Fin-tastic! Halle Bailey is sensational as Ariel in The Little Mermaid  trends now

The Little Mermaid (PG, 135 minutes) 

Verdict: Book now for half-term

Rating: **** 

Where most of Disney’s live-action remakes have sunk without a ripple (some not even hitting cinemas), its lavish new take on cartoon classic The Little Mermaid has already created a mighty splash.

Flippers were set flapping over Disney’s decision to cast mixed-race pop star Halle Bailey as their originally white-skinned mermaid. That decision is more than justified — for all the best reasons. Bailey is absolutely sensational as Ariel. A star is born.

The story is the same — a watered-down retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s crueller fairy tale. In defiance of her father, King Triton (Javier Bardem), Ariel forms a forbidden fascination with all things human. This scales new heights when she rescues human Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) from a shipwreck and, in time-honoured tradition, succumbs to a star-crossed love at first sight.

Cue a Faustian pact with her evil Aunt Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) in which Ariel agrees to trade her voice and ‘siren song’ in exchange for three days on shore. If Prince Eric doesn’t stump up a true love’s kiss in that time, then Ariel is doomed.

It goes without saying that Disney’s animation is stupendous. You see every cent of that reported $250 million budget (more than Titanic’s) on screen.

You do have to pinch yourself to remember the cast aren’t actually swimming around underwater.

Plus, director Rob Marshall (Chicago) knows his way around a big musical number — the Busby Berkeley-inspired Under The Sea is Disney’s best live-action set piece since Beauty And The Beast’s Be Our Guest, in 2017.

And yet . . . if you revisit the 2D cartoon original, you’ll find the real Disney magic. The 1989 hit was the last Disney feature to be entirely hand-drawn, yet that technologically more basic style generated an inspiring flexibility of imagination and artistry. Compare the wonderfully fluid expressions of Sebastian the crab in that film to the new, super-high-definition computer-generated Sebastian (voiced by Daveed Diggs).

The latter feels straitjacketed by the drive to render him as authentically crab-like as possible, but to what end? Do Disney think we are flocking to these films because we want to see some meticulously photorealist fish? No, it’s to get our cockles warmed by characters we care about.

Thankfully, the voice cast, including Awkwafina (as Scuttle the gannet) and Jacob Tremblay (as Flounder the no-longer-so- adorably-yellow little fish) bring these somewhat cold-eyed computer carapaces to life.

However, and perhaps appropriately for a live-action movie, it’s the humans who steal the show.

Melissa McCarthy’s screenhugging Ursula, half witch, half octopus, may have you wriggling with delight. British stage star Noma Dumezweni brings gravitas and a bit of grown-up acting to the new role of Prince Eric’s adoptive mother.

And Javier Bardem could squeeze a furtive man-tear out of the stoniest male viewer’s heart, as his King Triton learns to let go of his youngest daughter.

Yet the film belongs to Bailey, who combines an irresistible, natural star presence with a sublimely strong set of pipes. Her hair-raising number Part Of Your World drew spontaneous applause at the movie’s UK premiere, whereas Prince Eric’s new number, Wild Uncharted Waters, provided a much-needed loo break. A square-jawed Hauer-King may look the part but he’s as limp as his (frequently wet) white shirt.

The new Little Mermaid is no classic but it’s a dependable half- term treat . . . or rather feast, given that it runs for almost an hour longer than the original.

Surely no child or adult really wants a bloated 135 minutes when a zingy 83 minutes would do?  

My Name Is Happy (15, 82 mins)