![]() Without the brave storytellers and desperate animators of The Little Mermaid, moviegoers would have missed out on the new classics of Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992) and The Lion King (1994). The Little Mermaid not only saved the “House of Mouse” from almost certain death, it also allowed Disney to become the international corporate juggernaut we know today. Instead of a simple story of an adolescent who “wants to leave the ocean for a boy,” the film offers a nuanced, layered critique of gender, sexuality, body dysmorphia and even politics. What the original movie’s fans and critics fail to fully comprehend is the film’s importance to the history of the Disney company itself, as well as its surprising subversiveness. “It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants.” “It’s way bigger than that,” Bailey added. “I’m really excited for my version of the film,” she explained, “because we’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy.” #NotMyAriel trended on Twitter, with explicitly white supremacist posts, while the comments section of the official trailer on YouTube exploded with unhinged bigotry.Ĭontroversy erupted anew last month when Bailey, in an interview with Edition, criticized the 1989 iteration of Ariel. ![]() Most notably, instead of a white, red-headed mer-girl, audiences will see brown-skinned, brunette Halle Bailey as the title character herself.īailey, a Grammy-nominated musician who has credits on television as well, faced swift and severe racism when her casting was announced. ![]() Original composer Alan Menken worked with Encanto and Moana songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda to write new songs and craft new lyrics for beloved songs “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” to better fit the times. In revisiting the adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, Disney isn’t holding back on making (arguably much-needed) updates to the 34-year-old movie. ![]() In the latest of a series of live-action remakes of its beloved animated films, next month Disney will premiere The Little Mermaid, the 1989 classic that revived a moribund studio and ignited a firestorm of creativity that audiences are still enjoying today. ![]()
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