Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Romance  •  2023  •  135 min  •  Older Kids (7+)

The Little Mermaid (2023)

The Little Mermaid poster

The Little Mermaid (2023)


Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Progressive
Political: Leans Left
Diversity: High
Gender Swap: Yes
Race Swap: Yes

Viewer Rating
6.5

Overview

The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. With mermaids forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.


Starring Cast

Halle Bailey  •   Jonah Hauer-King  •   Melissa McCarthy


Where to watch

Disney Plus logoDisney Plus
Apple TV logoApple TV
Google Play logoGoogle Play
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Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Progressive

Primary

Political: Leans Left
Confidence: High

The film's narrative champions themes of inclusivity, challenging traditional restrictions, and female autonomy, aligning with progressive values. This is further underscored by its diverse casting choices, which became a focal point of public discourse.

Diversity: High
Confidence: High

The movie demonstrates significant DEI through the explicit racial recasting of its traditionally white lead character. However, its narrative maintains a largely traditional framing, without explicitly critiquing traditional identities.

Secondary

Gender Swap: Yes
Confidence: High

The character Scuttle, a prominent sidekick in the original animated film, was canonically male but is portrayed as female in the 2023 live-action adaptation.

Race Swap: Yes
Confidence: High

Ariel, a character widely established as white in the 1989 animated film, is portrayed by Halle Bailey, a Black actress, in the 2023 live-action adaptation, which constitutes a race swap.

LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High

The Little Mermaid (2023) does not explicitly feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes within its narrative. While the character of Ursula draws inspiration from drag culture, this is not an explicit portrayal of queer identity within the film itself, resulting in no direct LGBTQ+ representation.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

The Little Mermaid (2023) does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The story centers on a mermaid's transformation into a human, which is a species change, not a gender identity transition. Consequently, there is no portrayal of transsexual individuals or related themes to assess within the film.

Female Combat: No
Confidence: High

The film does not depict any female characters engaging in or winning close-quarters physical combat against one or more male opponents. The primary antagonist, Ursula, uses magical abilities, and her defeat is achieved by a male character, Prince Eric.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

6.5

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
7.2
The Movie Database logo
6.3

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
6.7
Metacritic logo
5.9

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