The King’s Daughter: Louis XIV’s Daughter Mind-Melds with A Mermaid — Original Cin
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One day she is unexpectedly summoned to Versailles, ostensibly as court composer and cellist in the musical ensemble that wakes the king up each morning.
While surreptitiously reconnecting to his offspring, the Sun King is seeking immortality in less conventional ways, when his nasty court physician (Pablo Schreiber) hatches a plan to capture a mermaid, dissect it during the next eclipse, and — I think I have this part right — cut out its heart and feed it to the king, thereby making him immortal.
(I couldn’t help but be reminded of the late Nipsey Russell’s poem: “They just made a movie about a mermaid/I don’t understand the reason why/Not enough woman to make love to/And too much fish to fry.”)
The unfortunate mermaid (theoretically played by Chinese star Fan Bingbing, but impossible to distinguish from an animated creation through the smeary layers of CGI effects) is imprisoned in a pool at the Palace. There, she makes mournful whale noises, only intelligible to the musically sensitive Marie-Josèphe. A romantic subplot involves the heroine’s attempts to thwart her father’s plans to wed to an effete merchant’s son rather than the lusty ship’s captain and mermaid minder (Benjamin Walker) whom she prefers.
Much of this is tedious though, in sections, possibly well-suited to middle-school girl parties. Surprisingly, the dialogue flares into exchanges that are actually witty. James Schamus, the estimable writer/producer best known for his work with Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk) is co-credited with the screenplay from an earlier incarnation of the film.
“Where am I going?” asks Marie-Josèphe when the king’s emissary is sent to pluck her from the convent. “To a lavish and glimmering hell where you will no doubt thrive,” responds the frosty mother superior.
30 Of The Best Movies To Stream On Peacock In January
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Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
This sweetly animated coming-to-America story from Steven Spielberg and Don Bluth takes an unexpectedly unflinching look at immigration, the American Dream and anti-Semitism — heavy topics for a children’s movie, but important and relevant ones that might make you wanna give it another watch as an adult to catch all the details you missed as a kid. And despite the sometimes intense subject matter, this movie’s full of enough entertaining dialogue, catchy musical numbers, and fast-paced action scenes to keep little ones engaged. The story follows a young mouse named Fievel (Phillip Glasser) as he and his Russian-Jewish family embark on a journey to the US after their home is destroyed by anti-Jewish cats. But when Fievel is separated from his family, he is befriended by a kindly cat and mouse in New York (Pat Musick and Dom DeLuise, both of whom also voiced characters in 1994’s A Troll in Central Park) who are willing to help him on his search for his lost loved ones. While this 1986 film tends to rely on racial stereotypes to make its points using animal characters, its strong message and refusal to overly romanticize the sometimes harsh truths of the world we live in give it staying power in an era that continually proves that this is a story worth retelling.
Watch it on Peacock for free.