The Little Mermaid (2023)

Black singer/actor Halle Bailey stars as Ariel. The multicultural cast includes Spanish actor Javier Bardem as King Triton, Black actors Daveed Diggs and Noma Dumezweni as the voice of Sebastian and Queen Selina, respectively, and Chinese/Korean American actor Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle. The merfolk and sailors/villages are of many different ethnic/racial backgrounds; a few Black castle workers/villagers have Jamaican-sounding accents, while most everyone else (including White castle workers/villagers) has a British accent. Ariel is independent and has agency, even when she's without her voice. It's explained that Eric was adopted into the royal family.

The big shark that chases Ariel and Flounder in the creepy ship graveyard at the beginning of the movie is scarier than in the animated version, with tons of sharp teeth. Sailors try to kill sea creatures with large harpoons in hopes of capturing a mermaid. A big storm causes Eric's ship to crash into sharp rocks, start sinking, and catch fire; sailors jump overboard, and a dog is stuck behind a wall of fire until Eric saves him, gets hit on the head, and falls into the water (where he's saved by Ariel). Talk of Ariel's mother being killed by humans many years prior. Ursula's electric eels shock sea creatures and people and incapacitate them. A trident kills a character. Ursula's undersea territory is dark and scary, with fire and creepy, grasping creatures, as well as the bones/skulls of merfolk. Her spells/curses steal Ariel's voice and Triton's power. Ursula engages in a climactic fight with Ariel, Eric, and others, becoming enormous and threatening everyone with storms and destruction. Spoiler alert: She's killed when she's run through by the mast of a shipwrecked boat. Arguments/yelling; Triton destroys Ariel's grotto.

Ariel and Eric flirt and dance but don't kiss until the very end of the movie. Eric and Ariel still have to kiss, but, due to Ursula's curse, Ariel has no memory of that being her objective, so she only remembers that she's interested in Eric, not that she has to get him to kiss her. Implied nudity when Ariel transforms into a human, though only part of her bare legs and arms are visible because her hair covers most of her body. The merfolk are more covered up than the cartoon characters, who wore considerably skimpier "clam shell" bikini tops, but midriffs/abdomens are still visible. Eric is mostly shirtless in the water after the climactic battle.

Insults like "mer-brats," "stupid," "idiot," "slippery good-for-nothings," "bird brain," "big fat feathers." Also "shut up" once. Ariel teases Flounder affectionately, calling him a "guppy."

Sailors might be drinking rum/grog, but it's not overt.

Parents need to know that The Little Mermaid is Disney's live-action remake of its 1989 animated classic. The story is mostly the same, following young mermaid Princess Ariel (Halle Bailey), who falls for human Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) and makes a deal with sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) to be human for three days in exchange for her voice. Younger kids who are familiar with the cartoon may be able to handle the more intense aspects of this version, but the live-action element definitely heightens the peril of scenes like the shark chase, the storm at sea, the shipwreck, and the big, climactic fight scene between Ursula, Ariel, and Eric. Ursula's territory is dark and creepy, with merfolk bones and skulls scattered around, and Triton and Ariel's frequent disagreements might upset sensitive viewers. Ariel and Eric flirt and dance but don't kiss until the very end of the movie; language is limited to words like "stupid" and "idiot." This version -- which promotes courage, curiosity, communication, and empathy -- explores Eric's character more than the original did, takes time to show Ariel and Eric building a genuine connection with each other, and offers more nuance in Ariel's relationship with her father and sisters.

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