by Alexa Sanchez-Nava, Co-Editor-in-Chief
Following a trend of live-action movies, The Little Mermaid announced its production several back in 2019, only gaining a surplus of attention from the public eye once the casting was released. On that list, well-known names like Daveed Diggs and Jacob Tremblay were present which raised little-to-no eyebrows. When the casting for Ariel was released, however, the excitement died down, quickly turning into confusion and then hateful backlash when the accomplished singer/actress Halle Bailey was officially selected for the role of the main protagonist.
“It’s not often that you see black people playing prominent characters in Disney,” commented Aayliah Golden-Whitehead when asked about the upcoming movie. “Monumental” was the single word that came to her mind to describe such an occasion.
“Monumental” is more than appropriate when mass videos from all social media platforms featured young black girls getting a first look at Halle staring in amazement, some screaming in pure excitement.
Although the audience for this film is likely to broaden due to the representation, Golden-Whitehead adds, “It is also going to lose a lot of people, specifically the white Disney fans who are like oh well ‘it should be portrayed how it was initially'”.
Ms.Phillips, an English teacher at ITHSA, expressed her excitement about the premiere of the film and the idea of showing it to her son once it is released. “[It shows] a strong female role, (because I do have a little boy) but also to just have that female role be a person of color.”
Many share this similar excitement, one that likely stems from the positive impact diversity can have on their children as well as older age groups that didn’t see themselves in film leads or those they could relate to when they were younger.
Phillips also noted the importance of having originality while being based on a classic film like the Little Mermaid, sharing that she is rather excited to see the different “spins” this version may have.
In light of the scrutiny being broadcasted in droves, many feel that the positive effort put into the film by its cast and production team is being overshadowed by the discriminatory remarks being made to Halle and her portrayal of Ariel. Phillips says, “The amount of people opposing it is now superseding the amount of people who are for it, and that can’t happen.”
The film is set to release on May 26, 2023.