Halle Bailey Says Racist ‘Little Mermaid’ Backlash ‘Taught Me How to Block Out the Noise’

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so edgy.. so brave

Ariel's hair seemed dreary to me- like they dulled it with gray undertones?  I haven't watched any of the live action movies (a small boycott to try to motivate them to make original content), but just seeing the commercials I was sad about the lack of vibrancy in the red. 

Melissa McCarthy was a *massive* letdown as Ursula, too.

That's fair. I feel like it was considered mid at the time. I just have nostalgia for it being new and different. Also it reminds me when they randomly made live actions for fun instead of factory producing them to just make money.

I think the problem is that these live action remakes are trying to replace the beloved movies, while the Brandy and Whitney version felt like an addition to the lore. Like the merch with redhead Ariel was being phased out was another thing that felt like complete disrespect of the original fans - the remakes have all generated conflict where there wasn’t before.

Tbf it's also because movie marketing leaned \*hard\* into it with "This movie is not for you" etc. People when attacked will lash out.

This is the take. Exactly.

I 1,000,000% would have broken my live action Disney remake boycott for Burgess as Ursula. 

I love Titussss haha. He's my favorite in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Hilaaaaariooous. Also, when they announced The Little Mermaid live action I was really more concerned that the person playing Ariel should have a really great singing voice because Part of Your World is one of my favorite Disney songs and I believe that they cast the perfect Ariel. Meanwhile Ursula is....... 😅

Actually I think a lesson was learned after Snow White, I thought I’d heard some live actions had been paused or cancelled 

We are in the time where people who could afford to go to Disney every couple years with their parents and this was a middle class possibility…they’re Disney moms…and try to force their own nostalgia on their children. Now, everyone is struggling too much for consistent Disney trips and it seems to have lost the magic of the days of old. That’s just my two cents from knowing way too many women who are IMHO overly attached to all things Disney. I might be way off base; I’ve just noticed the only single people around me that are ever excited about these live actions are Disney moms. Their kids don’t even seem excited about these remakes outside of the general happiness to be going to a movie theater.

And this is generally where the problem is. You can stretch the fantastical and expressions with animation that simply does not translate well to live "action"...especially if half the cast are fish that are notorious for not...having an expression at all. I mean the most expression you're likely going to get is from the Salmon Dance song by the Chemical Brothers. The Sonic Movies tried to make a weird realistic version of Sonic and when they backslid into making the character more cartoony it worked! Disney does in for a penny in for a pound because they can afford it. They certainly haven't learned from it.

I actually didn’t mind the animals. Flounder especially looked adorable to me. The underwater scenes were so dark and ugly, though, and i wasn’t sold on the relationship between Ariel and her father, which is meant to be the emotional heart of the story.

I'm also very over the expressive animals in the live-action movies. I don't think they ever look realistic enough to make me really get into the movie. The actual people (bar Ursula) were pretty good in the new Little Mermaid! I refuse to watch the live-action Lilo and Stitch, because Stitch on the movie poster had dead, creepy eyes. Nope nope nope.

damn i wonder if red heads were mad when they cast a natural blonde as daphne

I mean it is hilarious that most of the times a character is changed, it's the ginger one. 

Once you see it you can’t unsee it lmao

Bro. The "online engagement" angle was 100% a factor.

Let's not be too naive, marketing teams have influence on casting choices especially in case of such big budget production. Controversies are very often used in film marketing. Nothing really excuse racism but it's true that in most cases production teams do want for people to get offended by such casting. It's big free marketing at the end. By race swap they can also sell film as novelty while it's very often the same uninspired product. It's indeed theater because actors pretend that no one warned them what they are getting into. But obviously everyone knows very well what kind reaction would be but it's still worth as it's big chance ans actually if production is actually good, most audience would accept. But sometimes situation indeed get out of the hands of pr team.

Shhh… don’t tell my 4 year old that

Come on... if Ariel was black in the 89 movie and white in the live action version, there definitely would have been complaints.

She is not. Ariel was written to be in the Mediterranean Sea, which is in contrast to Hans Christian Anderson's Danish version of Little Mermaid. She has no ties to the Caribbean.

Disney isn't blind casting. Lol they are going to make sure the person is atleast presentable

They’ll just move the goal post like always

lol all the people downvoting but have nothing to say are just stupefied by the idea that minorities can win the role over a white person by merit alone.

Cuz she's ugly af

Yeah wtf, is it that controversial to have liked a Disney movie lmao

Then I think you take children's movies and tv shows far too seriously.

Greek people aren’t usually considered “white”.

The Odyssey????? Taught it schools, enshrined as a literary classic for thousands of years? It’s certainly beloved lol