Extended Preview: THE LITTLE MERMAID!
Added 2024-01-05 19:22:13 +0000 UTCNo, not THAT one! (I feel like we say that a lot...)
Hello Traxians! Erik here with you to kick off 2024 the right way: with a Disney-adjacent movie that sticks more closely to its source material, making it weirder and more sad than Walt could have dreamed!
Your first indication that this version of The Little Mermaid might be different from the one you’re used to comes when it opens with several minutes of live action tourism footage of Denmark. Come on kids, time to watch men in sweaters purchase cheese! From there, you’ll meet a young mermaid princess named Marina, with a clingy dolphin friend named Fritz. There’s no fun singing crab, but there are crab policemen ready to enforce martial law. Yippee!
It’s oddly serious and sad. Marina falls in love with a statue of a prince, and even more in love with the actual prince depicted in the statue. Despite the endless tears and protestations of Fritz the emotionally erratic dolphin, Marina goes to a sea witch (no, not THAT sea witch) and makes a bargain to get a pair of feet. Even the sea witch tries to tell her it’s a bad idea, but Marina won’t hear it. She gives up her voice and her family to go win the prince’s love, and surely it’s a rosy path to a happy ending from there, right? …Right??? Hans Christian Andersen, what have you wrought?
Use the coupon code FRITZ to take an exclusive additional 5% off your purchase of the full (mostly) animated riff here, and/or download this preview video here. Back with a Talkin' RiffTrax for this one soon!
Comments
It is sometimes an odd feeling to go back to the source of nostalgia. Voltron was one I revisited in my adult years, and felt that the style definitely looked different than what I remembered! But I think as kids we are a lot less discerning, especially where cartoons are concerned.
RiffTrax
2024-01-25 17:19:22 +0000 UTCIt looks a lot more like anime than I expected. As a kid, my cousin and I visited some (old) relative and watched a non-Disney Little Mermaid that was very odd. I was hoping this happened to be that one, but oh well.
Chris
2024-01-07 14:06:13 +0000 UTCThe way the mermaid swims reminds me of "Marine Boy".
JAMES MCDAID
2024-01-07 05:13:03 +0000 UTCHonest to God I was unaware of the original endings.
Oliver Langland
2024-01-07 03:18:44 +0000 UTCI look forward (?) to finding out if it's got the bleak ending of the story, or the REALLY bleak ending of the original version of the story. I hope there isn't an animated version of The Red Shoes in this same series. Hans was messed up.
Suzi Eberhard
2024-01-07 01:27:21 +0000 UTCThese bad movies, where do they find them? [It has to be damp ...]
Jeff
2024-01-06 04:18:16 +0000 UTCYes, accompanied by Gleek, the "Scrappy-Doo" of the DC animated universe! :D
Jeff Smith
2024-01-06 02:45:17 +0000 UTCAnd you still turned out okay, it seems!
RiffTrax
2024-01-05 20:48:49 +0000 UTCOMG you guys riffed the anime! I saw this on TV when I was little! I've had the DVD for years! 😆
Tracy Palma
2024-01-05 19:41:27 +0000 UTCAfter the switch over to animation. I was looking for the Gemini twins to show up. It just had that feel from the quality level.
Wayne Moyer
2024-01-05 19:39:54 +0000 UTC
