The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (2018) is a family fantasy you can watch online on iFILM. A grandmother spins a bedtime tale her granddaughters refuse to believe — until she admits the story really happened to her.

A young newspaper reporter and his niece travel to a sleepy Southern town where a traveling circus headlines a genuine mermaid named Elizabeth. He arrives hunting for a hoax to expose and leaves convinced the magic is real. He also learns the cruel showman and a witch who run the circus are keeping her captive, and her life is slipping away. Poppy Drayton plays Elizabeth, with Shirley MacLaine framing the story as the narrator and William Moseley alongside.

This isn't the Disney cartoon or a straight Andersen retelling — it's its own period piece, dusted with old-circus atmosphere and rural-South charm. The budget shows and the tone can turn naive, but it stays gentle, the kind of film that sits fine with younger kids. Directors Chris Bouchard and Blake Harris lean on warmth over effects. Stream The Little Mermaid (2018) online on iFILM.