Most of the changes and updates are welcome on paper, but this an otherwise good adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid is stuck wearing the skin of Disney’s The Little Mermaid; like how Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book is trying to both Kipling and Disney and ends up being nothing
Scuttlebutt slaps though
Beautiful and thoughtful look at the pressure put upon people in high performing families to be “as good” as everyone else. I love that every character is explored in different ways, and it’s not just a cop out “I forgive you, person who abused me” ending, Mirabel has to really get it into Abuela’s thick skull that what she’s doing is destroying the family.
The songs - particularly Family Madrigal and Don’t Talk About Bruno - are wonderful and some…
Delightfully mean spirited ending, but I don’t think the satire is strong enough to carry the whole film. Takes itself both too seriously to be a full on comedy, but also it’s too farcical of a concept to be a serious story. Can’t really pick a tone.
Robert Downey Jr and Tim Allen have a scene where they just growl at each other. And they’re not dogs.
That about sums it up.
