Maria Reza

On the whole it was phenomenal. With some anti-climatic moments. Generally a good mix of staying true to the original but adding it's own spin. But sadly some critical scenes were not done as well as they could have. The singing by Halle was perfect. Her personality - energy, cheekiness and inquisitive nature mixed with naivety was just the right balance to reflect Ariel. Eric was cast really well. In fact he outshone his role in the original. His own solo piece was a good addition and allowed him to show off that he too can sing. He was actually far more passionate and relatable compared to his original character. Flounder - i didn't think they captured the relationship between Ariel and Flounder well. Its much more stronger than what was shown as. Scuttle - thought she was cast really well, and the twist on the original worked well Ursula - perfect, her cauldron scene in the cave was epic, i actually couldn't fault her Sebastian - he was hilarious though some of his one liners fell flat, i didn't love him as much as i did in the original Triton - i don't think he was shown enough respect and his powers were not shown off. In the final scene when Triton blesses the marriage, i wish they'd shown his capabilities..in the original he cast a beautiful rainbow which felt like an epic moment unifying the merpeople and humans. However there was no magic in this remake. I was really not happy about how Ariel pretty much wrestled and grabbed Ursula to get her voice back in the wedding scene. In the original Ariel didn't get involved in this way, instead the seagulls helped take Ursula down. I don't know..it felt weird and i didn't like how it depicted Ariel but maybe it's just more of a realistic portrayal of how frustrated she felt. The lagoon scene was definitely not as romantic. Felt rushed. I also thought it was really a let down when Triton changed Ariel into a human and she came to find Eric. That moment fell flat. So thats it. A must watch. Did the original justice.