WARWICK SHOWCASE

THE LITTLE MERMAID
* * * *
(Disney Classic)

Disney combines live action with animation, and under the sea and on land, to bring us its latest version of the Hans Christian Anderson classic, and it works most of the time.

The long movie is enhanced by Alan Menken’s enchanting music, including “Under the Sea”, “All I Think About is You”, and “Wish I Could Be Part of That World”.

Halle Bailey stars as Ariel, the Little Mermaid who falls in love with a prince (Jonah Hauer-King) and wants to be a part of his world. Bailey’s acting and singing are truly enchanting.

There is a shipwreck to open the movie, with Ariel saving Prince Eric.

Of course, they immediately fall in love. Will Ariel ever lose her tail, replace it with legs, and live happily ever after with the prince? She will also lose her voice.

Standing in her way are her father, King Triton, and Ursula, the evil octopus overplayed by Melissa McCarthy.

Ariel gets loads of help from a crab, seagull and fish, all comical animated characters who will delight the young ones. They are featured in a fun song, “Kiss the Girl”.

The colorful underwater scenes at the beginning feature just about every possible creature of the sea.

The ending goes on much too long with Ursula interfering with Ariel’s happiness, but we just know that the little mermaid will live happily ever after.

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
* * *
(Fun Movie About Relationships)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Beth, a writer married to Don, a psychiatrist (Tobias Menzies).

They have what appears to be the perfect marriage until Beth learns that Ben has been lying to her.

No, he’s not having an affair. He told her he loved her new book manuscript, when he did not.

Her discovery leads to tension in the marriage and some interesting scenarios involving their 23-year-old son and how they raised him, his relationship with his patients, her sister and her actor husband.

There is a plethora of dialogue, some of it quite funny, and much of it quite psychological. It plays out at times like a Seinfeld episode or a Woody Allen movie.

The characters come across very honest and likeable,and we can each see a little of them in ourselves.

“You Hurt My Feelings” is a nice little movie that could lead to some interesting discussions about honesty in personal relationships.