Our film guru has cast his expert eye over The Little Mermaid on the big screen.
According to a 2019 study, Disney's most successful movie, based on box office takings and reviews, is Cinderella. It's made an eye-watering £815,134,700 at the UK box office, and has a critic score of 95 per cent. It's also the subject of one of my favourite terrible jokes. I'll share that with you as a treat for getting to the end of this column.
I'm not entirely sure I've seen the original Little Mermaid, which the New Times declared "audiences of all ages are bound to fall in love with this bubbly, thoroughly enchanting fish story". Its hand-drawn animation captured hearts in the late 80s, and is remembered fondly by many.
Critics have also embraced this mesmerising, heartwarming new version of a classic. It stars the supremely talented Halle Bailey as a mermaid with the voice of an angel, who does a deal with a sea witch to sacrifice her voice for a pair of legs, and the chance to explore above the water. This burning curiosity contradicts the express wishes of her father (Javier Bardem as King Triton), who says humans are not to be trusted. A theme of embracing our differences runs through this story, but not in an overbearing way.
Aside from "Under The Sea", I wasn't familiar with much of the original source material, so I can't compare like-for-like, but I found this version charming, heartwarming, and a great modern twist on the Disney storybook. It was refreshing to see different ethnicities amongst the characters, but this wasn't done in a tokenistic way. Melissa McCarthy was corking in full-on pantomime villain mode, and my only criticism is that some of the underwater scenes are a bit dingy.
The casting works a treat, Bailey's central performance is enchanting, and this is a bit like a warm hug of a film. It was quite long at about two hours, but for me the running time zipped by quickly. The kids in the screening we attended seemed to stay in their seats and it kept their attention, but it's Disney for all ages. Singer Paloma Faith has said she objects to the central premise of sacrificing your voice to win the heart of a man, but even she has praised Halle Bailey as "great casting".
We watched The Little Mermaid at an old-fashioned picture house, and it included an ice cream interval. I think more cinemas should bring these back! Having said that, I didn't buy one, as I'd already scoffed a large bag of Jelly Babies before we'd even watched the trailers.
Other Disney films in the Top Five of all time, based on a mix of reviews and takings, are Fantasia, 101 Dalmatians, The Lion King and Pinocchio. I may need to do a double bill and watch Cinderella followed by Fantasia sometime, complete with a tub of Ben & Jerry's.
That leads us nicely to my favourite ancient Cinderella gag to finish off the column...What did Cinderella say while waiting for her photos to be developed? One day, my prints will come. I'll see myself out.
