Film Name: 美人鱼之海盗来袭 / The Little Mermaid: Attack of The Pirates
Following last year’s “Snow White: The Power of Dwarfs,” director Qiu Haoqiang returns this year with “The Little Mermaid: Attack of The Pirates,” seemingly determined to capitalize on Disney’s classic remakes.
Like Snow White, the protagonist mermaid continues to display a “wooden” demeanor, while other characters’ movements successfully convey a realistic “mechanical feel.” The plot also maintains its signature “unconscious stream” style.
The so-called pirate invasion features a mere two pirates throughout the entire film, who spend most of their time locked in a cage, thus never creating any sense of an actual “attack.” Perhaps this is because each additional pirate character would cost an extra dollar to produce. Or maybe having more than three pirates would introduce complex character relationships that might confuse the audience, so for the viewers’ sake, the pirate count must be strictly limited.
The Royal Navy captain always looks heroic whenever he sets sail. No matter how dangerous the situation, he brings his young daughter Sophie along. Having learned from past mistakes, he even takes pirates with him on voyages—how else could he showcase his heroic spirit? The mermaid truly embodies a beautiful soul. Not only does she rescue the drowning Sophie and bring her home, but she also continues to accompany them on their voyages, as if foreseeing the hardships ahead.
The only truly hilarious character is the little monkey—bargaining with people and even playing dead. But why does it vanish later on?
Director Qiu’s films are particularly suited to a new cinematic format: interactive cinema. The plot itself is simple, but after each segment of development, it pauses to ask the audience: Where do you think the story should go next? The narrative progresses through such interactions, making the ending full of variables.
This is the “unconscious stream” characteristic I mentioned earlier. Just when you think the mermaid will endure countless hardships to bring Sophie home, the film tells you this mission can be accomplished in just 10 minutes; When you expect the pirates to finally appear as formidable foes, the film reveals they can be apprehended by a handful of minor soldiers; When you ponder who might rescue the imprisoned pirates as their cell floods, the film shows the door bursting open from falling timber…
This laid-back pacing, combined with the mermaid’s deliberate speech, leaves audiences feeling liberated from any intellectual strain—all they need to do is drift along with the film. So you can overlook the glaring plot holes scattered throughout, forgive the simplifications that make little sense. While ordinary films delight in unexpected twists within logic, this one thrives on logical twists that defy expectation.
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