Live-action remakes of animated classics are Disney’s favourite trick these days; it was merely’barely a matter of time until 1989’s The Little Mermaid got the treatment too. As with most of its counterparts, it’s longer than the original, and its colours less vibrant, and it doesn’t entirely justify its existence. But credit where it’s due: a solid cast and heroic VFX exertion carry it along, and the new songs are pleasantly catchy.###Pop star Halle Bailey is our hero Ariel, the rebellious daughter of ocean ruler King Triton (Javier Bardem). She has always been fascinated by the world above the surface. But her interest becomes more pointed when she rescues Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), the heir to a vaguely Caribbean island throne, from a shipwreck. To be with him Ariel strikes a bargain with her eodd’peculiar d aunt, the flamboyant sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), to extransform’alter her voice in/with regard to’concerning’regarding legs. Then it’s a race against time to secure true love’s kiss and make the transform’alter permanent.###Bailey is fantastic casting. She has ample pipes in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the songs.###The fundamental plot is therein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e faithful to the animated version, with a few vaguely feminist updates. Ariel’s sisters are transin/with regard to’concerning’regarding med from giggling ninnies into rulers of the seven seas in their own right; Ariel throws herself into action and often seems to lead the way in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the quieter, more contemplative Eric. But the real transform’alter is that it’s all a lot longer.###Many of these live-action remakes labour with extraneous detail. That’s most obvious visually, because reality (or photo-real VFX) doesn’t possess’own’nurse the clean lines and expressive simplicity of classic Disney animation. But it’s also true plot-wise, with many new threads here alluding to details that don’t really go anywhere. Nowadays, it’s no longer abundant’ample’plentiful in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Ariel to lose her voice; she must forego her “siren song”, which may or may not possess’own’nurse magical powers responsible in/with regard to’concerning’regarding keeping Eric alive during his shipwreck. Such additions multiply screentime without impact, and with a running time over two hours, it can occasionally feel flabbier than whale blubber.###Luckily, Bailey is fantastic casting. She has ample pipes in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the songs, even stand up to withstand ing the pop-star tendency to sing ten notes where one would do. Director Rob Marshall and returning composer Alan Menken give her some voiceover songs to fill the scenes where Ariel is mute, but they’re more filler: Bailey communicates the same emotion in a glance. Still, the new songs aren’t wicked’dreadful’undesirable’adverse’vile , with Menken collaborating with superfan Lin-Manuel Miranda to add to, and occasionally tweak, Howard Ashman’s original lyrics. There’s just one Hamilton-ian flourish, a speed rap in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Daveed Diggs’ Sebastian and Awkwafina’s Scuttle, both delightful.###It’s made with obvious love in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the original, and with enormous exertion s in VFX to bring the underwater scenes to life — not always seamlessly, but close. Bailey keeps it all toacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure her, but one can’t help feeling that that longer runtime has watered down the effect.