Disney's Live Action The Little Mermaid

[DKampy]

You're just like the "anti-woke" mob, but you're on the other side. So you saying this stuff is like "The Pot calling the Kettle black."

How…I did not care for Rings of Power….but I do not scream every chance I get how awful show is… but because I loved the movie Vengeance… IMO one of the best of the year…which I believe was crimanally overlooked at the box office… and continue to think and talk about it every chance I get…I am just as bad as the “anti-woke mob”

I cannot comment on The Little Mermaid as I have not seen it…but Ariel being a woman of color is not anything I am worried about…I actually hope it is a new vision and not a complete remake… People complain if it is a shot by shot remake, but also complain if anything is changed…it is a work of fiction…I’ll prefer the wait to see if it’s good and if it is not good… I will move on and continue to enjoy the original

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Casting a black actress as Ariel doesn't mean the movie is only for black girls or that they can't have heroes who are white. It's about making sure that the diversity of our culture is represented on screen and black girls get to have a black hero sometimes, instead of almost never having that opportunity.

No, the casting doesn't do that. The way people are talking about the casting does. For the one thousandth time, I have no problem with the casting.

How many fairy tales has Disney produced? How many featured a white protagonist? Until fairly recently, I want to say all of them. People gloss over this point when they argue the Ariel character was white before and should be white now. People arguing this are essentially saying that they have claimed every princess as being white, and how dare anyone take steps to correct the imbalance and make things just a bit more equitable.

I don't disagree with this, I just think you're under-selling the progress that's been made. People talking about their experience growing up decades ago as if it's still the experience of people growing up today misses the mark.

 

[Jedijax719]

It’s not about race at all, I just care about how she looks. And it just doesn’t matchup with the version I watched when I was 6 years old.

If the new Ariel doesn't "look" like Ariel, but it isn't about race, then what is it? The fact that she isn't a cartoon?

 

[BuddyThomas]

The difference is these so-called “anti-woke” people seem to obsess over things they say they can’t stand…how many different ways can they say “ Rings of Power” is woke… if I don’t like something I say it is not for me and move on… I am more inclined to go on and on about something I loved.

They also think that calling someone "woke" is some sort of a clever insult, which it is not, and never has been. I'd rather be "woke" than unconscious any day.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

No, the casting doesn't do that. The way people are talking about the casting does. For the one thousandth time, I have no problem with the casting.


I don't disagree with this, I just think you're under-selling the progress that's been made. People talking about their experience growing up decades ago as if it's still the experience of people growing up today misses the mark.

Are people not supposed to talk about why this is meaningful for them?

In the future when diversity in entertainment is the established norm it may not be talked about much, but at the moment it's still often noteworthy when something that hasn't been inclusive (the Disney princess films) makes a change.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Maybe you should reread my posts. I said she doesn't look like Ariel, which is a fact.

Do all the James Bonds look the same? There can be different looks for different interpretations of characters. There is no reason to do something again if you are going to do it exactly as it was originally done.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

They also think that calling someone "woke" is some sort of a clever insult, which it is not, and never has been. I'd rather be "woke" than unconscious any day.

Yep, it's just a new word from the same people making the same tired arguments.

They're the same ones that used to complain about things being "politically correct".

New word, new day, same arguments.

It's also a way to be more, shall we say, subtle in their criticisms. Being "anti-woke" sounds better than being "racist".

 

[Disney Analyst]

People this is a remake. If you want the Ariel you remember, watch the original.

This is just ridiculous.

Casting, directors, production, all have the creative right to adjust characters for remakes, in this case they chose an incredibly talented black woman, who sounds incredible, and looks the part to me.

 

[BuddyThomas]

People this is a remake. If you want the Ariel you remember, watch the original.

This is just ridiculous.

Casting, directors, production, all have the creative right to adjust characters for remakes, in this case they chose an incredibly talented black woman, who sounds incredible, and looks the part to me.

So true. All the Batmans are different. All the Spidermen are different. The 1997 remake of Cinderella had Whitney and Brandy. The original Twelve Angry Men was all white men. The remake had black actors. The 2010 remake of The Karate Kid starred Jaden Smith (black) instead of Ralph Macchio (white). Steel Magnolias was remade with an all black cast in 2012. Annie was remade with a black cast in 2014. Splash is being remade with Channing Tatum as a merman instead of Daryl Hannah as a mermaid. I could go on and on.

The concept that something shouldn't be remade unless it looks exactly like something you saw when you were six years old is totally and completely ridiculous.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Yep, it's just a new word from the same people making the same tired arguments.

They're the same ones that used to complain about things being "politically correct".

New word, new day, same arguments.

It's also a way to be more, shall we say, subtle in their criticisms. Being "anti-woke" sounds better than being "racist".

Why don't you just come right out and say that people who disagree with you are racist? That would sound better too. Much more honest.

ANYWAY - to me, what makes this new "Mermaid" film interesting is the Jamaican flavor it apparently will have. I think that rocks. The Jamaican-themed music as written by the brilliant Howard Ashman is what made the original's soundtrack so successful. As for the casting - I think making the Mermaid any color pertaining to humans is a bit absurd. Is a mermaid half human, half fish? Or is it a completely separate being? Maybe a mermaid should be green or blue. Anyway, the actress playing Ariel at least is not bald, which, frankly, is good enough for me.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Why don't you just come right out and say that people who disagree with you are racist? That would sound better too. Much more honest.

I assure you, if I felt that way I would say it. I'm not saying that at all.

When people complain about a movie being "woke", that movie is being labelled as such because of it is purposely being inclusive and diverse. That's the definition of being woke. So yeah, when someone says they are anti-woke they are stating that they are anti-diversity and anti-inclusion.

If the shoe fits.

 

[King Capybara 77]

I assure you, if I felt that way I would say it. I'm not saying that at all.

When people complain about a movie being "work", that movie is being labelled as such because of it is purposely being inclusive and diverse. That's the definition of being woke. So yeah, when someone says they are anti-woke they are stating that they are anti-diversity and anti-inclusion.

If the shoe fits.

Did you mean "woke" ?

Dang autocorrect

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Did you mean "woke" ?

Dang autocorrect

Autocorrect is anti-woke.

 

[Andrew C]

No issue with the casting on my end. I just think overall, Disney is being really lazy here with the stories. "Let's do a live action remake of an animated featured that is based on an another European fairytale..but with a diverse cast." Can they not think of any original ideas or other fairytales that have not been used already multiple times? They seem to make that work with their more recent animated features but can't with live action?

 

[1420Elexismc]

No issue with the casting on my end. I just think overall, Disney is being really lazy here with the stories. "Let's do a live action remake of an animated featured that is based on an another European fairytale..but with a diverse cast." Can they not think of any original ideas or other fairytales that have not been used already multiple times? They seem to make that work with their more recent animated features but can't with live action?

Very good point!

 

[Jedijax719]

No issue with the casting on my end. I just think overall, Disney is being really lazy here with the stories. "Let's do a live action remake of an animated featured that is based on an another European fairytale..but with a diverse cast." Can they not think of any original ideas or other fairytales that have not been used already multiple times? They seem to make that work with their more recent animated features but can't with live action?

That's because the only successful live action movies for MANY MANY years (with VERY few exceptions) have been
(1) Sequels
(2) Remakes
(3) Reboots
(4) Comic book superheroes
(5) Based on VERY successful books

That's not the fault of writers. It's the fault of studio execs not wanting to lose money.

 

[Californian Elitist]

No issue with the casting on my end. I just think overall, Disney is being really lazy here with the stories. "Let's do a live action remake of an animated featured that is based on an another European fairytale..but with a diverse cast." Can they not think of any original ideas or other fairytales that have not been used already multiple times? They seem to make that work with their more recent animated features but can't with live action?

100%. Disney can’t make a great live-action in general, in my opinion, especially an original. The last great one, in my opinion, was Curse of the Black Pearl, and that came out basically 20 years ago.

 

[MisterPenguin]

All our traditional value out the window!1! I wonder what George Washington would say.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I assure you, if I felt that way I would say it. I'm not saying that at all.

When people complain about a movie being "woke", that movie is being labelled as such because of it is purposely being inclusive and diverse. That's the definition of being woke. So yeah, when someone says they are anti-woke they are stating that they are anti-diversity and anti-inclusion.

If the shoe fits.

When the use of "inclusive" and "diversity" reaches the level of absurdity, it's called "pandering".

If the shoe fits.

 

[Magenta Panther]

100%. Disney can’t make a great live-action in general, in my opinion, especially an original. The last great one, in my opinion, was Curse of the Black Pearl, and that came out basically 20 years ago.

And even that film had pandering in it. Look how it handled the character of Elizabeth Swann, a pampered governor's daughter, who someone was also a master swordswoman, kickass fighter, and knew all about how to sail a pirate ship. Did any of that make any narrative sense? No. But that wasn't important to the writers of that film. What was important was Mary Sue I Am Woman Hear Me Roar!

Truly, I love the Black Pearl movie. But I always fast-forward through Elizabeth. She damn near ruins the film for me. Judy Hopps she ain't.