The Little Mermaid (2023) on Netflix
PG20232h 15mAdventureFamilyFantasyRomance
Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton, collects human objects and longs to see the surface. After she saves Prince Eric from a shipwreck, the sea witch Ursula offers her a bargain.
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- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.2/10180,374 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
King Triton rules Atlantica, the kingdom beneath the Caribbean Sea, and forbids merfolk from surfacing because Ariel's mother was killed by a human. His youngest daughter, Ariel, has never seen the human world but collects its objects in a grotto. With Flounder she visits Scuttle, a northern gannet whose descriptions of human objects are wrong. When a storm wrecks a ship, Ariel rescues Eric, a prince of a nearby island, sings to him, and flees before he wakes. Triton destroys her collection. The sea witch Ursula offers to make her human for three days in exchange for her voice.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Little Mermaid (2023)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Harry Styles was in early negotiations to play Prince Eric but turned the part down in favor of a concert tour; director Marshall said Styles also refused because he wanted to do darker, non-musical roles.
- Casting Halle Bailey, an African-American actress, as Ariel drew public backlash and the viral hashtag #NotMyAriel; objectors argued the 1989 animated Ariel was Caucasian with red hair and that mermaids should be pale, not black, as underwater creatures.
- Halle Bailey was the first actress to audition for Ariel, after Rob Marshall saw her sing Donny Hathaway's "Where Is the Love" at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards; hundreds of other girls tried out, including Odessa A'zion.
- In August 2023, special effects artist Christine Overs sued the film's producers over a set accident that broke her wrist, seeking 150,000 euros (US$190,000); Sandcastle Pictures admitted responsibility for the accident but disputes the amount.
- Halle Bailey said she had to spend 13 hours underwater during certain days of filming, and that practical water tanks and CGI were used to create the underwater environments.
- Disney spent an estimated $140 million promoting The Little Mermaid, and partner deals with McDonald's, Booking.com and Kellogg's gave it the biggest global promotional campaign for a Disney branded live-action title, valued at $80 million.
