The Little Mermaid (2023)

Lisa Miller9 said:Ursula is basically Melissa McCarthy—total white trash vibes, obviously. But honestly, it’s kind of interesting how in the animated version, Ursula is basically the blueprint for any plus-sized drag queen (especially those vocal performances). I guess we were seeing "progressiveness" back in '94 or whenever.

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🤣🤣 thanks

Ugh, as for Melissa... goodness, I'd better just keep my mouth shut. Honestly, since she can't seem to be funny—no matter how hard she tries—maybe she can at least manage to be terrifying. 🤔

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the movie—I'm genuinely curious.

This was clearly just a massive marketing stunt by Disney aimed at the US audience—especially since racial politics are still such a powder keg over here—and honestly, it worked. There’s no doubt in my mind that just from all this media frenzy alone, the movie is going to pull in something like $500 million at the box office.

I’ve got a gut feeling the actual movie is gonna be absolute hot garbage...

It honestly irritates me—the whole world is struggling because people can't just coexist normally, so now they're forcing diversity everywhere, whether it's necessary or not... it’s genuinely nauseating.
I am just waiting for this phase to pass...

Fine, let them be in more shows or movies or whatever, but stop forcing it.
Like, you have a film set in 18th or 19th century America, and suddenly you have Black characters playing kings and whatnot...
I can't recall the title of the movie, but it was set maybe 100 or 200 years ago, and Black actors were basically just walking through the background for a split second...
Honestly, if I were Black, I would be embarrassed by what they're doing...
I don't know which is worse—seeing a Black king in historical America, or having someone walk across the screen for a second just to show they have darker skin.
🙂

She sings well enough and doesn't look bad, but in my opinion, they should have cast a white actress since that's how the original character looks... maybe Ursula or someone else could have had darker skin.
Anyone can sing, though—does the lead actress really need to be the next Adele?🤔

the trailer is finally out

Ahahaha, what a total cliché 🤣🤦

The biggest flop of the year.

Is it okay for a white guy to date a Black woman? 🍿

Look, this version of The Little Mermaid isn't some direct remake of the Disney animated classic. They didn't even mention Queen Athena or who this Queen Selena lady is supposed to be, and they completely missed the mark on the mermaid's hair and skin tone. This is just a new take on the story, so people should probably just treat it as such. We all grew up knowing the mermaid as white, which is why this decision to make her dark-skinned is rubbing people the wrong way—myself included. I guess we'll see how it performs at the box office, but judging by the early buzz, there's a ton of backlash because it feels like Disney is forcing diversity where it doesn't really fit. It’s similar to when they made the princess in The Princess and the Frog dark-skinned, though you could argue that was more forgivable since that's a totally different plot anyway, and it barely even relates to the original stories where everyone was white.

Eric Rodriguez7 said:Look, this version of The Little Mermaid isn't some direct remake of the Disney animated classic. They didn't even mention Queen Athena or who this Queen Selena lady is supposed to be, and they completely missed the mark on the mermaid's hair and skin tone. This is just a new take on the story, so people should probably just treat it as such. We all grew up knowing the mermaid as white, which is why this decision to make her dark-skinned is rubbing people the wrong way—myself included. I guess we'll see how it performs at the box office, but judging by the early buzz, there's a ton of backlash because it feels like Disney is forcing diversity where it doesn't really fit. It’s similar to when they made the princess in The Princess and the Frog dark-skinned, though you could argue that was more forgivable since that's a totally different plot anyway, and it barely even relates to the original stories where everyone was white.

If the production took place during 2020 and 2021, right in the thick of the peak pandemic years, then I can actually see why they might have cut certain characters out of the script...

By the way, it's been ages since I sat down to watch a Disney animated movie, but I do remember the basic plot well enough to follow along...

As for why Halle Bailey was specifically cast as Ariel, I honestly can't say. However, I truly believe she was Disney's best choice for the part, even if she is Black (which personally doesn't bother me one bit at all).

Look, I don't have a problem with whether The Little Mermaid is Black or white, but I do have one if her father is white.
In that case, her dad should probably be Black too.

That scene where the prince and The Little Mermaid are in the boat was honestly kind of hilarious to me—since they’re both decked out in 18th or 19th-century attire, my brain immediately went to: this is happening somewhere in Louisiana, and a plantation owner's son is flirting with a gorgeous enslaved woman.

Also, the whole trailer is just coated in this nauseating, sugary sweetness that really rubs me the wrong way.
But hey, that’s just the classic Disney trademark.
In the original story, The Little Mermaid gets legs because she's in love with the prince, so it feels like she ends up dying for love in the end.
Even though that's a deeply moving and tragic tale, I highly doubt they'll go that route here.

It doesn't seem like it's being made clear anywhere that she actually wants legs because she fell head over heels for the guy. That kind of motivation is actually pretty subversive by today's standards.
A woman sacrificing herself for a man? Who would have thought!
They really should have just made it so the prince was the one craving the fins.

Honestly, the best version would just be some local fishermen pulling them up in a net and tossing them on the grill for dinner.🙂😁

Matthew Kern3 said:If the production took place during 2020 and 2021, right in the thick of the peak pandemic years, then I can actually see why they might have cut certain characters out of the script...

By the way, it's been ages since I sat down to watch a Disney animated movie, but I do remember the basic plot well enough to follow along...

As for why Halle Bailey was specifically cast as Ariel, I honestly can't say. However, I truly believe she was Disney's best choice for the part, even if she is Black (which personally doesn't bother me one bit at all).

It would be fine if they hadn't gone and thrown in all these new characters. If I could say, "Yeah, look, they cut people because of pandemic protocols to keep the crew size down on set," I'd take it. But nah, they just invented new people instead.
People love to claim it’s "just like the cartoon," but that logic doesn't really hold up once you start adding new characters. You can't honestly tell me it's the exact same story if the original version didn't even have those people in it.

nimblemarlin6 said:Look, I don't have a problem with whether The Little Mermaid is Black or white, but I do have one if her father is white.
In that case, her dad should probably be Black too.

That scene where the prince and The Little Mermaid are in the boat was honestly kind of hilarious to me—since they’re both decked out in 18th or 19th-century attire, my brain immediately went to: this is happening somewhere in Louisiana, and a plantation owner's son is flirting with a gorgeous enslaved woman.

Also, the whole trailer is just coated in this nauseating, sugary sweetness that really rubs me the wrong way.
But hey, that’s just the classic Disney trademark.
In the original story, The Little Mermaid gets legs because she's in love with the prince, so it feels like she ends up dying for love in the end.
Even though that's a deeply moving and tragic tale, I highly doubt they'll go that route here.

It doesn't seem like it's being made clear anywhere that she actually wants legs because she fell head over heels for the guy. That kind of motivation is actually pretty subversive by today's standards.
A woman sacrificing herself for a man? Who would have thought!
They really should have just made it so the prince was the one craving the fins.

It feels a bit silly and forced, honestly. You’ve got a white father and a Black daughter. Maybe the mother was Black? They don't even mention her in the trailer. Regardless, making her dark-skinned goes against everything the original animation and books planted in people's imaginations. Now they're going to change something that's been set in stone for 150 years. It’s like trying to overhaul a long-standing tradition. If that's the case, just change the title already—it isn't the same story anymore. I'm not against Black actors, but Disney didn't need to do this. Turning the little mermaid from a light-skinned character into a Black one just feels unnecessary.

Eric Rodriguez7 said:It would be fine if they hadn't gone and thrown in all these new characters. If I could say, "Yeah, look, they cut people because of pandemic protocols to keep the crew size down on set," I'd take it. But nah, they just invented new people instead.
People love to claim it’s "just like the cartoon," but that logic doesn't really hold up once you start adding new characters. You can't honestly tell me it's the exact same story if the original version didn't even have those people in it.

It feels a bit silly and forced, honestly. You’ve got a white father and a Black daughter. Maybe the mother was Black? They don't even mention her in the trailer. Regardless, making her dark-skinned goes against everything the original animation and books planted in people's imaginations. Now they're going to change something that's been set in stone for 150 years. It’s like trying to overhaul a long-standing tradition. If that's the case, just change the title already—it isn't the same story anymore. I'm not against Black actors, but Disney didn't need to do this. Turning the little mermaid from a light-skinned character into a Black one just feels unnecessary.

I honestly wouldn't mind if there were some hypothetical race of underwater people who happened to look Black.

The issue lies elsewhere.
The second you introduce race into a fairy tale, things get messy.
It stops being a magical fable and starts becoming a story about racial dynamics.

Judging by the ships, the wardrobe, and the architecture, it’s pretty obvious this world is modeled after the 18th century.
Back then, Black people were viewed as inferior, and the slave trade was just part of the landscape—along with every other kind of social inequality imaginable.

Which means that prince and his entourage would, by any modern standard, be hardcore racists.
If a young Black woman showed up, it would be totally unrealistic to think an aristocrat would see her as anything other than a temporary distraction. Love? Please. No way.

So, what? Are we supposed to assume that in this fictional 18th-century setting, racism simply doesn't exist?

Fine.
But there are princes.
Meaning, there is a ruling class that holds all the weapons and suppresses everyone who isn't "blue blood."
That’s actually a much deeper issue than racism, but the movie doesn't touch it.

The upper class lives off the backs of everyone else, but hey, as long as they aren't racists, everything is fine.
All the sins of the aristocracy are forgiven, provided there's a romance between a Black woman and a prince.
Just don't make it a Black woman and a poor fisherman.

When you scratch beneath the surface of these Disney stories, it gets pretty gross. It’s all about maintaining the status quo and glorifying greed, wealth, and inequality...

Look, I’m not saying I’m a racist, or homophobic, or sexist—I’m certainly none of those things—but I’m also not exactly a "woke" person either. I just don't get this obsessive need to force changes onto characters who have always been known by a certain look... and why on earth does everyone feel the need to tie these casting choices to social justice movements?
We see it everywhere now: The Little Mermaid is Black, Black Panther is white, Batman is Chinese, James Bond is a woman, and Superman is gay.
What is the actual point of all this?

I’m actually looking forward to seeing Popeye and Badja tear into each other soon.👍

I honestly can’t forgive them for ditching that iconic signature red hair—I mean, if it isn't Ariel, what even is it? 😍
But hey, her vocals in this track are absolutely killer.

So, I finally sat down to watch the movie, and I have to say, it wasn't quite the disaster I was bracing myself for; in some ways, they actually handled certain plot points better than the original animated version did, if you ask me.
I’d probably settle on giving it something around a 6.5/10.
Hallie and Melissa were both pretty fantastic in their roles, I think.
The soundtrack is top-tier as usual—total classics—so I'm just waiting for someone to upload Poor Unfortunate Souls. 🙂