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There are only a few rare instances where remaking an old classic childhood tale works well, like the feature Maleficent (2014) for example. But, more often than not, the new films are not able to fill the old one’s shoes. After seeing the new The Little Mermaid, we just have to say this: please stop the remakes and let the old films be. Leave them alone.

The Little Mermaid follows journalist Cam Harrison (William Moseley) who ventures to Mississippi to find the truth about Charlatan Locke (Armando Gutierrez); Locke claims to know of a magical healing mermaid that could also heal Cam’s sick niece Elle (Loreto Peralta). Locke presents what he claims is a mermaid to the gasping crowds. But is it just a trick or does the magical creature really exist?

The film starts well with a captivating backstory about the alterations in the original little mermaid story we all know, but then derails into a clichéd, predictable, and slow-paced tale. The events of the feature seem sluggish and make the film appear much longer than it is because of how cliché the entire thing is. The audience gets to a point where they don’t really care what happens, because they already know, and just want to know when the film will finally end.

The audience might care somewhat about Cam, whose character is not entirely superficially written, but when it comes to almost all the other characters, they just seem shallow, fake, and unrelatable.

Another main issue with the film, and perhaps the film’s biggest flaw, is the dialogue. The amount of utterly obvious and time filling lines make the film, and the characters who speak them, seem just plain dumb; it’s mind-numbing.

The cherry on top of the silly cake is the graphics that were ridiculous and fake, to the point that even young children would not be interested since it wouldn’t compete with the advanced graphics they are exposed to now.

As for the acting, William Moseley was able to convey the worried young uncle, but the lines did not help when it came to his romantic parts, and he could have done so much more as a sceptic of the magical world. Loreto Peralta gave off a sweet but shallow performance as she conveyed her character with enthusiasm, but the lack of depth is partly hers and partly the filmmakers’ fault. Armando Gutierrez was over the top to the point where audience members felt the need to laugh out loud in the most serious of moments.

Coming up with a reason you would watch The Little Mermaid is just as hard as sitting through the actual film.