The Little Mermaid(2023)

Ariel (Halle Bailey), the youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), longs to see the world above the surface, but her father forbids her due to humans killing her mother. Ariel saves Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) from drowning, and he becomes set on finding the girl who saved his life. When Triton chastises Ariel for going above water and destroys her collection of human items, she turns to her estranged aunt, the evil sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), to help her. In exchange for her voice, Ursula gives Ariel legs so that she can be with Eric, but she has three days to get him to kiss her before she becomes a mermaid again, and Ursula can exact her plan to seize control of the seas from her brother.

Despite Ariel’s inability to talk, she and Eric manage to bond and grow closer, with a little help from Ariel’s friends Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle. However, when she gets close to succeeding, Ursula uses a human disguise plus Ariel’s voice to hypnotize Eric and get him to fall for her instead. After her ruse is discovered, Ariel and her friends try to stop their engagement. While Ariel gets her voice back, her deadlines comes up, and Ursula takes her prisoner to convince Triton to give up his powers to her. Ursula grows to a monstrous size, prompting Ariel and Eric to fight her, ending with Ariel impaling Ursula with the bowsprit on a sunken ship.

Triton’s powers are restored, but he realizes he has to accept what Ariel wants, even if it means letting her go. He lets her live among the humans, and she gets married to Eric. Both of their families see them off as they prepare to see the world.