‘Little Mermaid’ review: Another magic-free live-action Disney remake

If you’ve not headed to your nearest cinema to catch The Little Mermaid yet, make sure you’re prepared with enough tissues to see you through. Disney’s live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated film was released last Friday, and even though it’s only been out for a week, it's already amassed more than $209 million at the box office and is currently sitting at the top spot as the number one movie in the world. Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, the film retells the classic fairytale of a mermaid who wants to know what life is like above the sea.

has changed its rating system for the newly-released live-action “Little Mermaid” amid “unusual voting activity.”The Halle Bailey-led film has a 7/10 rating on the site. But a few crabby users — also known as review bombers — are allegedly giving the Disney flick negative scores for no good reason.“Our rating mechanism has detected unusual voting activity on this title.

This Morning star Josie Gibson came close to a 'traumatic' wardrobe malfunction on today's episode (May 31), as part of her costume came apart. While dressed up as a mermaid to promote Disney's new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey and Javier Bardem, the 38-year-old's 'bra' fell off.

Unless you’ve been living under a pop culture rock for the last couple of months, you’ll know that Disney’s live-action adaptation of the 1989 classic, The Little Mermaid has just dropped in cinemas. Everywhere. Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, there was no holding back on any aspect of this film.

K.J. Yossman Jonah Hauer-King can currently be seen swimming up a storm alongside Halle Bailey in Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” but for his next project he’s part of a different world – “World on Fire.” The PBS and BBC drama series has released first look images from its upcoming second season, showing Hauer-King as a grimy pilot called Harry in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. In the show, which was created by Peter Bowker, he is joined by “The Crown’s” Lesley Manville, Parker Sawyers (“A Discovery of Witches”) and Eugénie Derouand (“The Advent Calendar”).

SPOILER ALERT: This interview includes details about Disney’s The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid makeup artist is clapping back at hate over Ursula’s new look!

The Little Mermaid 's live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic has once again faced criticism, this time for its makeup choices. Disney received backlash when a timelapse video showcasing Ursula's makeup was shared, drawing negative comments from drag queens.The clip, posted on Twitter last week, sparked a debate among drag performers who argued that Melissa McCarthy's makeup should have been done by an LGBTQ+ artist.

Clapping back. The Little Mermaid makeup artist Peter Smith King is responding to backlash over Melissa McCarthy’s transformation into Ursula.   

The makeup artist behind Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula transformation is clapping back at critics.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Family audiences turned out in force, propelling Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” to the top of the box office over the Memorial Day weekend. The film, a live-action remake of the 1988 animated favorite, earned a splashy $117.5 million over the four-day holiday. It ranks as the fifth largest Memorial Day debut — last year’s “Top Gun: Maverick” set a new record for the holiday with its $160.5 million launch. At one point over the weekend, it looked as if “The Little Mermaid” might even open north of $120 million, but ticket sales flagged slightly. For Disney, the film’s popularity is a testament to its strategy of digging deep into its vaults and rebooting animated titles as live action movies, something it has done successfully with the likes of “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” Waiting out on the horizon: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the Oscar-winning director of “Summer of Soul,” is helming a remake of “The Aristocats” for Disney.

“The Little Mermaid” made moviegoers want to be under the sea on Memorial Day weekend.

Paloma Faith has hit out at the new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, saying that it’s not what she wants to be teaching the next generation of women.Disney’s The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey came out Friday (May 26), and also stars Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle and Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder.Faith was among stars who attended one of the film’s opening weekend screenings, but took to social media to voice her issues with the remake.“Just seen the new Little Mermaid with my kids and while I think Halle gives a good performance and it’s great casting as a mother of girls, I don’t want my kids to think it’s ok to give up your entire voice and your powers to love man,” the ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ singer wrote on her Instagram story over the weekend (via Metro).She added: “Wtf is this shit?! Not what I want to be teaching next gen women at all.”Earlier this year, Bailey explained how she wanted to bring a more nuanced and modern perspective to the film, in which Ariel is willing to give her up life in the sea to marry a prince and live on the land.“I’m really excited for my version of the film because we’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy,” she told Edition Magazine.“It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants.”“As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above,” she continued.

Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem are well aware of how iconic and beloved their roles in Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” film are — and they were more than prepared to do them justice.

McKinley Franklin editor “The Little Mermaid” makeup designer Peter Smith King has responded to criticisms of the revamped Ursula look that Melissa McCarthy brings to life in the new live-action remake, specifically contending against a belief that a queer artist should have landed the job. Rob Minkoff, the character animator of the original 1989 film, pulled reference from the late drag performer Divine for Ursula. When speaking with Time, Minkoff said “Divine seemed like such a great, larger-than-life character, and it just seemed like a funny and quirky idea to take [Ursula] and treat her more like a drag queen.” Since the first footage of McCarthy’s Ursula was revealed, King’s iteration of the aquatic villain has been met with criticism from some drag performers. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 14 contestant Kerri Colby responded to a video on Twitter, stating that “[this is] absolutely why we should hire up and coming queer artists with a pulse on the present and a vision for the future more often.”

A whole new generation of little girls are falling in love with “The Little Mermaid” and that’s thanks to Halle Bailey.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Thirty five years after the animated story of Ariel, a flame-haired siren of the sea who falls for a prince, charmed audiences, a live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” dominated the Memorial Day weekend box office. The Disney release is on track to debut to a massive $118 million over the four-day holiday, with $96 million of that coming over the weekend. It ranks as the fifth highest Memorial Day opening in history. The film got a lift from many of the same moviegoers who first fell in love with Ariel when she flitted across the screen in 1988, as well as from the generations of fans who weren’t alive when the original movie opened, but who were nevertheless weaned on the classic from its various appearances on DVD, television, and later streaming. The live action “Little Mermaid” (and “live action” is doing a lot of lifting here considering the sheer tonnage of CGI required to bring Ariel’s ocean home to life), was directed by Rob Marshall and stars Halle Bailey as the title character. Melissa McCarthy plays Ursula, the malevolent sea witch who steals Ariel’s voice in return for giving her legs and a chance to canoodle with the dreamy Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Javier Badem, Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs round out the ensemble.

Melissa McCarthy‘s makeup artist for The Little Mermaid is responding to critiques of her appearance in the movie.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor To bring Disney’s iconic mermaid princess Ariel to life in “The Little Mermaid,” costume designer Colleen Atwood constructed a life-sized tail that went from star Halle Bailey’s chest all the way down past her legs. “We made it to scale and 3D silk-screened the tail and painted onto that so you could get the nuance of the colors,” Atwood says. “We used different layers of sheer material, which gave the tail and scales an iridescent effect.” Her biggest challenge was blending the tail’s scales into Bailey’s skin. “I solved that by putting little fins made of fabric so there was a delineation between where the fish ended and the skin began,” she says.

The Little Mermaid” is making quite the splash at the domestic box office this weekend, with an opening day total of $38 million. The fantasy, which is opening in 4,320 theaters, is expected to gross between $120 million and $130 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. The musical remake, starring Halle Bailey as the mermaid princess Ariel, took in $10.3 million in previews on Thursday, ranking as the seventh-highest haul for a movie rated G or PG. That puts the film on track to gross well over $100 million over the holiday weekend. With a $250 million production budget, “The Little Mermaid” must bait box office success in order to make a reasonable return.

Halle Bailey looks amazing in The Little Mermaid, but her hair carried a hefty price tag.