Last week created uproar on social media after Disney announced its casting of the live action film for The Little Mermaid. The original Disney animation came out 30 years ago in 1989 and featured a porcelain skinned redhead fish-tailed beauty named Ariel.
Atlanta born actress and R&B singer Halle Bailey, some may know from the Freeform show “Grown-ish” and past appearances on Disney shows, was announced as the new actress to play Princess Ariel. According to The Washington Post, this marks the first time Disney has cast a black actress to play a traditionally white character or princess in its live action remakes, creating friction between the original movies’ fans.
The fans against this casting choice argue that they would rather Disney had created a new princess for people of color, a princess other than the lower class Princess Tiana who spends more than half the movie as a frog, rather than recasting a known and favorite princess in which some believe was an idol for those with red hair. On twitter people created a trending hashtag #NotMyAriel and #NotMyMermaid to express their grievances and concerns. Another argument is that this new live action is a direct copy storyline of the Disney animation and they believe that the actors should represent that in a physically obvious way and not just in personal character.
On the other side, people argue that in the past Disney has kept race aligned with its originals only when the culture and race is woven into the story of the character, for example Mulan and Pocahontas, whereas Ariel’s Danish background and culture isn’t as imperative to the storyline as much as her mythical background is. They also argue that the Little Mermaid was originally a terrible and disturbing story, written by Hans Christian Andersen, in which the mermaid gets her feet ripped off, drags men and sailors to the bottom of the ocean and that the “happy ending” is purgatory. Also woven in with soulless creatures and an abusive love interest, Disney changed this original story into a kid-friendly tale for their 1989 animated film. They’ve used old stories and updated it to gain income and audience approval, so why would they not change it again to fit the current times and create a culturally appropriate and acceptable character for the more progressed times we hopefully live in today.
Rachel Johnson, 22, a college student and Disney Fanatic says “I love that Disney took the chance and chose Halle Bailey to become Ariel, she truly has talent when it comes to singing, which is a major part of the movie, as well as her having been in other Disney shows. She has good character and represents a different culture in appearance and her R&B music. I don’t think her race should really be an issue in casting a character that lives under water and is a mythical creature. I think younger black girls need to see more people that look like them in movies and choosing a well-known princess to portray that will give them someone to look up to.”
Disney has not personally commented on the backlash of their casting decisions and Halle will become the next Princess Ariel when production begins in 2020. Other characters in the story are yet to be cast as people give their opinions as to who they think will fit best.
Comments