Whether audiences want them or not, the Disney live-action remake machine continues to churn out new versions of beloved animated classics without showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The films we’ve gotten in recent years have been hit or miss. Sure, you’ll find a few creatively successful projects like 2015’s “Cinderella” and 2016’s “The Jungle Book.” But those well-received efforts are mixed in with head-scratchers like 2020’s “Mulan” and 2022’s “Pinocchio” that are liable to make anyone yearn for the days before we had the technology to bring these characters to anything resembling life.
One of the most highly anticipated — and dreaded — of these reimaginings is “The Little Mermaid” adaptation that hit theaters Friday. The original 1989 musical about a young mermaid intent on experiencing all the human world has to offer is largely seen as the beginning of Disney’s 1990s animation renaissance. Many may find the mere idea of repackaging such an important story in any form to be blasphemous.
