The Little Mermaid Live Action Remake. Some Comments and Coral Reef Images

June 1 was International Children’s Day, which we’ve celebrated here in Romania for decades. These days it’s also a legal holiday. So it came as no surprise that when I went to the movies with a friend to see The Little Mermaid there were a lot of families there with their children.

It’s hard for me to give a review of the new Little Mermaid because I don’t know the original story and I’ve also not seen recent developments in CGI, the flashy kind that took people’s breath away in the new Avatar movie, for instance.

I should probably read the story by Hans Christian Andersen soon. I’m reading it’s a sad one. This movie, instead, has happy endings all around.

I enjoyed the leads, Halle Bailey (Ariel) and Jonah Hauer-King (Prince Eric), and I appreciated the sidekicks: the crab, the fish, and the bird.

I also enjoyed Melissa McCarthy playing Ursula and Javier Bardem as King Triton, even though, yes, Bardem’s acting was a little flat. Maybe it was Rob Marshall’s decision to have King Triton portrayed like that? Because Javier Bardem can certainly act. As a side note, did you know that it was Bardem’s little girl’s Luna idea to have him play King Triton? She must have been six at the time. (She’s nine now.)

The movie did seem a little too long, though, and the first part was devoid of humor. Then there was a bit of humor, which the kids enjoyed, and then a dark part. All in all, it seemed to be a movie for older kids, or even for adults who enjoy Disney creations. I’m not sure which age the producers targeted, but it was certainly not six-year-olds, in my opinion. More like for eight-year-olds.

I personally enjoyed the underwater scenes because I love marine life, especially that of coral reefs, and I have created various products with coral reef fish and animals. On thinking back to the movie, yes, that bit could have been more impactful. But even so, I think it will make the kids think more about coral reefs, especially as there were some bits in the movies about fishing nets destroying them, for instance.

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The collage includes photos of organisms such as: nudibranch / sea slugs (order Nudibranchia), including Chromodoris nudibranch, parrotfish (family Scaridae), yellow tang fish (Zebrasoma flavescens), sea anemone (order Actiniaria), clownfish (order Perciformes), orange-lined and clown triggerfish (family Balistidae), lionfish / dragonfish / butterfly cod (Pterois), miniatus grouper / coral grouper / coral hind (Cephalopholis miniata), jewelled blenny (Salarias fasciatus), sergeant major fish (Abudefduf saxatilis), copperband and lemon butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae), sea turtles (order Testudines), seahorse (Hippocampus), octopus, crab (infraorder Brachyura), starfish / sea star (class Asteroidea), and many varieties of coral (class Anthozoa).

It’s a design for those who appreciate the biodiversity of coral reefs, and for all lovers of oceans and seas who wish to learn more about marine life as well as raise awareness about the dangers posed too coral reefs, these ecosystems which help survive a quarter of the ocean’s organisms.

In case you were wondering, Flounder in the new Little Mermaid is not a flounder. It looks to me like it was inspired by the copperband butterflyfish you can see in the above images, the white fish with yellow-orange bands and a black spot on one of its rear dorsal fins. Yes, Flounder’s coloring is different, but I don’t think it was modelled on an angelfish, as I read in various articles online. Or maybe it was, who knows? Only those involved with the production can really tell.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post. If you found it helpful in any way, I’d appreciate a pin/share! Thank you!

To a happier, healthier life,

🙂 Mira