Run Time: 1 hour 21 minutes
Rating: G (some mild violence sequences, so I would give this PG)
Summary(IMDB.com): As the story opens, a busful of tourists are touring Copenhagen. Their guide draws their attention to the beautiful statue at Langelinie. At that, the film's focus moves below the waterline, where several fish tell the story of [The Little Mermaid].
My Review:
In my mer-research, I discovered that this movie was on a lot of must-watch mermaid movie lists. Since mermaid legends have many different origins, I tried to find a quality movie that was easily available. I was also interested in this retelling because of my Russian heritage.
But I don't know why people enjoy this movie. It's strange, with no mermaid effects and a plot line that does not resemble The Little Mermaid at all!
The beginning of the movie is very strange. A bunch of people are traveling in a stagecoach together, silent and appearing miserable. A creepy old man resembling Hans Christian Anderson begins to tell a pretty blonde woman the story. There is some underwater scenery, where a dolphin swims in front of the camera and has a strange scar. This was sad to see, and I wondered how the poor creature was treated.
I admit I was amazed by the underwater "mermaids" with their long blonde hair and pretty blue tails. However, the Sea King looks very cheap. The tail seems to be made out of a blanket with dive fins attached. I did notice a scene error; the Little Mermaid had blonde hair in the sea, but it was sea green when she was treading on the surface. The Little Mermaid, or Rusalki, has a very annoying voice that is abnormally high pitch and there was a weird bell-tingling noise every time she spoke.
The plot has several deviations from the original, including:
- The mermaid does not seek the witch. A kind pauper does that for her.
-The witch does not take her voice! She wants her green hair?
- The prince falls in love with a powerful queen who doesn't care about him
.
- Near violent hangings and other strange events.
A major plot hole in this film is that if The Little Mermaid's voice wasn't stolen, why didn't she say something to the prince?
My thoughts exactly, Sebastian. This movie had its pretty moments, with the beautiful Medieval scenery, and the Rusalki was pretty, but this was not The Little Mermaid.
I give this movie (**) 2 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie