McCarthy’s press tour for the film has been flawless and thrilling to me, especially, because of her insistence on speaking about Divine, Varla, and the countless drag queens that made “Poor Unfortunate Souls” a staple of their acts. And, of course, it’s a performance in tribute and respect to Divine, the legendary drag queen who inspired the Ursula character in the first place. Her Ursula is a clear and necessary homage to original voice actress Pat Carroll, but it’s also original enough so that it’s not a pale imitation. McCarthy modulates her voice down a register, eschewing over-the-top, villainous histrionics for something more sinister-which, in turn, allows for Ursula’s cheekiness and campier moments to be even more twistedly funny. But she is deliciously good in the film, subverting expectations (at least mine) for what you’d think Melissa McCarthy-as-Ursula would be like. In fact, it came off as lazy to choose the industry’s most famous, bankable plus-sized actress over a more creative choice it elicited a shrugging of course. There didn’t seem to be anything inventive in casting McCarthy. So what surprised me is that it’s the most obvious and boring casting decision-Melissa McCarthy as Ursula-that most blew me away. And the scenes of Ariel on land were unexpectedly moving and gorgeously shot, while everything under the sea was a dour drab-not great when the movie is, uh, The Little Mermaid.įor all the controversy over casting (so much uproar over a Black Ariel, but not a peep about the blasphemous decision to make Prince Eric British), the movie was admirably diverse, by Hollywood’s poor standards. It’s especially bad when they’re talking, with their mouths basically just flapping open and shut. Cheese animatronics than any sort of CGI triumph. It’s a shame that Sebastian, as well as Jacob Tremblay’s Flounder and Awkwafina’s Scuttle-all meant to be photorealistic but just not quite real-looking enough-more resemble those traumatizing Chuck E. Halle Bailey is as sensational as you’ve heard as Ariel, and Daveed Diggs’ voice work as Sebastian is a comedic tour de force. There are definitely elements of The Little Mermaid that surpassed my admittedly low expectations, and there are others that are about as dismal as I expected. (I am right, and I will not apologize for saying it.) After seeing The Little Mermaid, the ambitious new take on the beloved 1989 animated classic, I have come to an irrefutable conclusion: The best live-action Disney reboot is… still Aladdin.
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