February 16, 2025 12:48 pm
The animated film continues the tradition of previous adaptations.
Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher hasn't had much luck with adaptations. There have been quite a few, and you can't even say they're mediocre, but none of them have managed to capture the most important thing: the spirit of the books.
Their creators have always tried to see in The Witcher some kind of familiar epic fantasy – either Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings. Only the creators of CD Projekt RED's trilogy of games have captured this combination of bawdy humor and tragedy, cruelty and tenderness.
Sirens of the Deep Is Made by the Same People Who Created The Series
The feature-length animated film Sirens of the Deep hasn't changed things either. This time they took Sapkowski's story A Little Sacrifice as a basis, but tried to turn a small personal story into an epic with battles and intrigues.
This is no surprise if you look at the credits of the animated film. Director Kang Hei Chul is a relative newcomer, but we know screenwriter Mike Ostrowski and producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who worked with Henry Cavill on the series The Witcher.
A Little Sacrifice Is a Deconstruction of The Little Mermaid
What is the story of A Little Sacrifice about? It starts as a postmodern deconstruction of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid and turns into a drama about avarice and selfishness, but also about love and self-sacrifice.
Geralt finds a brief but sincere love with the bardess Essi Daven, nicknamed Little Eye. And the story ends with a touching and heartbreaking epilogue about what happened after the finale.
Such a modest story without a big war between good and evil would be enough for an episode of a TV series, but not for an hour and a half feature film with battles and special effects. Therefore, the creators of Sirens of the Deep left only the basis of the story.
Sirens of the Deep Brings The Little Mermaid Back to Its Roots
Sapkowski has deconstructed The Little Mermaid. He has a handsome prince who is a miser and a cheapskate who finds excuses not to pay Geralt and is willing to kidnap his beloved by force; the mermaid is a flirtatious fool who can't even imagine living on land; and both are not the main characters at all.
Sirens of the Deep return The Little Mermaid to its original form. Agloval is no longer a contradictory character capable of love, meanness, and calculation.
He is a handsome, young and noble prince, and not a ruler either – all his shortcomings have been combined into a separate character, the Father-King.
Sh'eenaz is not a frivolous coquette, but a sensible sea princess with serious intentions. There is even a kind of Ursula who turns into a giant octopus at a completely unexpected moment.
Sirens of the Deep Could Not Capture the Spirit of the Original
Sapkowski's story has once again been turned into a typical fantasy epic that fails to convey the spirit of the original.
The result is a technically competent, perhaps even beautiful product. But no matter how hard Netflix tries, they still can't capture the vibe of the original Witcher.
The animated film continues the tradition of previous adaptations.
Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher hasn't had much luck with adaptations. There have been quite a few, and you can't even say they're mediocre, but none of them have managed to capture the most important thing: the spirit of the books.
Their creators have always tried to see in The Witcher some kind of familiar epic fantasy – either Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings. Only the creators of CD Projekt RED's trilogy of games have captured this combination of bawdy humor and tragedy, cruelty and tenderness.
Sirens of the Deep Is Made by the Same People Who Created The Series
The feature-length animated film Sirens of the Deep hasn't changed things either. This time they took Sapkowski's story A Little Sacrifice as a basis, but tried to turn a small personal story into an epic with battles and intrigues.
This is no surprise if you look at the credits of the animated film. Director Kang Hei Chul is a relative newcomer, but we know screenwriter Mike Ostrowski and producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who worked with Henry Cavill on the series The Witcher.
A Little Sacrifice Is a Deconstruction of The Little Mermaid
What is the story of A Little Sacrifice about? It starts as a postmodern deconstruction of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid and turns into a drama about avarice and selfishness, but also about love and self-sacrifice.
Geralt finds a brief but sincere love with the bardess Essi Daven, nicknamed Little Eye. And the story ends with a touching and heartbreaking epilogue about what happened after the finale.
Such a modest story without a big war between good and evil would be enough for an episode of a TV series, but not for an hour and a half feature film with battles and special effects. Therefore, the creators of Sirens of the Deep left only the basis of the story.
Sirens of the Deep Brings The Little Mermaid Back to Its Roots
Sapkowski has deconstructed The Little Mermaid. He has a handsome prince who is a miser and a cheapskate who finds excuses not to pay Geralt and is willing to kidnap his beloved by force; the mermaid is a flirtatious fool who can't even imagine living on land; and both are not the main characters at all.
Sirens of the Deep return The Little Mermaid to its original form. Agloval is no longer a contradictory character capable of love, meanness, and calculation.
He is a handsome, young and noble prince, and not a ruler either – all his shortcomings have been combined into a separate character, the Father-King.
Sh'eenaz is not a frivolous coquette, but a sensible sea princess with serious intentions. There is even a kind of Ursula who turns into a giant octopus at a completely unexpected moment.
Sirens of the Deep Could Not Capture the Spirit of the Original
Sapkowski's story has once again been turned into a typical fantasy epic that fails to convey the spirit of the original.
The result is a technically competent, perhaps even beautiful product. But no matter how hard Netflix tries, they still can't capture the vibe of the original Witcher.
