The Little Mermaid | Disney | May 26, 2023 | Queen Halle will rule the summer!

[TomCruiseTop]

48 minutes ago, YourMother the Edgelord said:

except for the racists/closeted bigots

I was under the impression that China was less than favorable to black actors, I'd be happy to be shown I was wrong on that. 

 

49 minutes ago, YourMother the Edgelord said:

This will probably be the biggest film of 2021

 

You can't be serious? 

[YM!]

3 minutes ago, JamesCameronScholar said:

I was under the impression that China was less than favorable to black actors, I'd be happy to be shown I was wrong on that. 

 

 

You can't be serious? 

Well, yes but considering Black Panther did bonkers OW but crashed leg wise, if they sell the spectacle it’ll be alright.

 

You know I keep forgetting Avatar 2 is coming 2021. In that case, TLM would be second biggest. My bad.

[UserHN]

2 hours ago, JamesCameronScholar said:

I have to admit I'm confused by this casting, although I'm all for more representation of historically oppressed members of society, I can't help but see Ariel as a ginger girl. I think one of the points that comes across clearly in this thread is the US/RoW divide, the history of racial divide is quite different in the US compared to many other countries. It's one of the biggest differences I noticed when I moved to Europe. I don't agree with the silencing of dissent either, and hope the above qualifies as contribution as a meta-view. I do  make it clear that I'm sure she'll make a fine Ariel, I just think this is probably more of a marketing ploy by Disney to give it viability more than anything else (I mean look how much this story has exploded). 

 

I also agree with others who have commented that having Rob Marshall direct is going to be far greater detriment to the film than any casting choice. It's also coming out the same year as Avatar 2, which we know features extended underwater scenes too, so if they mess that up they're in for some harsh criticism. 

How do you know it comes the same year as Avatar 2? Did Disney already date this?

[SLAM!]

I would prefer for them to ditch the red hair. Natural hair is more authentic, no matter its color.

 

I'm not as perturbed about the casting as other conservatives because I understand that the story of The Little Mermaid is a public domain story. This new film being a direct remake of the 1989 film doesn't really matter in that regard. The source material is wellworn enough and applicable enough as to where the character will be accurately represented regardless of the race.

 

I think it is theoretically possible for the argument of a certain role being intended for a white individual to have a certain amount of merit, but I don't think that merit is applicable to this specific situation based on the public domain nature of the source material.

 

It's like how David Oyelowo played Javier in a recent Les Miserables miniseries. Do you feel me?

 

Anyways, I know an author who is black and loves mermaids. I know that she is probably ecstatic about this casting decision, that she'll relate to this version of Ariel, and that the film will fuel her imagination for years to come.

 

But the biggest silver lining for me is that the music duo Chloe X Halle is poised to remain in the public eye for a good half a decade or so thanks to this casting. They were some of my favorite musicians at last year's Grammys, even if I'm not familiar with them. Here's hoping Halle Bailey nails the performance.

[UserHN]

38 minutes ago, imbruglia said:

it will be interesting tho. I can see this doing not good in Asia.

I'm thinking of this too. I don't have a problem with the casting so far, but with a black Ariel, I see this not doing huge like BatB and Aladdin in Asia. Black people aren't that common in huge Asian markets like China, Korea, and Japan. I think the DOM performance will save this movie. With black Twitter exploding into celebratory mood with this news, I think they will treat this as a main event film like BP. This will be their first ever black princess in a Disney fairy tale remake. 

[imbruglia]

it will be very interesting which hair style they will go with.

I heard straight hair in water cgi is really expensive. also halle always wear locks since she was little kids.

 

also the race of other characters.

it would be fun and fresh If they go with full fantasy with different race,ethnic for family.

[TomCruiseTop]

10 minutes ago, UserHN said:

How do you know it comes the same year as Avatar 2? Did Disney already date this?

Both seem to be dated for 2021 AFAIK. 

[Valonqar]

She'll nail the performance or Disney wouldn't bet this on her. This will cost over 200M for underwater effects, etc. so they know they have a star. 

[TomCruiseTop]

1 minute ago, imbruglia said:

it will be very interesting which hair style they will go with.

I heard straight hair in water cgi is really expensive. also halle always wear locks since she was little kids.

 

also the race of other characters.

it would be fun and fresh If they go with full fantasy with different race,ethnic for family.

Agreed, if they shift the setting to the Caribbean they could make something really special.  

[SLAM!]

Just now, UserHN said:

I'm thinking of this too. I don't have a problem with the casting so far, but with a black Ariel, I see this not doing huge like BatB and Aladdin in Asia. Black people aren't that common in huge Asian markets like China, Korea, and Japan. I think the DOM performance will save this movie. With black Twitter exploding into celebratory mood with this news, I think they will treat this as a main event film like BP. This will be their first ever black princess in a Disney fairy tale remake. 

 

Thank goodness Disney didn't push that onto a Princess and the Frog remake; a fine idea, but it wouldn't have been near as meaningful as Little Mermaid.

[imbruglia]

Just now, UserHN said:

I'm thinking of this too. I don't have a problem with the casting so far, but with a black Ariel, I see this not doing huge like BatB and Aladdin in Asia. Black people aren't that common in huge Asian markets like China, Korea, and Japan. I think the DOM performance will save this movie. With black Twitter exploding into celebratory mood with this news, I think they will treat this as a main event film like BP. This will be their first ever black princess in a Disney fairy tale remake. 

yep.. it's not even just Asia but also EU and others too. (like lots of black film don't get release outisde US)

but Asia is worst when it comes to black celebrity/entertainment. honestly I don't see it doing good number in Asia at all.

[Finnick]

Jason Momoa was casted as Aquaman and things didnt escalated that high on the Internet and here at BOT. The problem is everything related to Disney is assured to attract attention even for the smallest details. It is like Disney owes every damn living a thing.  I dont care who they cast. I just want to enjoy a good movie at the teater. 

Edited July 4, 2019 by Finnick

[TomCruiseTop]

7 minutes ago, Finnick said:

Jason Momoa was casted as Aquaman and things didnt escalated that high on the Internet and here at BOT. The problem is everything related to Disney is assured to attract attention even for the smallest details. It is like Disney owes every damn living a thing.  I dont care who they cast. I just want to enjoy a good movie at the teater. 

I think Aquaman escaped this level of 'outrage' (or whatever it is), because he wasn't such a large part of pop culture. Ariel is the quintessential mermaid though and has a very well known 'look'. 

[UserHN]

15 minutes ago, JamesCameronScholar said:

Both seem to be dated for 2021 AFAIK. 

TLM will likely come out mid-year 2021 then. Avatar will open December 2021. I don't think people will compare TLM's underwater scenes to that of a movie that hasn't opened yet. If they will compare it to another underwater effects, I think it will probably that of Aquaman.

[UserHN]

14 minutes ago, imbruglia said:

yep.. it's not even just Asia but also EU and others too. (like lots of black film don't get release outisde US)

but Asia is worst when it comes to black celebrity/entertainment. honestly I don't see it doing good number in Asia at all.

On the other hand, this is another musical with well known songs throughout the world. Maybe Asian people could disregard the color of the lead actress if the music is just too good to ignore.

[Valonqar]

is Asia actually anti-black or it's a myth? cause Fast&Furious has black actors in important roles (Luda&Tyrese) and ethnically ambiguous ones (Vin. Rock, etc) and those movies do bonkers business. BP opened big but audience thought it was shit so it collapsed (I guess that in countries without 24-7 "second coming of Citizen Kane" propaganda , people measured its quality much differently). so it isn't like they were put off by the cast (big opening) but  they weren't impressed with the movie itself once they saw it.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by Valonqar

[imbruglia]

36 minutes ago, Valonqar said:

is Asia actually anti-black or it's a myth? cause Fast&Furious has black actors in important roles (Luda&Tyrese) and ethnically ambiguous ones (Vin. Rock, etc) and those movies do bonkers business. BP opened big but audience thought it was shit so it collapsed (I guess that in countries without 24-7 "second coming of Citizen Kane" propaganda , people measured its quality much differently). so it isn't like they were put off by the cast (big opening) but  they weren't impressed with the movie itself once they saw it.

 

those movies are global phenomenon franchise. people saw BVP because of MCU.

many other black movies don't get release in here for reason. (same to EU tho.)

 

in my very long experience in local hollywood fan forum, people don't care/talk about black celebritys, even big popular ones. their photo/movie or anything relate to them barely posted, discussed.

music artists are better as their image can be less seen and power of music. but actors? ...

 

Also understand that Asia literally has huge obsession with whiter skin and white feature(big eye/high slim nose). it's not even secret. company run whitening cosmetic ad proudly, people do lots of things to get white skin and more white feature(surgery).

like most or all asian actors/celebrity/entertainer do eye/nose job/whitening as basic thing.

so imagine their reception toward black people with their black skin and black feature. everything they're against.

[UserHN]

9 minutes ago, imbruglia said:

Also understand that Asia literally has huge obsession with whiter skin and white feature(big eye/high slim nose). it's not even secret. company run whitening cosmetic ad proudly, people do lots of things to get white skin and more white feature(surgery).

like most or all asian actors/celebrity/entertainer do eye/nose job/whitening as basic thing.

so imagine their reception toward black people with their black skin and black feature. everything they're against.

This.

[jedijake]

Thinking about this from a Disney standpoint and BIG PICTURE. This decision puts Disney in an awkward situation. The previous remakes have been able to exist side-by-side their animated counterparts without any real issue. They've been able to keep the park, store, etc presence untouched. Parades, shows, toys, rides, meet/greets, etc. have all been able to keep the animated classics there without people raising an eyebrow. The animated merchandise and events have all been seen to be somewhat complimented by the live action remakes. Sure, there are differences in appearance, but not so much as to disrupt ANY marketing.

 

With the new version of Ariel, they have decisions to make. Sure, they can and likely will keep both Ariels intact. But now we have the issue with "do you like white Ariel or black Ariel?". And if someone prefers white Ariel after the new movie is made, let's be honest, it will cause some accusations of racism.

 

If the intention is the adapt the story to make it based on South African ships, forts, and mermaids (I'm all for that) then that's cool. It means they are altering the story and making it something different. People talk about risks and this is one and it would be cool. However, they have to be careful not to piss and call it rain. If they intend to keep the live-action remake as a true live-action remake of the classic, people will and already have seen through that. They want folks to be TOO color blind. Then it bites them in the butt later. They have choices to make:

1. Keep the existing Ariel "stuff" the way it is at the parks and stores. What that does is it brushes aside the new version and keeps it too separate. That itself comes across as VERY racist against their own intentions. What? It's good to cast an African American as Ariel but not good enough to incorporate her into the Ariel presence at parks, stores, etc? Or they have to double the merchandise but keep Ariel the same in the rides, parades, the night shows, Disney on Ice, the Ariel show at Hollywood Studio, and meet/greets? That is very disrespectful to the entire purpose of casting Hallie as Ariel and defeats the ENTIRE purpose of what they are doing. 

2. Change EVERYTHING that features Ariel. Keep both types of merchandising which already sets up the "do you prefer black or white Ariel?". Meanwhile, do a complete overhaul. Replace all rides, meet/greets, shows, etc with the new Ariel. You pay tribute to the new design BUT you are wiping away the classic Ariel that caused these things to be popular in the first place. Once again, the intentions become transparent and this would create WAY more backlash than anyone realizes. Wow, I can't even imagine! Not just because they are doing away with the classic Ariel look but also causes people who are upset by it (and rightfully so) to ALL look terribly racist for being upset. You think that people who disagree with the casting choice look racist? Wow-imagine the upheaval if they change the other Ariel things.

 

So keep Ariel the way it is and you disrespect the new Ariel and defeat the purpose of making the change.

Change Ariel and you create a firestorm that goes WAY beyond the reactions from just the casting.

 

I would really love to read thoughts on this and read ways to avoid issues either way. In my opinion, it would have been much safer to just cast someone like Ellie Bamber or Katherine Langford (young redheads who can sing) and really push and work to create great new fresh stories that feature African culture and legends such as "Sade" which is in production.

[Ororo Munroe]

5 hours ago, JamesCameronScholar said:

I have to admit I'm confused by this casting, although I'm all for more representation of historically oppressed members of society, I can't help but see Ariel as a ginger girl. I think one of the points that comes across clearly in this thread is the US/RoW divide, the history of racial divide is quite different in the US compared to many other countries. It's one of the biggest differences I noticed when I moved to Europe. I don't agree with the silencing of dissent either, and hope the above qualifies as contribution as a meta-view. I do  make it clear that I'm sure she'll make a fine Ariel, I just think this is probably more of a marketing ploy by Disney to give it viability more than anything else (I mean look how much this story has exploded). 

 

I also agree with others who have commented that having Rob Marshall direct is going to be far greater detriment to the film than any casting choice. It's also coming out the same year as Avatar 2, which we know features extended underwater scenes too, so if they mess that up they're in for some harsh criticism. 

Just had to find a way to fit Avatar into this discussion, eh? Lol 

 

You can't help but see Ariel as a ginger girl? Can Ariel still not be ginger? Do pale-skinned people have a monoply on ginger hair? 

 

Re: box office, I do think it's important to note why this movie may struggle internationally (yes, racism/anti-blackness is still very much an issue). But this is a first in the same way Black Panther was a first. Yeah, BP had the advantage of being an MCU movie but still, Disney is a popular brand and so I don't think we can look at this through the same lens as any other movie starring a black person or people. I'll take a wait and see approach. 

 

I also think who they cast as Triton and Prince Eric will factor into all of this. I'll be surprised if they don't go for a big/popular name for one or both.