One of the year’s most anticipated films had its first showing on Monday night, after Disney held the premiere of its new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
Fans have been waiting almost four years for the film, which casts Halle Bailey in the lead role of Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as her love interest Prince Eric and Melissa McCarthy as the iconic sea witch, Ursula.
Following Monday night’s premiere, journalists have already been having their say on social media, and while full-length reviews are still under embargo for the time being, initial tweets have made it seem like it’s worth getting excited about.
So far, critics have been unanimous in their glowing plaudits for Halle’s performance as Ariel, while Daveed Diggs’ voice work as Sebastian the crab has also been singled out for praise.
Much like the animated original, this new take on The Little Mermaid has won over its initial critics thanks to its music, although the CGI work seems to be slightly more divisive.
Here’s a selection of what’s been said so far:
The Little Mermaid also features voice work from Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay, while Javier Bardem appears as Ariel’s father, King Triton.
As well as featuring classic songs from the 1989 original, including Under The Sea, Kiss The Girl and Part Of Your World (with Halle’s version of the latter being released as a single last month), Hamilton and Encanto songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda was brought in to pen new musical numbers for the remake, which clocks in at just over two hours.
The Little Mermaid is released in UK cinemas on 19 May. Check out the film’s official trailer below: