I’m having all The Little Mermaid vibes this week! Ariel has always been my favorite Disney princess and The Little Mermaid was one of my favorite movies growing up. There was something so hopeful and joyful about her that I could relate to. I loved this movie so much that when Disney invited me to this special photo shoot celebrating the Digital release of the original The Little Mermaid several years ago, I jumped at the chance to wear a mermaid tale an live out my Ariel dreams.

Heather Brooker at Disney event celebrating the Digital/Blu-Ray release of The Little Mermaid

I don’t look like this anymore (where did that waistline go??) but that’s ok! I still love this character and her sweet story.

So let’s talk HONESTLY about The Little Mermaid (2023) remake. I feel like a lot of Disney stans and bloggers gush over every Disney movie no matter how good or bad. But they can’t all be brilliant right? Not everything Disney does is going to be brilliant (Pixar on the other hand…). So I’m here to tell it to you straight as a journalist and entertainment expert. This is my REAL The Little Mermaid (2023) Review…

It’s fine.

It’s not particularly great or bad. It’s just fine. It felt like an exact copy of the original but somehow with a little less heart. I don’t know if that’s because we’ve seen this story for so many years and we know how it ends (no surprises here) or if remaking it just feels like a cash grab on an established IP.

But I kept wondering…why did this story need to be re-told in the exact same way to the tune of $250 MILLION dollars?

The acting was great and Halle Bailey is incredibly talented! But why not expand on this story? Create new characters and explore new stories that relate to kids where they are in today’s world? Give them their own version of a Little Mermaid story and not a re-hashed version from the 1980s.

All that being said I do understand the cultural significance of this remake and don’t want to minimize the impact it will have on kids of every race and background around the world. It just feels like they could have done so much more to empower them with a fresh story.

Heather Brooker at Disney event celebrating the Digital/Blu-Ray release of The Little Mermaid

Have you seen The Little Mermaid (2023)? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree? We’ll be breaking it all down on the next episode of Brooker Family POPcast– one of the top podcasts for kids and family! So make sure you subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.