Live-Action The Little Mermaid

[Primal Slayer]

I'm good with the casting but find those "she's a mermaid so dont complain" stupid just as "she MUST be white" is idiotic to me. For the people who want the casting to resemble her animated counterpart ...it's understandable but it's the ones that say "she must be white, how dare they change her skin tone" is where I just start ignoring it or at least should lol.

Now those who complain about orange/blue/etc...characters being played by non white actors.....well...

 

[B]

It's sad how this is getting twisted into some sort of race discussion & everybody eats it up twisting one another words & opinions to make it seem like if you don't like the casting, you have subconscious racism on your mind... it's pathetic.

It's not about race, it's about the look of the character being changed. The topic & debate is over change, would be no different if in the next Superman film they said he'll no longer wear red & blue, it will be pink & purple.. and we'll maybe make him blonde, it's close enough right? Is there anything about the character that says he MUST wear red/blue or can't be blonde? No, but you can be damn sure people are going to be outraged because he's looked very distinctive for 80 odd years & anytime you're making any sort of change to a beloved character, it matters.

 

[DarkKnight88]

They made Bond blond and that turned out alright.

 

[jolldan]

It's sad how this is getting twisted into some sort of race discussion & everybody eats it up twisting one another words & opinions to make it seem like if you don't like the casting, you have subconscious racism on your mind... it's pathetic.

It's not about race, it's about the look of the character being changed. The topic & debate is over change, would be no different if in the next Superman film they said he'll no longer wear red & blue, it will be pink & purple.. and we'll maybe make him blonde, it's close enough right? Is there anything about the character that says he MUST wear red/blue or can't be blonde? No, but you can be damn sure people are going to be outraged because he's looked very distinctive for 80 odd years & anytime you're making any sort of change to a beloved character, it matters.

Yeah I don't haver much stake in this film (other than holding out hope they cast Lenny Henry as Sebastian lol)

But the whole narrative that both sides are trying to spin is embarrassing. Can't count how many times I have seen some tweet that's pro for Berry ending with "and if you don't agree you're just a RACIST POS" or one those who aren't a fan trying to explain the scientific reasoning behind Mermaid skin and why it would be white.

 

[Primal Slayer]

It's sad how this is getting twisted into some sort of race discussion & everybody eats it up twisting one another words & opinions to make it seem like if you don't like the casting, you have subconscious racism on your mind... it's pathetic.

It's not about race, it's about the look of the character being changed. The topic & debate is over change, would be no different if in the next Superman film they said he'll no longer wear red & blue, it will be pink & purple.. and we'll maybe make him blonde, it's close enough right? Is there anything about the character that says he MUST wear red/blue or can't be blonde? No, but you can be damn sure people are going to be outraged because he's looked very distinctive for 80 odd years & anytime you're making any sort of change to a beloved character, it matters.

As if with anything, it's how you say it and a lot of people going "if you make this character white from black" well ... it will do them no favors and makes them look bad. You being used in general terms and not you specifically. So there are plenty making it about race instead of just being disappointed that the visuals dont match up.

 

[B]

They made Bond blond and that turned out alright.

As could this, but there was similar outrage of Daniel Craig's look straying away from how Bond was 'supposed to look.'

 

[Drizzle]

I'm not surprised that they made Ariel black since I'm sure there was some truth to the rumor about Zendaya possibly playing the role. I'm more surprised that they didn't cast a more famous name, such as Zendaya, but I guess Aladdin being played by an unknown actor didn't make much difference.

Ultimately it doesn't matter who they cast as Ariel because these live action remakes will never overshadow the animated originals.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Blade Hoarder]

it would be funny if a parent comes in the store with his daughter and says
-a little mermaid doll please
-which one? black or white?
-the white one

You should camp out in every store in America to capture it on video. Make sure to keep us updated when it happens and nobody cares.

If they had casted a white girl nobody would be talking about the movie right now. Disney knew what they were doing. Bravo.

So the whole bit about ginger rights was just a front for bashing the black girl? Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[kaypain]

I'm good with the casting but find those "she's a mermaid so dont complain" stupid just as "she MUST be white" is idiotic to me. For the people who want the casting to resemble her animated counterpart ...it's understandable but it's the ones that say "she must be white, how dare they change her skin tone" is where I just start ignoring it or at least should lol.

Now those who complain about orange/blue/etc...characters being played by non white actors.....well...

Story is set in the Carribeans anyways the design was wrong from the beginning

 

[Blade Hoarder]

As could this, but there was similar outrage of Daniel Craig's look straying away from how Bond was 'supposed to look.'

And they were thoroughly embarrassed. This should tell us something.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Yeah I don't haver much stake in this film (other than holding out hope they cast Lenny Henry as Sebastian lol)

But the whole narrative that both sides are trying to spin is embarrassing. Can't count how many times I have seen some tweet that's pro for Berry ending with "and if you don't agree you're just a RACIST POS" or one those who aren't a fan trying to explain the scientific reasoning behind Mermaid skin and why it would be white.

You mean Bailey. They aren't all the same you know

 

[RockSP]

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

I’ll just leave this here. Take it however you wish.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Story is set in the Carribeans anyways the design was wrong from the beginning

 

[Dr. Evil]

I am not sure that Akwafina can play Scuttle as good as Buddy Hackett, but we'll see.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

It's not about race, it's about the look of the character being changed. The topic & debate is over change, would be no different if in the next Superman film they said he'll no longer wear red & blue, it will be pink & purple.. and we'll maybe make him blonde, it's close enough right? Is there anything about the character that says he MUST wear red/blue or can't be blonde? No, but you can be damn sure people are going to be outraged because he's looked very distinctive for 80 odd years & anytime you're making any sort of change to a beloved character, it matters.

My problem is there’s this lack of awareness that these stories got to where they are by making major changes to the source visually and story based. So how is this any different.

The only characters that stick to their origins closely are the ones that lost a lost of their zeitgeist. The adaptability of some stories is why they are iconic.

The Scarlet Pimpernel will never be on the same level of pop culture as the millions of characters who owe their existence to him.

 

[writer0327]

Interesting...China internet is none too pleased. China is obviously a huge market for film. Will Disney blink? Likely not, but it will be interesting to see those China numbers.

Chinese filmgoers unhappy with Disney’s Ariel casting

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I’ll just leave this here. Take it however you wish.

View attachment 26858

This is dumb.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

What I think Disney should do is honestly make her a new character, reinterpret the story differently, set it in the Caribbean and go from there.

Its a win win, same general story with a better written NEW character and a more exotic setting. Make Prince Eric a merchant from the EITC, throw in a few pirates, and voila, everyone is happy, Ariel is Ariel and Halle gets her own character.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

What I think Disney should do is honestly make her a new character, reinterpret the story differently, set it in the Caribbean and go from there.

Its a win win, same general story with a better written NEW character and a more exotic setting. Make Prince Eric a merchant from the EITC, throw in a few pirates, and voila, everyone is happy, Ariel is Ariel and Halle gets her own character.

I already watched the awful On Stranger Tides.

Also this misses the basic premise of why they are making these movies.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

I already watched the awful On Stranger Tides.

Also this misses the basic premise of why they are making these movies.

Cinderella is arguably the best live action adaptation and it took the most risks while fleshing out the characters more.

Yeah I know On Stranger Tides was awful, but I think those ideas would work for a new adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

I'll also be on board with this if Idris Elba is Triton and Sam Jackson is Sebastian.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

This is dumb.

Nah.

What’s dumb is being mad that a fictional character is played by someone black and tons of people making a big deal out of it when it’s damn near 2020.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Cinderella is arguably the best adaptation and it took the most risks.

Yeah I know On Stranger Tides was awful, but I think those ideas would work for a new adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

I'll also be on board with this if Idris Elba is Triton and Sam Jackson is Sebastian.

You basically want to make an original movie. That is not what they are doing here. They are here to make money.

Terry Crews is the only person who should be Triton.

 

[THORin]

What I think Disney should do is honestly make her a new character, reinterpret the story differently, set it in the Caribbean and go from there.

Its a win win, same general story with a better written NEW character and a more exotic setting. Make Prince Eric a merchant from the EITC, throw in a few pirates, and voila, everyone is happy, Ariel is Ariel and Halle gets her own character.

I believe TLM already is set in the Caribbean (with some people suggesting it’s based in the Western Mediterranean: unlikely, due to a reference to hurricanes in the film). Either way, the film is not set in Denmark - last I checked, there aren’t any palm trees and flamingos in that part of the world. The musical style also suggests a Caribbean influence.