The Little Mermaid Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

4. The New Songs... Aren't Good

Because Disney wants to win Oscars, of course The Little Mermaid isn't merely content to perform the classic songs we all know. Three new songs have been written for this new film and, uh, they aren't great.

First up we have "Wild Uncharted Waters," a toe-curlingly corny power ballad performed by Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), which will likely leave audiences trying to figure out whether it's an intentional parody or not.

Less offensive yet not particularly memorable is Ariel's new tune, "For the First Time," which is sung within Ariel's head shortly after she is transformed into a human.

And most egregiously, there's "The Scuttlebutt," a grating rap performed primarily by Scuttle (Awkwafina) with some interjections from Sebastian (Daveed Diggs). Even if you're a fan of Awkwafina, this migraine-inducing song will put your patience to the test.

Ultimately nothing would be lost were these songs cut from the movie entirely - beyond some minutes from the film's overegged runtime of course. Speaking of which...