The film stars Halle Bailey as the title character, with Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy in supporting roles.

The plot follows the mermaid princess Ariel, who is fascinated with the human world; after saving Prince Eric from a shipwreck, she makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula to walk on land.

Production was expected to begin in London between late March and early April 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, before ultimately took place from January to July 2021, primarily at Pinewood Studios in England and on the island of Sardinia, Italy.

Composer Alan Menken returned to augment the score and write new songs alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, who serves as a producer with Platt, John DeLuca, and Marshall.

[23] Also appearing as the daughters of Triton and Ariel's sisters (renamed for the film) are Lorena Andrea as Perla, Simone Ashley as Indira, Karolina Conchet as Mala, Sienna King as Tamika, Kajsa Mohammar as Karina, and Nathalie Sorrell as Caspia.

"[45] Hundreds of candidates auditioned for the role of Eric,[16] including actors Asher Angel,[46] Gavin Leatherwood,[47] Christian Navarro,[48] Jack Whitehall,[49] and Cameron Cuffe, with the latter, along with Jonah Hauer-King, doing a screen test alongside Bailey.

[32] Three months later, Menken stated that his work on the film's music had been put on hold due to Miranda and Marc Platt's schedules with Mary Poppins Returns.

He also recalled that Miranda was "daunted" by the prospect of following on in the footsteps of the late Howard Ashman, the lyricist who worked with Menken to write the original film's songs.

On February 17, 2022, during a podcast interview with Variety, Miranda revealed that one of the new songs for the live-action film, "For the First Time", will take place when Ariel is on land in her human form.

[109] On October 13, 2022, the first poster was released to the public,[110] which Bailey synchronously captioned on Twitter: "Words can't describe how immensely honored I feel to play the mermaid of my dreams.

He says that the character goes back to Hans Christian Andersen from another century, but at the same time in 1989, that it felt in some ways like a very modern woman, someone who sees Ariel's life differently than anyone around her, and goes to find that dream.

[2] In the United States and Canada, The Little Mermaid—released alongside The Machine, Kandahar, About My Father, and You Hurt My Feelings—was projected to gross $120–125 million from 4,320 theaters over its four-day Memorial Day opening weekend.

The website's consensus reads: "With Halle Bailey making a major splash in the title role, Disney's live-action Little Mermaid ranks among the studio's most enjoyable reimaginings.

[118] Brian Lowry of CNN wrote that the film "holds up nicely under the weight of those expectations, preserving the original's essence while updating undernourished aspects of it and riding a warm, hard-to-resist wave of nostalgia.

"[162] Vanessa Armstrong of /Film called it a live-action remake "done well" that "improves on the original" and had no doubt that "it will become an indelible part of many a young person's childhood, and I can't wait to watch it with my daughter.

"[164] Molly Edwards of Total Film gave it four stars out of five and called it "A sparkling, enchanting new spin that out-swims the original, with a pitch-perfect performance from Halle Bailey.

"[165] Brian Truitt of USA Today wrote that "While not everything goes swimmingly, Halle Bailey splendidly buoys this "Mermaid" as the naive underwater youngster with dreams of exploring the surface.

"[166] Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly praised the performances of Bailey, Hauer-King and McCarthy, and named the "Under the Sea" sequence as the film's best musical highlight.

"[168] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post called it an "on-the-other-fin mixed bag of a movie that honors its source material with a big, color-saturated production, while never precisely proving that it ever needed to exist.

"[170] Helen O'Hara of Empire called it "Another 'live-action' remake that's darker and less compelling than the animated original, but it's saved by Bailey's charming performance, McCarthy's sass and the story's own eternal magic.

"[173] Hillary Busis of Vanity Fair criticized the runtime and called it an "uneasy mix of carbon copy and superfluous added material, presented in "live-action" that looks and feels (and is) as artificial as Lightning McQueen.

"[174] Johnny Oleksinski of New York Post wrote that "Despite real actors, CGI and brand new material, 'Mermaid' is the studio's latest flesh-and-blood cash grab that's more lifeless than far better two-dimensional painted drawings."

Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times wrote that "What's on-screen too often feels like wan, second-rate imitation, and the few differences seem motivated less by a spirit of imagination than one of joyless anxiety.

This relentless pursuit of realism doesn't make a good kids' movie: It may be dark underwater in the real ocean, but we want to see Ariel dance properly lit on the screen.

[188][189][190] Stuart Heritage of The Guardian argued, "The boring spat over the Disney trailer makes idiots of us all – whether Ariel is Black or White, it is clearly a film that should rightfully be ignored then forgotten forever", suggesting instead that there should be a "grotesque scaly mutant as the lead".

[198] In May 2023, an editorial from Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times accused Disney of "forced inclusion of minorities" and "lazy and irresponsible storytelling",[199] echoing the views of some social media users in China, Japan, and South Korea.

"[202] Deadline Hollywood cited these low user ratings as well as "backlash... over the casting of star Halle Bailey in the title role" in countries such as Korea, China, France, and Germany as contributing factors in the disappointing overseas box office.

[233][234][235] It featured on The New York Times Best Seller list,[236] where it spent several weeks in the top ten and reached the fifth spot in the category "Young Adult Hardcover Books".

[240] In October 2022, after the positive repercussions of black children watching the trailer, rumors emerged that Disney had contacted Halle Bailey to negotiate a possible sequel.

"[242] The following month, Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King spoke about the animated sequel The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, saying that they liked it and they would agree to reprise their roles if it were adapted into live action.