Why I saw it in the first place…
I was initially on the fence about seeing the movie because of all the drama surrounding its release. I couldn’t stand the racial tensions and the poor advertising Disney did with the initial trailers. I felt that the poor quality of the trailer gave more people ammunition to be rude and doubtful about the movie. I have also been frustrated with the poor quality I’ve seen from Disney overall, so I was not initially excited to see this movie. Yet, they reeled me in because the movie was offered in 4DX. 4DX is one of the latest movie experiences in which the seats move, water splashes everywhere, you can smell the scene, and basically feel like you are in the movie. If you’ve ever rode the Shrek ride at Universal Studios Orlando, it’s a lot like that, but for the length of a film. I had planned to see Fast X in 4DX, but I may have been too late because the only movie offered was “The Little Mermaid.” I had my mind set on the experience, so I bent the knee and decided to see the movie despite my apprehensions.
I am so happy that I did because I thought the movie was great, especially in 4DX. Below, I list the top 5 reasons I think you should see the movie in 4DX or in whatever format you choose.
- The 4DX effects were awesome.
- The mermaids were beautiful.
- The island representation was heartwarming.
- The new songs added to the story.
- It’s “The Little Mermaid.”
The 4DX effects were awesome.
I’m a big fan of 4DX and haven’t experienced a movie that I didn’t think was enhanced by the experience. I’m one of those people who want to leave a 4D show soaked. This movie was perfect because the water effects were on point. I will never forget how I felt trickles of water on my head. I thought it was a defect, but it was mimicking the experience of a storm starting. Every time someone leaped into or out of the water, there was a special, deep mist that made you feel like you were in the action too. They also did a great job with the olfactory effects. I vividly remember smelling the sea and flowers throughout the movie. 4DX is partially good with action scenes, like car chases. This was not in this movie, but there were still enough action to feel the full effects of the moving chair. Although I’ve only seen the movie in 4DX, I think the effects made elements of the movie more exciting than they would have been otherwise. The effects served to pick up the pace in the movie more than in the other 4DX movies I had seen before.
The mermaids were beautiful.
I want to emphasize that I didn’t say the visual effects were amazing. They were tolerable. There were visually appealing elements throughout the movie, but it wasn’t groundbreaking. However, I believe they did an amazing job with casting and adorning the mermaids. Ariel was gorgeous, and I think the trailers could have done a better job of showing that. Ariel’s sisters were a united nations of stunning women. At the end, when you see more mermaids, they are nothing less than beautiful as well.
The island representation was heartwarming.
I really enjoyed the cultural representation in the movie. I wonder if they had consultants because the way the people spoke was similar to what I would hear around Brooklyn and with family members. I almost fell out when they asked Ariel to get some sorrel and had a dance party. I believe having the land location in a Caribbean island allowed for my diversity in the cast and gave a pleasant twist to the movie
The new songs added to the story.
I believe they did an awesome job of redoing the classics. In fact, I think all of them were superior to the originals. The new songs were all great too. They were the right length and added to the entertainment. The song “Wild Uncharted Waters” gave us more insight into what Ariel meant to him and why he needed to find her. The song ” For the First Time” gave voice to the otherwise mute Ariel. ” My favorite added song was “The Scuttlebutt.” People hate it, but I think it added some variation in an area of the movie that felt slow.
It’s “The Little Mermaid.”
At the end of the day, it was “The Little Mermaid.” The story was mostly unchanged. There were small changes, but they served to give more diversity to the film and provide depth to previously superficial characters. For example, the new version did a better job of illustrating how Eric could have fallen in love with Ariel so quickly. Watching the movie after having children completely changed how I felt about the story as well. I sympathized so much more with King Triton, but lived enough to not judge Ariel. Overall, I’m a fan of the base story and believe fellow fans will enjoy the movie too.
Please leave a comment if you saw the movie or if any of these reasons resonated with you. I’d also like to hear from my fellow 4DX lovers.