Recreating magic Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”

action remakes, it added more character development, new songs and more powerful moments for our main female protagonist.

All the characters in the movie, new and old, are portrayed very well, with special care taken to pay homage to the original film while making the characters into something new and fresh.

Disney’s new live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” is the definition of fun under the sea. The movie is a vibrant and colorful adaptation bringing the ocean to life and breathing new life into the character of Ariel. Disney delivers on all its classic Disney staples, including music, fun sidekicks and a touch of romance. However, as is the trend with its live-

The shading of Eric’s character, portrayed by Johna Hauer-King, worked wonders on the story allowing viewers to watch an actual love story unfold instead of a quick montage leading up to the “Kiss the Girl” sequence. Disney gave him a purpose instead of leaving him just another handsome face for our princess to fall for.

Speaking of the princess, Halle Bailey, as Ariel stole the show. She captured the longing in a young girl that the original little mermaid Jodi Benson and Disney animators generated in 1989. Bailey’s talented singing and acting elevate the performance cementing her as one of the best liveaction princesses of the last decade. Our Disney villain, Ursula, is translated into the realm of live-action by Melissa McCarthy with a touch of her signature humor that makes for an entertaining villain. Her motivations are the same as always, trick a young mermaid into giving up her voice, ruin King Triton’s life and take over the seven seas, but McCarthy has fun with it.

After the release of a full-length trailer, fans were worried about how weird Sebastian looked in live-action but never feared it. All the live-action sea creatures, including Sebastian and Flounder, are well-animated and made to look realistic. It is jarring initially, but the adjustment period is short. Sebastian (Daveed Diggs) has way too much fun as the snarky crustacean. The movie is visually gorgeous. Every sequence on land and sea has something to please the eye. Under the sea, the colors of coral and sea creatures swimming by, and on land, the setting of an island in the Caribbean adds a new layer to the movie. The sea looks epically powerful and works in tandem with the CGI elements. The biggest accomplishment of the live-action remake of this Disney original is its ability to recreate the magic of the original Disney princess movies. It sticks to the storyline with a bit of shading here and there to make a movie that brings back the Disney magic that has yet to be lacking as of late, between “The Little Mermaid,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and all the upcoming releases this summer, the magic of the movies and summer blockbusters are back. Movies like “The Little Mermaid” just want to have fun and tell a good story, restoring the movie industry movie by movie. entertainment.ed@ocolly.com