.
Sebastian: We’re running out of time, and no one’s puckered up once.
Scuttle: I think it’s time for a little vocal romantic stimulation.
Sebastian: We got to work on the Prince using the power of suggestion.
Sebastian: Percussion.
Scuttle: Strings.
Flounder: Winds.
Sebastian: Words.
Eric: Ariel. That’s a beautiful name. Written in the stars.
Ursula: It’s time Ursula took matters into her own tentacles.
Ursula: That Prince won’t know what hit him. Only one more sunset, and then I’ll make Triton writhe. I’ll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook.
Scuttle: [singing] Have you not heard the Scuttlebutt?
Sebastian: Your butt?
Scuttle: No, the gossip. The buzz. The who-said-what, who-does-that. Yeah, the scuttlebutt.
Sebastian: [after Eric finds Vandessa] What’s wrong with that fool Prince? Something fishy going on here. I don’t like the smell of it.
Sebastian: [to Ariel] You can’t give up so easily. This all has to be some sort of misunderstanding. I watched both of you. You’re meant to be together.
Scuttle: The Prince has been tricked. That lady who showed up is actually the Sea Witch in disguise.
Sebastian: Are you sure about this?
Scuttle: Of course I’m sure! Have I ever been wrong? I mean like, you know, when it counts?
Sebastian: Well, we have to do something before Prince Eric ends up with that slimy squid.
Sebastian: Now, when I give the signal, you drop me! Got it?
Scuttle: Got it.
Sebastian: [as she drops him into the ocean] No, you idiot!
Scuttle: Guess I’m on my own.
Eric: It was you all along. I should’ve known. I don’t know what came over me.
Ariel: She bewitched you.
Ariel: Eric, I want you to know I…
Sebastian: Oh, just kiss!
Ariel: I want you to know everything.
Eric: Nothing matters now.
[as Eric goes to kiss her, the sun sets and Ariel transforms into a mermaid]
The Queen: [to Eric] I warned you. Their whole world is evil.
Ursula: [to Ariel] You made a deal, remember? Three days, no kiss. Yeah, is it all coming back to you? I thought so. Well, now you got to live with it, toots.
Ursula: It’s you I want. I want to see you suffer, like I’ve suffered all these years. And the daughter of the great Sea King is a very precious commodity. Oh, poor, unfortunate soul.
Ursula: Say goodbye to your human heartthrob.
Ariel: You gave your life for me.
King Triton: And you fought to get my life back.
Ariel: I didn’t fight alone, Father. Eric was with me.
Eric: You were right. I was chasing after a fantasy girl.
The Queen: No. No. I was wrong. She was very real. And so were your feelings for her, I see that now. It’s just that our worlds were never meant to be together.
King Triton: And I’ve done everything in my power to make her happy.
Sebastian: Well, not quite.
King Triton: She wants a different life than I had planned for her.
Sebastian: She did try to tell you, Your Majesty.
King Triton: But I won’t be able to protect her anymore.
Sebastian: Well, it’s like I always say, children got to be free to lead their own lives.
King Triton: Oh, is that what you always say?
Sebastian: Something like that. Yeah.
Lashana: [after Eric and Ariel are married] Have you decided where you’re headed first?
Ariel: Uncharted waters.
The Queen: A mermaid and a man. Whoever would have imagined?
Ariel: My little mermaid. Keep her for me. I hope she causes you less trouble than I did.
Scuttle: I was right about the dinglehopper, wasn’t I?
Ariel: Yes, you were, Scuttle. You were.
Ariel: Thank you for hearing me.
King Triton: You shouldn’t have had to give up your voice to be heard. But now I am listening. And I will always be here for you. We all will.
Trailer: