Live-Action The Little Mermaid

[Abudefduf]

This is cute

 

[dark_b]

how do they approach merchandise? will they have merchandise for the animated movie from the 90's and the new movie? will they sell a white ariel and black ariel? What if nostagic parents want their daughter to watch the white Ariel movie and not the new one? are they racist hehe?

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Aww that Halle Berry tweet was sweet.

 

[psylockolussus]

Aww that Halle Berry tweet was sweet.

Love Halle Berry!

 

[Dr.]

Looking through the list of “Disney live-action remakes” (released and upcoming), I don’t see a lot race swapping. Admittedly, there is some: Jason Scott-Lee (The Jungle Book) is Hawaiian/Chinese, not Indian; and Will Smith and Naomi Scott would fail an Arabic purity test. But when it comes to the “princesses,” they’re either white (as God intended - e.g., Alice, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle) or they’re ethnic (as per the animated original - e.g., Mulan, Jasmine). Ariel would be the first conspicuous departure from this pattern. Still… as a small gesture towards “inclusivity,” one deviation out of a dozen-plus movies doesn’t seem too onerous.

 

[Schlosser85]

Looking through the list of “Disney live-action remakes” (released and upcoming), I don’t see a lot race swapping. Admittedly, there is some: Jason Scott-Lee (The Jungle Book) is Hawaiian/Chinese, not Indian; and Will Smith and Naomi Scott would fail an Arabic purity test. But when it comes to the “princesses,” they’re either white (as God intended - e.g., Alice, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle) or they’re ethnic (as per the animated original - e.g., Mulan, Jasmine). Ariel would be the first conspicuous departure from this pattern. Still… as a small gesture towards “inclusivity,” one deviation out of a dozen-plus movies doesn’t seem too onerous.

Jason Scott Lee really wasn't believable as an Indian, lol.

Genie is a mythological being, so I don't really think the actor's race/ethnicity matters.

 

[THORin]

Genie is a mythological being, so I don't really think the actor's race/ethnicity matters.

You would think the same logic would apply to a goshdarn Mermaid.

 

[Abudefduf]

and Will Smith and Naomi Scott would fail an Arabic purity test.

Funny how there wasn't this much backlash when a half white, light-skinned actress was cast as Jasmine. There was some from the wokes, but not much.

I'd like to know why Ariel's white skin and red hair are a huge part of the character, but Jasmine's middle eastern features were not.

 

[terry78]

I mean I won't pretend they ain't cashing in on the fact that most of the broadway shows and various plays have made Ariel black, let's be real about it. But I mean unless you hear little girls *****ing about it personally you really shouldn't care if you're some grown ass man. It's the goddman little mermaid.

 

[Marvel united]

Tiana being black isnt unique to her. You can make her a Latina character and all of it mostly lines up perfectly with who Tiana is.

Are you saying hispanics didnt exisit in New Orleans? Is her experience as a minority in the south in those times unique to her being black?

Well first of all -- Tiana was based on a real black woman living in New Orleans. Leah Chase - "Queen of Creole Cuisine" and she was in fact a pioneer in a black activism and equal rights. And it's not just the fact that so much of the movie is based directly in black Creole and Haitian culture, but it's that a struggling black woman facing discrimination in 1920s America is such a specific and distinctive experience to the black experience of that time, that you can't just swap her out for any other non-white ethnicity. This is not too long after Slavery was abolished. Black people were dealing with disenfranchisement and discriminatory laws put in place to prevent them from ascending and this is reflected in Tiana's story in the movie.

I get that african americans have a bad history here in the US, but to completely throw out my point of view cause im hispanic and not black is willfully disregarding my views as a Latino, especially living in the US at a time where I have to deal with my people put into literal concentration camps.

I'm not throwing out your point of view of course. I just think you're creating an argument against race bending steeped in some intellectual dishonesty. The whole "dividend' people because they are seeing their majority-white characters be course-corrected so non-white girls can see themselves represented in a positive. That this is going to push people over the edge to Trumpism (and by "people", you mean white people, because ain't nobody in my black ass family becoming some Right-wing zealot because of corrective promotion. And the same goes for the vast majority of minorities who aren't tolerated by the overwhelmingly white, Right-Wing ideology) really doesn't make sense to me. Because the people who do, were probably always fragile from the beginning.

Also, dismissing cultural, literary, film and media as a showcase of a society's views of the time is misguided and plain stupid. Saying "oh Hollywood will never approve of original content for minorities" is the exact sentiment why things will never change. Race changing characters as some sort of sign of progression is stupid as all hell.

Why is it stupid when it's a fact? It's a *fact that recognizable brands, especially those with iconography built-in from 30s of media consummation, sells more than wholly new ones. I'm pretty sure you *know that it is not as simple as "ugh just create new poc" yet everybody keeps recycling this tired talking point.

The argument for why a character shouldnt be race changed is the exact one why it should be, it goes nowhere and pisses people off. So instead of creating a ****storm of an issue how about avoid it altogether and make something original that pushes things forward instead of claiming a Pyrrhic victory?

The argument for why some white characters in an overwhelming white landscape, should be open to change so other non-represented groups can have a chance in the spotlight that the former has championed since Cinema began, is... Totally the same thing!

This Is where historical context goes to die. Let them whine about it. While the rest of everybody else enjoys seeing diverse faces in media

 

[Dr.]

I’m fine with a MOC (mermaid of color). But when it comes to Snow White and the Seven Persons of Shorter Stature, I absolutely insist on a Caucasian ingénue. I mean, her ethnic identity is specified right in the name. Twice!

 

[terry78]

I’m fine with a MOC (mermaid of color). But when it comes to Snow White and the Seven Persons of Shorter Stature, I absolutely insist on a Caucasian ingénue. I mean, her ethnic identity is specified right in the name. Twice!

Don't watch that Bob Clampett remake parody called Coal Black then.

 

[jmc]

Why is it stupid when it's a fact? It's a *fact that recognizable brands, especially those with iconography built-in from 30s of media consummation, sells more than wholly new ones. I'm pretty sure you *know that it is not as simple as "ugh just create new poc" yet everybody keeps recycling this tired talking point.

Do you actually understand why some people might not want second hand characters to represent them and want new mythologies that are more reflective of what modern society looks? The attitude coming across seems to be essentially ‘it’s good enough’, which is as good as saying there’s no point even trying to build on top of our existing stories and mythologies.

 

[Shuri]

Or a better point would be instead of stunt casting remakes maybe create new princesses of different races?

Why must people always assume a black actor/actress gets casted only for diversity points and never for their talents? Halle can sing her ass off. With the exception of Beyonce, she's actually the best female singer to be casted in any of these live action movies.

 

[Dark Raven]

I thought it was Halle Berry too.

Halle Bailey for MCU Storm!

 

[Marvel united]

Do you actually understand why some people might not want second hand characters to represent them and want new mythologies that are more reflective of what modern society looks? The attitude coming across seems to be essentially ‘it’s good enough’, which is as good as saying there’s no point even trying to build on top of our existing stories and mythologies.

Let me tell you this, the VAST majority of black people are loving this news and loving the fact that Ariel now represents us. Who are these "some" Individuals? Because there are divergent outliers in all groups. I hate when the right uses a minority (more times than not, speaking against their own self interest) as a token shield to argue regressive viewpoints.

Just because some random black man says he isn't happy with one of the most iconic Disney characters now being black/representing him, does not mean he speaks for all of us black people. And the same goes for Punisher

 

[Abudefduf]

But when it comes to Snow White and the Seven Persons of Shorter Stature, I absolutely insist on a Caucasian ingénue. I mean, her ethnic identity is specified right in the name. Twice!

Counterpoint: Lana Condor exists and she looks more like Snow White than most white actresses

 

[Dark Raven]

I thought it was going to be Zendaya who would be cast. She looks more suitable for the part. Maybe she has other commitments with Spider-Man? Although it's not like The Little Mermaid is going to become a trilogy. It's more likely a one-off musical.

I'm not too bothered about this film anyway, because I don't really like mermaids.

 

[jmc]

Let me tell you this, the VAST majority of black people are loving this news and loving the fact that Ariel now represents us. Who are these "some" Individuals? Because there are divergent outliers in all groups. I hate when the right uses a minority (more times than not, speaking against their own self interest) as a token shield to argue regressive viewpoints.

Just because some random black man says he isn't happy with one of the most iconic Disney characters now being black/representing him, does not mean he speaks for all of us black people. And the same goes for Punisher

That’s not the question I asked. Do you understand why someone might have an issue with doing this? Do you understand why some would want their own mythologies? I find the attitude that because someone doesn’t think along the same lines as whatever group they may belong too as some type of outlier as a pretty awful attitude if I’m honest.

 

[jolldan]

I’m fine with a MOC (mermaid of color). But when it comes to Snow White and the Seven Persons of Shorter Stature, I absolutely insist on a Caucasian ingénue. I mean, her ethnic identity is specified right in the name. Twice!

Go watch Larry the cable guy's version of snow white its hilarious

 

[Elayis]

The only somewhat legitimate criticism of this casting I can see is that Ariel is a mermaid, and therefore has spent nearly her entire life underwater and away from sunlight. All of the mer-people should be unnaturally pale, like Tolkien's elves. Ultimately it doesn't matter because mermaids don't exist and the film can choose to depict them however it wants.

I've had zero interest in these live-action remakes, though, so I don't particularly care one way or the other.

 

[Charzhin0]

Not a fan of race swapping iconic characters. Hated it for Johnny Storm in Fantastic 4 and hate it here. Thank god James Bond is not at threat by not being under Disney.

 

[Dark Raven]

I hope there's a merman in this movie too. Maybe he'll be a rival love interest.

 

[Shuri]

I thought it was going to be Zendaya who would be cast. She looks more suitable for the part. Maybe she has other commitments with Spider-Man? Although it's not like The Little Mermaid is going to become a trilogy. It's more likely a one-off musical.

I'm not too bothered about this film anyway, because I don't really like mermaids.

I would have loved Zendaya too, but Halle is a better singer than her and gives off princess vibes more than her. The director said Halle has always been their first choice, so it's not because Zendaya is busy.

 

[jolldan]

I thought it was going to be Zendaya who would be cast. She looks more suitable for the part. Maybe she has other commitments with Spider-Man? Although it's not like The Little Mermaid is going to become a trilogy. It's more likely a one-off musical.

I'm not too bothered about this film anyway, because I don't really like mermaids.

Yeah while I will admit to belting out Under The Sea with my little cousins more times than I can count lol I think generally boys didn't like the female led stories to the same degree that girls liked the male led stories (obviously because they're was a lot more).

I just say that from talking to my friends and we all say that we watched the likes of Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty & The Beast very rarely.