Almost 30 years ago the classic Disney film, The Little Mermaid, was released into theaters leaving viewers mesmerized by the red-haired, blue-eyed, pale-faced mermaid. In the past few years, Disney has been taking its classic stories and transforming them into live-action films.
Some of the motion pictures include Aladdin, The Lion King, Tarzan, The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast. However, none of these recreations caused as much controversy as the latest live-action film The Little Mermaid.
In early July, Disney announced that the African American R&B singer, Halle Bailey, would be taking on the classic role of Ariel in the upcoming film. An uproar of support, but mostly criticism, burst out on social media sites such as twitter and facebook creating the movement, #notmyariel, and #notmymermaid.
After all the backlash, Freeform, a television network owned by Disney, tweeted, “After all this is said and done, and you still cannot get past the idea that choosing the incredible, sensational, highly-talented, gorgeous Halle Bailey is anything other than the INSPIRED casting that it is because she doesn’t look like the cartoon one’, oh boy, do I have some news for you…about you.”
Many question if the film will do well. Looking at the box office numbers from the release of “The Princess and the Frog,” which portrayed the first African American princess by Disney, the odds of success are slim that Little Mermaid will do well. The success rate was lower than most other Disney releases, leading reviews to deem it a flop.
People speculate that the film failed because although it was the first African American princess, the plot was a bit racist by having the lead princess play a frog for the majority of the film. People also say that because of Disney’s history with racial stereotyping, the film was a bit of a touchy subject.
It is easy to look at these previous statistics and deem the upcoming movie a failure before it is even released. Many fans are conflicted saying that they want the representation but in a new story.
“This whole ‘diversity’ things with blacks and gays needs to stop,” a critic tweeted in response to the “Little Mermaid” casting release. “We know they exist, and we respect the hell out of them, but if we want to make them into characters, make them into new ones and respect what’s already been created.”
In the 1980s and ’90s, white children, specifically girls, were known for having an attachment to the pale-skinned Disney princesses. The new movie will either be a raging success or the ultimate flop. It has nothing to with the quality of the movie, but whether or not fans support the casting decisions.
It is rumored that Disney will begin filming in April of 2020, which implies a likely release date of 2021. The movie will be directed by Rob Marshal, who previously directed Mary Poppins Returns, Into the Woods, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Lin-Manuel Miranda Marshall, Marc Platt, and John DeLuca will be producing the film alongside Jessica Virtue and Allison Erlikhman who are overseeing for the studio.
Disney has a tough audience to impress and will have to make some changes to the plot in order to keep up with today’s social standards and normalities. Disney is recently known for pushing the social boundaries and shows no sign of stopping. Critiques will not halt the production of this film, leaving us in suspense to see the end result. Will the new mermaid become apart of the Disney fan’s world, or will it simply drift into the hall of failed films? All we can do is wait and see.
