Chris Griffin

I would assume trying to replicate an animated character is tremendously difficult for an actor, but I think the characters pulled it off physically. The problem was lack of inflection in the acting. King Triton looked the part, but was monotone and muted. I never felt the frustration, love or empathy as I did in the animated movie. Sébastien was better but sounded like he was reading his lines to memorize them rather than convey emotion. Lastly, Skuttle's comic relief in the animated version was non existent. I feel like the director did his job extremely poorly, and failed to guide the actors, so the audience could identify with them. Striking wonderful scenes, such as the cook trying to catch Sébastien contributed to the lack of character development rampant throughout the movie. There were several bad King Triton scenes, but two of them really were pathetic. The wonderful scene from the animated movie where he gives Ariel her legs and clothes her in a shimmering gown was skipped completely and the awe inspiring seen in the animated movie where Triton rose out of the water, towering and a force of authority giving his blessing was reduced to a weak old man barely sticking his head out of the water. Another poorly executed scene was also at the end where her fellow mer-people showed up. They are creatures revered in myth and legend among humans, but the folks on the beach acted like ho hum... there's another one. They were painfully posed on rocks and such, like something you would see in a school play. I honestly believe with no experience whatsoever, I could have directed any produced a more emotional film. I think Ariel, Ursula and Eric were wonderful. Ariel nailed everything, but could have used more facial expressions and at least tried to talk, rather than just sitting there as if Ursula took away her personality as well as her voice. The mother also acted well, but I wondered why she had so much screen time, instead of leaving in other, more pivotal scenes. Ursula was great in every way, but her death scene was probably the worst cgi I have seen since the 80's. It reminded me of Ghostbusters and the Pillsbury Dough Boy death...truly amateur hour with these directors and producers. The scenes done very well were around the iconic songs Part of Your World, Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl. Ariel was fantastic in Part of your world. I also think racial inclusion was done thoughtfully and well executed. In summary, I don't blame the actors, but the lack of direction and overall vision. I expect Disney to be the Gold Standard, but felt they missed the emotional content of The Little Mermaid animated film. I was hoping to be moved, but left the theater indifferent.

Now I know why they can’t make a good Stephen King movie. The writing sucked. By writing, I mean the story itself was bad. I love the cast, but it was not enough to save me from feeling swindled out of my time and money. Very sad.