The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

67% Tomatometer 347 Reviews 94% Audience Score 10,000+ Verified Ratings

The youngest of King Triton's daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life -- and her father's crown -- in jeopardy. Read More Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

The Little Mermaid

Fandango at Home Prime Video Disney+ Apple TV

Watch The Little Mermaid with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

The Little Mermaid

What to Know

Critics Consensus

With Halle Bailey making a major splash in the title role, Disney's live-action Little Mermaid ranks among the studio's most enjoyable reimaginings.

Read Critics Reviews

Audience Says

Halle Bailey is outstanding in The Little Mermaid -- and most of the other new additions to this version of the story hit the mark as well.

Read Audience Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (347) Critics Reviews
The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Caroline Siede Girl Culture (Substack) The delightful sits alongside the baffling in Marshall’s adaptation, which is so often the way it goes with these Disney live action remakes. Oct 2, 2023 Full Review The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Nell Minow Movie Mom Parts of this movie are truly enchanting, especially the underwater scenes. The opening moments on Prince Eric’s ship are thrillingly filmed and the “Under the Sea” number is a glorious Busby Berkeley underwater fantasia. Rated: B+ Jul 7, 2023 Full Review The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Wenlei Ma News.com.au It’s trying so hard to not upset fans of the original that it often feels like imitation with a couple of adjustments. And that’s about as flat as Flounder’s new-found photorealism. Rated: 2.5/5 Jun 16, 2023 Full Review The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Calum Cooper Cinerama Film The result is another mixed bag that may contain some rare pearls within its shell but can only dream of being part of its animated counterpart’s world. Rated: 2/5 Jul 19, 2024 Full Review The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Savina Petkova A Good Movie To Watch The film feels at once too stunted for an actual musical and too expansive to be just another movie. Rated: 6.9/10 Oct 29, 2023 Full Review The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Shawn Edwards Fox 4 Kansas City The music does seem to soar for the most part, and the movie is all elevated by Halle Bailey, she's fantastic. Rated: 3/5 Oct 27, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews

Annette I give it a 7 out of 10. I definitely enjoyed the movie, mostly well done. I didn't notice or pay much attention to the changed lyrics in the classic songs, so that's not a bother. The actors were well cast for their roles. The new songs were amusing and had meaning. Some scenes looked like they were shot for shot from the animated version, which may or may not be a good thing, since in some parts it felt redundant in that it felt like it was imitating the animated version. Still, I understand wanting to keep some things from the original and not change too much. My favorite change made in the live-action is (spoiler alert) the relationship between Ariel and Eric because they built a bond gradually throughout the movie and made their love believable. This is the reason I would rewatch the movie, because Halle Bailey and Jonah Haur King had great chemistry and I loved watching them together, and the ending is beautiful and innocent, and convincing. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/08/23 Full Review Dabria Loved every minute of it! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/28/23 Full Review Schenique It was a great re make I will watch it again:) Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/28/23 Full Review Super bummer. Only saving grace was Ursula and Scuttle, and only because of the actresses that play them. The movie and filming were awful. Super bummed. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/28/23 Full Review Ade The mermaid seems much younger than the prince. Why the mermaids sibling came from different races? Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/28/23 Full Review Angelica Simplemente me Encant!!! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Little Mermaid

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Rob Marshall Director Halle Bailey Ariel Jonah Hauer-King Prince Eric Javier Bardem King Triton Melissa McCarthy Ursula Daveed Diggs Sebastian
Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

Movie Clips

View All videos

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid: Extended Preview The Little Mermaid: Extended Preview 9:37 The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - The Scuttlebutt The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - The Scuttlebutt 1:11 The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Poor Unfortunate Souls The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Poor Unfortunate Souls 0:52 The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - You Listen to Me Bird The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - You Listen to Me Bird 0:35 The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - So Here's the Deal The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - So Here's the Deal 0:37 The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Under the Sea The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Under the Sea 0:59 The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Kiss the Girl The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Kiss the Girl 0:55 The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Part Of Your World The Little Mermaid: Movie Clip - Part Of Your World 0:48 View more videos

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home

Beauty and the Beast 71% 80% Beauty and the Beast TRAILER for Beauty and the Beast Aladdin 57% 94% Aladdin TRAILER for Aladdin Enchanted 93% 80% Enchanted TRAILER for Enchanted Mary Poppins Returns 79% 64% Mary Poppins Returns TRAILER for Mary Poppins Returns Into the Woods 71% 49% Into the Woods TRAILER for Into the Woods Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All Related Movie News
The Most Anticipated Movies of 2023 Weekend Box Office Results: The Little Mermaid Rises to the Top with Solid Holiday Opening What to Watch This Week: The Little Mermaid, American Born Chinese, Platonic, and More

Videos

View All videos

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid: Music Video - "Part Of Your World" In 22 Languages The Little Mermaid: Music Video - "Part Of Your World" In 22 Languages 3:25 The Little Mermaid: Featurette - Choreographing Under The Sea The Little Mermaid: Featurette - Choreographing Under The Sea 1:33 ‘The Little Mermaid’ Cast on Ariel and Prince Eric’s Chemistry, New Music, & Getting Into Character ‘The Little Mermaid’ Cast on Ariel and Prince Eric’s Chemistry, New Music, & Getting Into Character 31:03 Everything You Need to Know Before Seeing 'The Little Mermaid' Everything You Need to Know Before Seeing 'The Little Mermaid' 9:25 The Little Mermaid: Featurette - The Music of The Little Mermaid The Little Mermaid: Featurette - The Music of The Little Mermaid 2:47 The Little Mermaid: TV Spot - Unfortunate The Little Mermaid: TV Spot - Unfortunate 1:00 The Little Mermaid: Featurette - Halle's Ariel The Little Mermaid: Featurette - Halle's Ariel 1:32 The Little Mermaid: Featurette - The Cast Goes Under The Sea The Little Mermaid: Featurette - The Cast Goes Under The Sea 1:56 The Little Mermaid: Spot - Choices The Little Mermaid: Spot - Choices 0:59 The Little Mermaid: Featurette - A World Reimagined The Little Mermaid: Featurette - A World Reimagined 1:49 View more videos

Photos

View All The Little Mermaid photos

The Little Mermaid

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis The youngest of King Triton's daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life -- and her father's crown -- in jeopardy.

Director
Rob Marshall

Producer
Marc Platt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, John DeLuca, Rob Marshall

Screenwriter
David Magee

Distributor
Walt Disney Pictures

Production Co
Walt Disney Pictures, Marc Platt Productions, Lucamar

Rating
PG (Some Scary Images|Action/Peril)

Genre
Kids & Family, Musical, Fantasy, Romance

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
May 26, 2023, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 25, 2023

Box Office (Gross USA)
$298.2M

Runtime
2h 15m

Sound Mix
DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby, Dolby Atmos

Aspect Ratio
Digital 2.39:1
Most Popular at Home Now
The Little Mermaid (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

FAQs

How much did Halle Bailey get paid for Little Mermaid? ›

It's believed that Bailey made about $1.5 million for her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, but that number could increase depending on how well the film performs opening weekend and beyond.

Is Little Mermaid getting good reviews? ›

With Halle Bailey making a major splash in the title role, Disney's live-action Little Mermaid ranks among the studio's most enjoyable reimaginings. Halle Bailey is outstanding in The Little Mermaid -- and most of the other new additions to this version of the story hit the mark as well.

Is The Little Mermaid doing well in theaters? ›

The Little Mermaid—which also stars Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, and Awkwafina—is also among 2023's top ten films worldwide to date, earning $570 million at the global box office. The film was praised by audiences who gave it an “A” CinemaScore and a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Will The Little Mermaid 2023 have red hair? ›

The Little Mermaid 2023: The Little Mermaid: Halle Bailey's red hair as Ariel cost a whopping $150K; here's why - The Economic Times.

How much did Melissa McCarthy get paid for The Little Mermaid? ›

Melissa McCarthy, who played the devious Ursula in the live-action, made $500,000 for her work in the film.

Why did they choose Halle as Ariel? ›

Rob Marshall, the director of The Little Mermaid, said he cast her as Ariel because she had an “otherworldly sensibility”, and, instantly, you can see what he means.

Why is the new Little Mermaid getting so much hate? ›

Negative reactions against the movie due to the casting of Halle Bailey, a Black actress for the titular role, a mermaid and princess of the ocean named Ariel, showed concerning signs of racism and sexism that stem from a preference for white skin and an emphasis on the importance of looks in women.

Is Ursula Ariel's aunt? ›

Ursula was played by Melissa McCarthy in the 2023 live action remake of The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall. In this version, like with the Broadway musical, Ursula is the estranged younger sister of King Triton (played by Javier Bardem), thus making her the paternal aunt to Ariel and her sisters in this film.

What nationality is Halle Bailey? ›

Halle Lynn Bailey (born March 27, 2000) is an American singer and actress. She is best known for portraying Ariel in the 2023 live-action film The Little Mermaid.

Is the new little mermaid woke? ›

'The run-up to the film's release suggested another Disney woke-a-thon, but the film doesn't live down to that description,' Toto told The Washington Times. 'Halle Bailey's colorblind casting drew its fair share of critics, but she boasts a lovely voice and pleasant screen presence, shushing the doubters. '

How many Disney movies have flopped recently? ›

The majority of Disney movies (9 out of 11) that came out in 2023 flopped (= lost money). Do you expect this bad streak to continue for Disney in 2024? The only wide releases of Disney in 2023 that didn't lose money were GotG 3 and Elemental. The other 9 movies all lost money.

Is The Little Mermaid a success or failure? ›

“The film has grossed over $564 million worldwide against a total production budget of $250 million, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2023. “ The Little Mermaid remake just broke even and became a profitable success with $560 million.

How much money did the new Little Mermaid make? ›

$569.6 million

What is Hailey Bailey's net worth? ›

What's Halle Bailey's net worth? As of May 2023, Halle Bailey's net worth is estimated to be $3 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Their impressive earnings can be attributed to their musical achievements and acting roles.

How much do mermaid actors make? ›

$42,000 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $46,000 is the 75th percentile.

What is Halle Bailey's net worth in 2024? ›

Halle Bailey's net worth in 2024 is estimated to be $3 million. This figure reflects her success as a singer and actress.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Merrill Bechtelar CPA

Last Updated:

Views: 5765

Rating: 5 / 5 (70 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Merrill Bechtelar CPA

Birthday: 1996-05-19

Address: Apt. 114 873 White Lodge, Libbyfurt, CA 93006

Phone: +5983010455207

Job: Legacy Representative

Hobby: Blacksmithing, Urban exploration, Sudoku, Slacklining, Creative writing, Community, Letterboxing

Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.