Despite the title, 'The Little Mermaid' has nothing to do with the Disney film, a different story entirely and a far superior film on a side note, and to say that it is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale is saying it rather loosely. If anything it is sort of a sequel to the original story if the story had a different ending to what it actually has.

Seeing it today with nothing else better to do, having a break from singing practise, 'The Little Mermaid' was a disappointment. The advertising was not that promising, but with my love for the Disney film and Andersen's story with the title it was so easy to be misled thinking it was another adaptation with a fair share of live action remakes of classic Disney films in the past few years. Didn't think it was a complete ship-wreck and it doesn't completely sink but it struggles and fails to reach the surface.

'The Little Mermaid' for me did have good things. The animated prologue at the beginning was nicely done, had a slight melancholy that was fitting and does grab one into the story. Some of the photography was fairly good and the music score is pleasant to listen to and atmospheric, not too syrupy.

Poppy Drayton gives by far the best performance, her sincerity quite moving. Shirley McLaine adds some class though her screen time is short.

Unfortunately the rest of the acting is poor. This is particularly true in the case of Armando Gutierrez, who brings absolutely nothing to the villain other than some hamminess towards the end. There is nothing sinister, fun, intriguing or memorable here, merely a one-dimensional villain role with no development and with nothing to it really. The circus troupe are also amateurishly acted, leaning towards the over-acting, can't tell who was the worst as they were all as bad as each other. William Moseley is quite bland, with the character coming over as stiff, and seemed rather young to be an uncle figure, more an older brother, while the girl was just okay but nothing more.

Other than some nice photography here and there, 'The Little Mermaid' has a very made for TV film feel with some afterthought-like effects work, lighting that's either too dark or over-saturated and very obvious underwater sequences. The photography and editing in the more action-oriented scenes, which were chaotic, devoid of tension and poorly staged in general, are quite cheap and irritates rather than attention grabs. The script is like a severely damp squib complete with some misplaced cheese and the story has no charm, warmth or fun, instead it was lifeless, cynical and with no emotion. It is very paper thin and is often uneventful structurally, meaning that there are a lot of really momentum-less stretches that felt like padding. The direction shows no distinction.

Summing up, a disappointment that neither sinks or rises. 4/10 Bethany Cox

THE LITTLE MERMAID offers a spin on the classic fairy tale but overall seems to be going for vibe along the lines of FINDING NEVERLAND; summoning up an air of old-fashioned wonder and family values. It's also cheap, derivative and low budget, grossly sentimental at times, with very limited special effects and incident. A trio of kids find a mermaid literally living at the bottom of the garden, but with generic villains, a tired William Moseley (whose NARNIA days are long behind him),random sadism and a general tired feel, you just won't care.

Grandma Elle (Shirley MacLaine) recounts meeting a real mermaid to her granddaughters. As a girl, Elle suffered from respiratory issues. Her reporter uncle Cam Harrison (William Moseley) is told about a cure-all magic elixir. He is not a believer but desperate for his niece, he goes to rural Mississippi in search for the cure. They arrive at a circus run by the controlling Locke to find the mermaid Elizabeth (Poppy Drayton).

The production is simply bad. I don't mind the basic concept but almost everything is second rate. It's never explained why Cam is British or that even the mermaid sounds British. In addition, the train looks like the Harry Potter movie. The sets all seem fake. The only set I like is the Big Top. I do wonder if the look is deliberately artificial to denote a story being told. If that's the case, it needs to be more fanciful and that may be why I like the Big Top. This is an odd movie. I don't think it particularly works. It seems to be trying to be Tim Burton. It's nowhere close.