Reviews: What Do Critics Think of The Little Mermaid Live-Action Remake? | Playbill

The Verdict Reviews: What Do Critics Think of The Little Mermaid Live-Action Remake?

The adaptation of the beloved Disney cartoon debuts in theatres May 26.

Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King Courtesy of Disney

Disney's upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has premiered, and the reviews are rolling in! The film is set to hit movie theatres May 26.

Oscar-nominated Chicago and Into the Woods director Rob Marshall helms the remake, penned by Jane Goldman and David Magee. Check out the film's trailer here.

Halle Bailey stars as Ariel, the titular little mermaid, in the new take on the 1989 animated classic, which featured songs by Little Shop of Horrors' Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Menken has teamed with Lin-Manuel Miranda to pen new songs for the remake.

Read the reviews here.

Associated Press (Lindsey Bahr)

The A.V. Club (Leigh Monson)

BBC (Caryn Jones)

Black Girl Nerds (Stacey Yvonne)

CNN (Brian Lowry)

Collider (Ross Bonaime)

The Daily Beast (Coleman Spilde)

Deadline (Pete Hammond)

Empire (Helen O'Hara)

Entertainment Weekly (Maureen Lee Lenker)

Evening Standard (Charlotte O'Sullivan)

Games Radar (Molly Edwards)

Geeks of Color (Joshua Mackey)

The Guardian (Ellen E Jones)

The Hollywood Reporter (Lovia Gyarkye)

The Independent (Clarisse Loughrey)

IndieWire (Kate Erbland)

iNews (Christina Newland)

Los Angeles Times (Justin Chang)

Mashable (Kristy Puchko)

Metro (Tori Brazier)

Screen Daily (Nikki Baughan)

Screen Rant (Rachel Labonte)

Slash Film (Vanessa Armstrong)

The Telegraph (Alex Diggins)

The Times (Kevin Maher)*

USA Today (Brian Truitt)

Variety (Peter Debruge)

Vox (Alex Abad-Santos)

Vulture (Angelica Jade Bastién)*

The Wrap (Lex Briscuso)

*This review requires creating a free account or a paid subscription.

Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

Joining Bailey on screen are Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women, The Last Photograph) as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat) as Ursula, Javier Bardem (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men) as King Triton, Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation, The Tempest) as Grimsby, Lorena Andrea (Warrior Nun) as new character Perla, and Kajsa Mohammar (Misbehaviour) as new character Karina, with Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) voicing Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay (Room) voicing Flounder, and Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) voicing Scuttle.

Disney brought The Little Mermaid to the Broadway stage in 2007—replacing another Disney show, Beauty and the Beast—at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where it began previews November 3, 2007, and opened January 10, 2008. It played 685 performances and 50 previews, earning nominations for Best Original Score and Best Lighting Design of a Musical.

The Little Mermaid is executive-produced by Allison Erlikhman, Jeffrey Silver, and Jessica Virtue. Miranda and Marshall produce alongside Marc Platt and John DeLuca, joined by co-producers Michael Zimmer and Russell Allen. Caroline Roberts is associate producer.

Photos: See Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Noma Dumezweni, More In Disney's The Little Mermaid

 
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