The Little Mermaid 2023 A Fintastic Watch! What Age Is It Best For?

The Little Mermaid 2023 written by the Elf. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.

Know Before You Watch The Little Mermaid 2023

Movie: The Little Mermaid 2023
Rating: PG
Genre: Disney Live Action, Fairytale, Children’s Movie
Length: 2 hours
Age suggested: 7+
Release Date: May 26th, 2023
Warnings: This is a LONG movie. It’s a full 2 hours. There are also some very dark scenes with storms, fires, and monstrous creatures. There are only a couple of uses of idiot and stupid.

The Little Mermaid 2023 Summary

They’re back! The Little Mermaid 2023 is here. Ariel and Eric are both stuck. They imagine different lives for themselves than there parents do. Can Ariel escape being a mermaid and can Eric loosen his mother’s grasp and rules. The storyline follows very closely with the originals. It’s a very well done live action remake.

The Little Mermaid 2023 Review

-What Was Changed in The Little Mermaid 2023?-

There were 7 big changes I noted. The live action remedies the biggest complaints about it’s original film and is just different enough to be a force of it’s own.

1. The length. The animated cartoon was an 1 & 1/2 whereas the live action movie is a solid 2 hours. You get a little bit more character development in there as well as story background. The story was not too slow for me, but I can see it being too long for a lot of little ones attention spans.
2. The lyrics. First of all, can someone please explain to me why they don’t use the stage production songs in the live action remakes?! I’m sure it has something to do with copyright and making more money. Regardless, I was thrilled to see that Lin Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken would be working with their incredible teams on this. And I really enjoyed both Eric and Ariel’s new songs. They did changed up a few of the lyrics and I loved all the changes!
3. The new characters. We get to see Eric’s mom and Ariel’s dad in this version, and they are fully developed side characters. Thankfully they kept all of the animal sidekicks in the remake!! The biggest new character was who Ursula turned into after becoming human. She became one of Eric’s ex girlfriends, and they do this really well!
4. Gender and racial diversity. This movie was review bombed because it was more diverse. Proving the dire need for DEI courses that are currently being outlawed and banned like a WW2 horror story. There are more strong girls in this film and more racial diversity, especially between Ariel and her sisters. (PS- I’ve seen lots of chatter about how Ariel having a bunch of sisters of different ethnicities isn’t realistic and doesn’t make sense. Um first, let me remind you that you’re watching a children’s movie. Second, Triton is based on Poseidon who is known for having a ton of relationships and a ton of different children with different mothers. So yes, actually is does make sense.)
5. The adoption story line. Since we are a family that’s been heavily impacted by foster care and adoption this one really popped out at me. Mayyyyyybe it was in the original?? I’ll update this after I watch it this weekend. Many adoptees, and teens in general, will be able to relate to Prince Eric as he struggles under the weight of his mother’s expectations. In particular, he feels like he just doesn’t quite fit into palace life, partially because he was not born into it. Loved this addition.
6. Ariel isn’t helpless entertainment. It’s not just that more girls are represented in the movie. But that they are represented as STRONG characters. Yes, they need their teams and partners (we all do!) but that doesn’t mean they can’t also kick butt and take names. Ariel, the Queen, and Skuttle are great examples of this. Also Ariel’s sisters. They aren’t just putting on a show as entertainment, but full characters running their own sections of the sea.
7. The motivation. We see that Ariel and Eric aren’t just spoiled brats trying to escape their parents. Their motivations run deeper. Eric wants to help his little island to expand their commerce and relationships with their neighbors. Ariel wants to bring back the communities of people and merfolk together again.

For even more info on the changes in this film and comparison to the original- check out Disney blogger The Joyous Living’s take here.

–Why Watch The Little Mermaid 2023-

Disney has done a lot of experimenting with their live action remakes. Cinderella had no music, Mulan had no comedy, and Lion King was almost the exact same movie in a different animation style. The Little Mermaid 2023 version falls right in line with the Aladdin remake. It’s the same story with a lot of the same humor, but also a new added depth. This has been one of my favorite live actions so far!!

This movie took over FOUR years to complete. In part because of the pandemic but also just because this was forging new movie territory! I was sad that they didn’t just use real shots from the amazing ocean. Until I saw ‘Under the Sea’. Then I got it, they had to create everythinggggg because they needed the animals to sing, dance, and express in exact ways.

I think people should watch the Little Mermaid 2023 because it is just so well done. Especially if you grew up with the original. And the theatrical numbers are really meant to be seen on the big screen!!

-Can My Kids Watch The Little Mermaid–

The Disney live action remakes have been all over the board as far as scary scenes and intensity. Peter Pan, released early this month was very tame but had long, slow, scenes. Little Mermaid on the other hand is a very long movie that is fairly fast paced but has much scarier scenes. It’s still very kid friendly but I would be cautious with pre-schoolers and young elementary students.

There are a couple of harsher words like ‘idiot’ and ‘stupid’. But in general the script was pretty kid friendly.

The previews for the movie lasted about 30 minutes and many of them were adult in nature. So maybe get there a little late and grab some refreshments before heading into the theater!

The scarier, darker, scenes were my biggest concern. In the original animated movie, there are some really dark and creey moments in Ursula’s liar. And the same is true for the live action movie. Specifically when Ariel enters he liar things pop out suddenly and grad her. The eels are creepy looking, although I think the ones in the original were creepier. Overall though I think the live action Ursula is a lot scarier than the animated villain because she is so very realistic.

About 30 minutes into the movie there is a really intense scene where Eric’s boat is in trouble and there is a massive lightning storm with fire. 1 hour in Ursula pops back up, there’s some surprising fire and a lot of skeletons, including a mermaid skeleton.

Overall, the live action movie is very similar to the original cartoon. If your little one can handle the cartoon, they likely will be able to handle the live action. The live action is slightly more intense, there are storms and fires,

Favorite The Little Mermaid 2023 Quotes

“Kissed, not killed birdbrain”
“A choice that you can’t undo”
“I still got it.” Sebastian
“Time for a little romantic vocal stimulation”
“That’s a beautiful name, written in the stars.”
“Don’t be held back by what you think should be.”
“Have I ever been wrong, when it counts?”
“Now ya gotta live with it toots”
“I want to see you suffer like I’ve suffered all these years.”
“I’m not leaving you. Give me your hand”
“So much for true love”
“Our worlds were never meant to be together”
“She wants a different life than I had planned for her.”
“Our worlds have misunderstood one another for far too long.”
“Thank you for hearing me”
“You shouldn’t have had to give up your voice to be heard, but now I am listening.”

The Little Mermaid 2023 Quotes

The Little Mermaid 2023 Discussion Questions

Themes to Discuss: Otherness, Parent-Child Relationships, Sibling Relationships, Breaking the Mold

1. Which character did you like the most? Which made you laugh the most?
2. If you watched the 1989 version, what are were your favorite and least favorite changes?
3. Why doesn’t Ariel fit in with her family?
4. Why was Ursula so set on taking over as ruler of the sea?
5. What were the similarities between Ariel and Eric’s view of the world?
6. How does King Triton change from the beginning of the movie to the end?

Before you go, check out these other posts:

-The Super Mario Bros Movie Parent Review

-The New Peter Pan and Wendy: Why Change a Classic?

-5 Relatable Family Dynamics in Disney’s Strange World

-Disnechanted the Sequel to Enchanted

Down The Hobbit Hole Blog and The Little Mermaid 2023 post use affiliate links. We only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All images used in this post were either original designs from Canva or used from media kits We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. Find our other reviews with discussion questions here. And our posts about family stuff here.