The Little Mermaid

An enchanting film that you must hunt down if you missed it in the theatres.

Ok, here is the story. Halle Bailey is superb as Ariel, a young mermaid who wants to see the world above the water.

Over the objection of her father King Triton (Javier Bardem), she makes a deal with Ursula (a memorable Melissa McCarthy), a nasty witch. Having saved Prince Eric, a drowning sailor (Jonah Hauer-King) from death, she can become human for 3 days. If she gets a kiss, she can remain. If not, she must return to the sea and become a slave to Ursula.

What gives this film some power is the music along with the performances of Daveed Diggs and Awkwafina. Diggs plays the Crab Sebastian, who functions as Ariel’s bodyguard. As always, Awkwafina is marvelous as the seagull Scuttle.

Ariel and the Prince immediately fall in love, and you watch their journey to see if Ariel is saved with a kiss. You’ll remember her singing, “Part of Your World.”

As an aside, Monica and I watched the film at Disney World. We recreated our first trip there 35 years ago before we were married. We saw a little bit of our own history as we watched Ariel and the Prince develop a romantic relationship.

Let me also say that we took many rides in the various parks. If you go, make sure you don’t miss Space Mountain in the Magic Kingdom and Avatar Flight of Passage in the Animal Kingdom theme park. They are fun beyond words.

You’ll re-live Ariel and the Prince’s first kiss.